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Want more stock market and economic analysis from Phil Rosen directly in your inbox? Subscribe to Opening Bell Daily’s newsletter. Warren Buffett believes his successor, Greg Abel, has what it takes to fill his shoes. He wants Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to arrive at the same conclusion. In a new Thanksgiving letter released Monday, the 95-year-old aimed to placate concerns about the most consequential handoff in modern corporate history. Featured Video An Inc.com Featured Presentation Abel is set to take over the conglomerate at year-end, but Berkshire’s future will depend on its investors giving him the same confidence they’ve given Buffett for six decades. “[Abel] is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator,” Buffett wrote. “Wish him an extended tenure.” The market may not be convinced just yet. Berkshire stock hit its peak the day before Buffett announced his retirement in May, when it outpaced the S&P 500 by nearly 30 percent. And while there are macro factors at play — including Berkshire’s lack of exposure to the AI boom — the stock has since lagged the S&P 500. That divergence tells the story of Buffett’s final challenge of getting shareholders on board with seeing Berkshire run by someone other than him. “Berkshire has less chance of a devastating disaster than any business I know,” Buffett wrote. “And, Berkshire has a more shareholder-conscious management and board than almost any company with which I am familiar (and I’ve seen a lot). Finally, Berkshire will always be managed in a manner that will make its existence an asset to the United States and eschew activities that would lead it to become a supplicant.” The stock closed Monday’s trading session 0.42 percent lower. In any case, Buffett noted that he would no longer write the Berkshire shareholder letters moving forward, and would use these Thanksgiving letters as his new medium to speak with the world. And while the letter was addressed to shareholders, he shared some simple parting thoughts for the road that had nothing to do with markets: “Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them.” “Kindness is costless but also priceless.” “Remember to thank America for maximizing your opportunities. But it is – inevitably – capricious and sometimes venal in distributing its rewards.” “Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.”
