Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire chairman, son Howard succeeds

According to Business Recorder, Berkshire Hathaway has confirmed that Warren Buffett is relinquishing the chairman role and will take the title of chairman emeritus, with the change effective straight away. It comes nine months after he handed chief executive responsibilities to Greg Abel, a longtime deputy of his.

Howard Buffett, Warren's son and a Berkshire director since 1993, has been named the new chairman. Unlike his father, he will hold no management role, and his main job will be preserving the company's culture, which includes letting operating businesses run their own daily affairs without interference. Abel is widely viewed as keener than his father to tackle weak performance.

Warren Buffett, 96, has been with Berkshire since 1965 and is credited with turning a failing textile company into a conglomerate worth $1.1 trillion. Since the CEO handover was announced, the company's price-to-book ratio has eased from about 1.62 to 1.53, according to LSEG data. Berkshire's Class B shares were marginally lower in premarket trading, down 0.3%.