Great maneuvers among Warren Buffett’s eligible successors. Greg Abel, front row to succeed Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is building his stake in the conglomerate he expects to lead someday. Abel bought about $ 68 million worth of stock late last month. Class A shares closed at $ 413,300 on Monday in New York.
The purchases could begin to solve an issue raised by shareholders: Abel, who oversees Berkshire’s non-insurance business, was not a major shareholder, unlike the company’s longtime leader. The increase in the shareholding adds to his weight in the company, more than a year after he was officially named as 92-year-old Buffett’s most likely successor when he steps down. The purchase of shares significantly increases Abel’s holding in Berkshire. On March 2, he owned five Class A shares and more than 2,000 Class B shares, according to a proxy issued earlier this year.
Abel, who previously ran the company’s vast energy empire, received an inflow of funds when Berkshire Hathaway Energy repurchased Abel’s 1% stake for $ 870 million in June. The move fueled speculation that he would later redeploy some of those funds into the company he is supposed to run.
Who is Greg Abel
Born in Edmonton, Canada in 1962, Abel is one of Berkshire’s highest-paying executives, earning a total of more than $ 19 million in 2021, according to the latest delegation document. This is equivalent to that earned by his colleague Ajit Jain, who oversees insurance operations.
Buffett told al Financial Times that “the managers agree that if anything happens to me tonight, Greg will take my place tomorrow morning.” Abel joined Berkshire Hathaway Energy, then known as MidAmerican Energy, in 1992, eight years before Berkshire took over. He became head of MidAmerican in 2008 and vice president of Berkshire, overseeing dozens of non-insurance businesses, in 2018.