Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman, succeeded by son Howard

Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway effective immediately and will become chairman emeritus, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons. His son, Howard Buffett, a board member since 1993, will take his place.

The move comes nine months after Buffett stepped down as CEO in December 2025, when Greg Abel took the role. Abel was previously vice chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Buffett turned 96 on August 30.

Leadership restructuring

At the time Abel assumed the CEO role, NetJets Chairman and CEO Adam Johnson was given expanded responsibility to cover 30 of Berkshire Hathaway's businesses. NetJets, Inc. includes management and charter operator Executive Jet Management, and the conglomerate also holds FlightSafety as part of its aviation-related holdings.

Berkshire Hathaway is valued at $1.09 trillion as of the reporting date and held $365 billion in cash at the end of the second quarter of 2026.

Buffett's promotion of private aviation

Buffett personally promoted NetJets throughout his tenure as chairman and CEO. He appeared in advertising campaigns including an advertisement alongside Bill Gates and was featured in the industry's "No Plane, No Gain" campaign. He described NetJets as being "in a class by itself" and said it "done what Ferrari has done in a different sort of way in cars".

Berkshire Hathaway acquired NetJets in 1998 for $711 million. The purchase is widely credited with encouraging investment in the private aviation sector. Kenn Ricci, chairman of rival Flexjet, said in an NBAA podcast last year that Buffett's endorsement transformed access to debt financing for the industry. "We estimated we needed about $60 million to $80 million for core fleet buying used aircraft," Ricci said. "We went out to the banks with my great idea…and maybe we had $7 million, $10 million in debt available…Then, in 1998, Warren Buffett bought NetJets. And every bank I had been to thought I was a genius all of a sudden. And they were all looking to get into the industry and we had $500 million."

The visibility provided by Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha and Buffett's personal endorsement promoted private aviation to a wider audience of businesses and high-net-worth consumers. NetJets' guaranteed jet cards and fractional ownership programmes filled the gap between ad hoc charters and full ownership, encouraging more consumers to enter the segment.

NetJets is the world's largest private jet operator.