Berkshire’s New Top Boss Looks to Make Buffett’s Empire His Own

Greg Abel’s anointing as successor to the world’s most famous investor came seemingly by accident.

A rare slip of the tongue for Charlie Munger, the then-97-year-old vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., at the firm’s 2021 annual meeting let it be known who was set to replace Warren Buffett. It came as a prediction, or perhaps a mandate: “Greg will keep the culture.”

Charlie Munger accidentally let slip at the firm’s 2021 annual meeting that Greg Abel will replace Warren Buffett.

Photographer: Houston Cofield/Bloomberg

More than four years on, the accountant-turned-energy executive is finally taking the reins of Berkshire, the $1 trillion conglomerate with businesses spanning insurance, freight and retail that employ almost 400,000 people. He’s also taking command ...