Warren Buffett (93) will appear on stage at Berkshire Hathway’s annual general meeting for the first time without his late deputy Charlie Munger. picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nati Harnik
The annual general meeting of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway takes place in Omaha, without the late vice president, Charlie Munger.
Greg Abel and Ajit Jain will accompany star investor Buffett on stage, according to “Bloomberg”.
Abel is seen as Buffett’s likely successor, while Jain is in charge of the insurance division.
The “Woodstock of capitalism” will take place on Saturday in the small US town of Omaha (Nebraska): stock market guru Warren Buffett’s investment company Berkshire Hathaway is inviting people to the annual general meeting – and this year it will be a special event.
So far, thousands of shareholders in the company – considered the most expensive stock in the world – have gathered at the CHI Health Center exhibition center to ask CEO Warren Buffett and his deputy Charlie Munger questions while enjoying Coke and peanut brittle strengthen. After Munger’s death, this classic scene at the general meeting comes to an end. A new era is beginning.
This is how things should continue with Berkshire Hathaway
This is how it used to be: A look at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting 2018. picture alliance/AP Photo | Nati Harnik
Charlie Munger (in the background) with his partner Warren Buffett. Getty Images
With Munger’s death in November 2023, new faces are expected on the stage at this year’s general meeting. This time Buffett will be joined on stage by Greg Abel and Ajit Jain „Bloomberg“ reported. But who are the star investor’s new “right-hand hands”? And who will be his successor?
There Favorite: Greg Abel
Greg Abel (rechts)
picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nati Harnik
The 61-year-old businessman Greg Abel is considered Buffett’s likely successor. Abel is a Canadian businessman and the current Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Vice Chairman of Non-Insurance Operations at Berkshire Hathaway.
He began his career as an auditor at PWC in San Francisco. In 1992 he moved to the electricity company CalEnergy. Abel rose to president of the company six years later, which changed its name to MidAmerican Energy Holdings after an expansion.
In 1999, MidAmerican Energy was acquired by Buffett’s investment firm and later renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Abel was named vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway in 2018 and took over from Munger after his death.
There is increasing speculation about a successor to Warren Buffett, who is now 93 years old. At an investor conference on Thursday, a long-time member of Berkshire’s board, Ron Olsen, confirmed investors’ confidence in Abel as the company’s next boss, reported AP.
There should be a different management style at Berkshire when the 61-year-old becomes CEO. “Greg is not someone who is likely to generate as much press attention as Warren did,” Olson said. “On the other hand, I have every reason to believe that he will run the companies we are responsible for in the same way that Warren ran them.”
The insurer: Ajit Jain
Ajit Jain
picture alliance/AP Images | Nati Harnik
In addition to Buffett and Abel, another board member is scheduled to appear on stage on Saturday: Ajit Jain, the cousin of former Deutsche Bank CEO Anshu Jain. The 72-year-old is responsible for Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance division.
Jain was born in India in 1951 and studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur before earning his MBA at Harvard Business School. His previous employers include IBM and McKinsey.
Jain started at Berkshire Hathaway in 1986. He heads the reinsurance business, which is considered one of the company’s most profitable and important divisions.
In his annual Letter to shareholders of Berkshire in 2014, it was suggested that both Jain and Greg Abel could be suitable successors to Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. A lot has changed since then: Abel is now considered by shareholders to be the infamous successor to the “Oracle of Omaha.”