Renowned investor Warren Buffett announced his resignation as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway only moments after he bashed President Donald Trump’s tariffs as an “act of war” against allies.
“The time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year-end,” Buffett said when he dropped the bombshell, referring to Vice Chairman Greg Abel, who wasn’t aware of the surprise.
“And I want to spring that on the directors, effectively, and give that as my recommendation,” he added.
Buffett led the company for 60 years.
Buffett, 94, has reached the end of the era after spending a large part of his life running one of the nation’s wealthiest companies. The veteran financial guru saved his shock declaration for the end of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, a days-long pilgrimage that’s often referred to as “Woodstock for Capitalists” and draws up to 100,000 people per year.
Buffett, who was chairing the 60th annual meeting, said his departure would be news to the company’s board, which is gathering Sunday to discuss the transition.
“I would still hang around and could conceivably be useful in a few cases. But the final word would be Greg’s. … Greg doesn’t know anything about this until what he’s hearing right now,” he said.
Buffett, who is worth over $165 billion, took time during the meeting to slam Trump for his harsh trade war.
“I don’t think it’s right, and I don’t think it’s wise,” he said. “There is no question that trade can be an act of war, and I think it’s led to bad things, just the attitudes it’s brought out.”
Buffett also told the crowd that “trade should not be a weapon.”
“It’s a big mistake, in my view, when you have 7.5 billion people that don’t like you very well, and you’ve got 300 million that are crowing in some way about how well they’ve done,” he said.
Buffett went on to rip the president’s callous remarks that international allies are “screwing” the American people.
Trump’s “America First” trade war has imposed tariffs as high as 145 percent on other countries and led to major swings in the newly-unstable market.
“I do not think it’s a great idea to try and design a world where a few countries say, ‘Ha ha ha, we’ve won,’ and other countries are envious,” Buffett said. “The more prosperous [the world becomes] and the safer we’ll feel, and your children will feel one day.”
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