I was in the room when Warren Buffett said he would resign as CEO at the end of this year, marking the end of a remarkable mandate that lasted almost six decades.
The legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway Boss made a surprise announcement in the last minutes of a Q&R of almost five hours on Saturday at the annual meeting of his company in Omaha.
The packaged stadium was amazed in silence. The oldest CEO of S&P 500, which took the first job in 1970 and built Berkshire of a defaulting textile company in a company of $ 1 Billion known worldwide, has resigned.
It seemed that Buffett, who is 94, could continue for a few more years, given to what extent he seemed mentally lively throughout the morning when he asked questions about everything, prices and huge cash of Berkshire to public spending and life councils.
He revealed that he had informed neither the Berkshire board of directors, with the exception of two of his three children who are administrators, nor his planned successor seated next to him, Greg Abel.
Once Buffett has finished speaking, the crowd jumped on its feet to provide thunderous applause for a man who signified so many to so many of them.
The thousands of Buffett shareholders have come up again and applauded while he was preparing to leave the scene, leading him to joke that their praise could be interpreted either as an admiration or a relief that he resigns.
The atmosphere turned to sadness and disbelief while the spectators treated what had just happened and its historical meaning began to settle.
The conversations broke out once Buffett left the scene and the lights presented themselves while the in shock participants turned against each other to analyze the news. There was a regular drone in the stadium when people talked about their emotions and the consequences of the announcement.
Nirav Panchmatia, 50, and his daughter, Parthavi, 10, at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska. Theron Mohamed / Business Insider
Nirav Panchmatia, 50, India financial literacy coach attended his eighth Berkshire meeting and had brought his 10 -year -old daughter for the first time.
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He described the moment when Buffett announced the news as “extraordinary” and said that he felt “sad” that Buffett would no longer be CEO, but it was a “wonderful experience” to have been in the room when he resigned.
He said he hoped Buffett will always welcome at least another meeting or two in the coming years.
Dennis Wong, 58, has had the Berkshire Hathaway for almost a decade. Theron Mohamed / Business Insider
Dennis Wong, 58, a private Canadian investor, told BI that he held Berkshire's actions for almost a decade.
“I just saw history,” he said. “I'm so delighted to be personally here.”
Wong said the news “rocks the entire financial industry and markets” and applauded Buffett for having assured investors a smooth transition by saying that he would remain involved in Berkshire and available to help Abel.
He compared Buffett to Tom Brady in football, Wayne Gretzky at hockey and Steve Jobs in Tech. “When it comes to investing, Buffett is certainly the goat,” using the acronym for “the greatest of all time”.
Buffett said that even if his successor would have the last word, he assured the public that he “would still drag and would be useful”.
