Most investors are familiar with Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett with a diverse portfolio of businesses and securities that include a railroad, utility businesses, vast insurance operations including Geico, and even Dairy Queen. Berkshire’s stock portfolio includes large positions in companies such as Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Chevron.
While much is known about Buffett and his investment philosophy, other executives at the company are less widely followed. Since the death of Buffett’s longtime partner and Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger last November, attention has shifted to who will be in charge once Buffett is no longer running the company.
Here’s a look at the top corporate leaders at Berkshire Hathaway including the person who’s likely to become the successor to Buffett as CEO.
Top leaders at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO)
Buffett is among the greatest investors ever and built Berkshire from a struggling textile business in the 1960s into the financial powerhouse it is today by redeploying the company’s cash flow to the most attractive opportunities.
Over time, Buffett has looked for businesses that earn decent returns on capital that are selling for less than they’re worth. He took over Berkshire in 1965 and has been at the helm ever since. As of June 2024, Buffett’s net worth was about $135 billion, according to Bloomberg, making him the 10th richest person in the world.
Greg Abel (Vice-chair, non-insurance operations and likely successor to Buffett)
Greg Abel came to Berkshire as part of its acquisition of a stake in MidAmerican Energy, now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy, in 1999. Abel served as CEO of BHE from 2008 to 2018 and has regularly earned the praise of Buffett. He first mentioned Abel in his 2002 letter to shareholders, calling him a “huge asset for Berkshire.”
In 2018, Abel was named vice chair of non-insurance operations for Berkshire, leading many observers to wonder if he’d one day take over for Buffett as CEO. At the company’s 2021 annual meeting, Munger accidentally revealed Abel as Buffett’s successor. In 2024, Buffett told shareholders he thought Abel should be in charge of investment decisions once he takes over as CEO.
Ajit Jain (Vice-chair, insurance operations)
Ajit Jain joined Berkshire in 1985 and has built the insurance operation into a behemoth. He specializes in underwriting unique risks that have often brought billions of dollars to Berkshire in premiums. Jain was named vice chair of the insurance businesses in 2018 and serves on the Berkshire board of directors as well.
Buffett has often praised Jain’s abilities and has even suggested that Jain is more important to Berkshire than he is. “If Charlie, I and Ajit are ever in a sinking boat – and you can only save one of us – swim to Ajit,” Buffett wrote in his 2009 letter to shareholders.
Todd Combs (Investment officer and CEO of Geico)
Todd Combs joined Berkshire as an investment manager in 2010 after the retirement of Lou Simpson, who had managed Geico’s investments for decades. Prior to joining Berkshire, Combs managed a hedge fund for five years and had previous experience working at Progressive Insurance and at the State of Florida Banking, Securities and Finance Division. He was named CEO of Geico in 2020 and also serves on the board of JP Morgan Chase.
Combs relocated to Omaha, where Berkshire is headquartered, and often meets with Buffett to discuss various business matters. Buffett was introduced to Combs by Charlie Munger, whom Combs had reached out to for an impromptu meeting. Munger and Combs hit it off and Munger thought he’d be a good fit for Berkshire.
Ted Weschler (Investment officer)
The second investment manager Buffett has hired in recent years is Ted Weschler, who joined Berkshire in 2012 after running a hedge fund from his office above a bookstore in Charlottesville, Virginia for about 11 years. Weschler first met Buffett through an online charity auction where he paid about $2.6 million two years in a row to have lunch with Buffett.
In 2021, an investigation by ProPublica into Roth IRAs revealed that Weschler had grown his account from about $70,000 at the end of 1989 to $264.4 million at the end of 2018. Weschler told ProPublica that the gains were made solely through publicly traded securities such as stocks and bonds.
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