“I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting,” Buffett wrote. “As the British would say, I’m going quiet.” His long-time lieutenant Greg Abel will officially take over as Berkshire’s chief executive by year-end, closing a chapter that has defined one of the most successful business partnerships in modern history.
Buffett’s latest note is less of a corporate document and more of a reflective memoir, filled with gratitude, humility, and storytelling charm that has made him an icon beyond the world of finance.
Buffett says: A life of luck and gratitude
Buffett began his letter on a personal note, expressing amazement at reaching 95. “I am grateful and surprised by my luck in being alive at 95,” he wrote, recalling an appendicitis scare in 1938 when he nearly died at age eight.
He recounted being sent to a Catholic hospital in Omaha and fingerprinting the nuns after his surgery because he thought “someday a nun would go bad and the FBI would need those records.” He also wrote about the city he calls home, saying that both he and Berkshire “did better because of our base in Omaha.”The letter paid tributes to those who shaped Buffett’s life, including Charlie Munger, his partner of more than 60 years who passed away in 2023. “Charlie could not have been a better teacher and protective big brother,” Buffett wrote. “We had differences but never had an argument. ‘I told you so’ was not in his vocabulary.”Buffett backed Greg will officially assume the top role at Berkshire Hathaway. “Greg will become the boss at year-end. He is a great manager, a tireless worker, and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure,” he wrote.The letter also touched on Buffett’s sense of mortality and the practical implications of his age. He spoke of luck and fairness, acknowledging that being born healthy, white, male, and American in 1930 gave him advantages many never had. “Wow! Thank you, Lady Luck,” he wrote, adding that he is acutely aware of how much of life’s success depends on chance rather than brilliance.
He reaffirmed his commitment to philanthropy, continuing his long-standing promise to give away nearly all his wealth. Buffett’s lifetime giving has already crossed $50 billion, most of it directed to causes through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and his family’s charitable trusts.
The note ends not with grand predictions or market insights, but with gratitude, for his city, his colleagues, his family, and the ton of good fortune that made him one of history’s richest men.
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