Business 4 min read By Bethany Hadley
Howard Buffett takes over as Berkshire Hathaway chairman after father's retirement
Warren Buffett's son Howard has formally succeeded his father as chairman of the $1.1 trillion conglomerate, capping a succession process that began when Greg Abel became CEO at the start of 2026. Howard's unconventional path — farming in Nebraska, no college degree, and decades of philanthropy — now leads to the top of one of the world's most valuable companies.
Howard Buffett has formally taken over as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, succeeding his father Warren Buffett at the helm of the $1.1 trillion conglomerate. The transition, confirmed last week, completes a succession process that began when Warren stepped down as chief executive on 1 January 2026, handing the CEO role to Greg Abel.
Warren Buffett, known as the «Oracle of Omaha», had retained the chairman position after relinquishing day-to-day control of the company he built over six decades. He has described his son's new role as that of an «insurance policy» for Berkshire shareholders, signalling that the family name will remain a stabilising presence at the top of the conglomerate even as professional management takes charge of operations.
Howard Buffett's route to the chairmanship has been anything but conventional. He began farming in 1977 in Tekamah, Nebraska, on land his father had purchased and leased to him, despite having no prior experience. He later worked for food, beverage and agricultural companies including Coca-Cola and ConAgra during the 1990s and 2000s. He enrolled at Augustana College but left after clashing with his roommates, and though he attended other institutions, he never graduated. None of Warren Buffett's children completed college, a fact the elder Buffett has never treated as a setback. «I don't think college is for everyone», he told students at Western University's Ivey Business School in 2012, arguing that the best education is investing in yourself.
Howard has described farming as a formative challenge that pushed him far outside his comfort zone. «Farming to me was totally getting outside my comfort zone», he said in an interview. «I had no idea how to do what I was doing, but I learned it, and today it's a huge part of what I do in my life — and it's a huge part of what our foundation does. I think it's a great lesson.»
That lesson has shaped his philanthropic work. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, established in 1999, aims to improve living standards for impoverished and marginalised populations. Two affiliated entities are closely tied to agriculture: the Sequoia Farm Foundation operates research farms and ranches across Illinois, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, focusing on water-use efficiency, soil management and cover crops for small farms in developing countries, while the Farmers Youth Education Foundation provides free agricultural facilities and training for young people. Howard has also directed more than $500 million in humanitarian, financial and agricultural aid to Ukraine since early 2022.
His career has spanned farming, board leadership, photography and philanthropy, and he has also served as a small-town sheriff. At 71, he now oversees a company whose reach extends across insurance, railways, energy and consumer goods. The appointment places a family member in a non-executive role while Greg Abel, Warren's chosen successor as CEO, manages the operating businesses.
For younger workers weighing the cost of higher education against alternative paths, Howard's trajectory offers a notable case study. With student debt levels high and the return on some degrees increasingly questioned, his rise from tenant farmer to chairman of a trillion-dollar company illustrates that a non-traditional route can still reach the top of the corporate world. Whether that model translates beyond the Buffett family, however, remains a question Berkshire's shareholders — and the wider business community — will be watching closely.
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