At 95, Warren Buffett says he’s finally ready to “go quiet.” In his November 10, 2025 Thanksgiving message to shareholders — his first after announcing his formal handover of leadership of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) to Greg Abel — the world’s most famous investor offered reflections that blended gratitude, humility and timeless investing insight (1).
“I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting,” Buffett wrote (2). “As the British would say, I’m ‘going quiet.’ Sort of.”
The letter marked both an ending and a renewal. As Buffett transfers control of Berkshire’s US$900 billion empire to Abel, he’s also accelerating his lifetime giving plan — converting 1,800 A shares into 2.7 million B shares to donate to family foundations including The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation (3).
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A lifetime of luck and lessons
Buffett attributes much of his success to circumstance rather than genius (4). “I was born in 1930 healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America. Wow! Thank you, Lady Luck,” he wrote. “My sisters had equal intelligence and better personalities but faced a much different outlook.”
The sentiment echoes a recurring theme in Buffett’s letters: Humility in the face of fortune. His reflections on privilege stand in sharp contrast to the culture of self-made mythologies that dominate modern business narratives.
“Lady Luck continued to drop by during much of my life, but she has better things to do than work with those in their 90s,” he joked.
Passing the torch to Canadian-born, Greg Abel
Buffett leaves shareholders in capable hands (5). “Greg Abel will become the boss at yearend. He is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure,” he wrote.
Abel, a Canadian born in Edmonton and long-time head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has been widely seen as Buffett’s natural successor (6). Buffett’s endorsement was unequivocal (7): “I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government — you name it — that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine.”
Abel now oversees a conglomerate spanning insurance, railroads, energy, retail, and manufacturing — and an investment portfolio worth more than US$370 billion, including major stakes in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and American Express (NYSE:AXP).
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Hathaway Berkshire resilience — and realism
Buffett remains pragmatic about Berkshire Hathaway’s growth prospects (8). “In aggregate, Berkshire’s businesses have moderately better-than-average prospects,” he said. “However, a decade or two from now, there will be many companies that have done better; our size takes its toll.”
Still, he assured shareholders that Berkshire is built to endure. “Our stock price will move capriciously, occasionally falling 50% or so as has happened three times in 60 years. Don’t despair; America will come back and so will Berkshire shares.”
That long-term optimism aligns with his career-long philosophy: Volatility is inevitable, but time is the friend of the patient investor. According to Morningstar, Berkshire Hathaway stock (BRK.A) has compounded at an annual rate of 19.8% since 1965, compared to roughly 10.5% for the S&P 500 through 2024 (9).
On wealth, envy and leadership
Even in his final note, Buffett couldn’t resist a lesson in corporate ethics. He warned boards to stay vigilant against CEO complacency and “the ratcheting effect” of compensation envy. “What often bothers very wealthy CEOs — they are human, after all — is that other CEOs are getting even richer. Envy and greed walk hand in hand,” he wrote.
The comment arrives as CEO-to-worker pay ratios hit record highs — 344-to-1 in 2023, according to the Economic Policy Institute (10). Buffett’s critique of executive excess reinforces his image as capitalism’s conscience — a billionaire who never lost sight of proportion.
The final chapter in a billionaire’s giving pledge
Since launching the Giving Pledge in 2010, Buffett has donated more than US$55 billion — making him the single largest philanthropist in modern history (11). His latest gift of 2.7 million Berkshire B shares, worth roughly US$1.3 billion at current prices, continues that legacy (12).
“My children are all above normal retirement age… I need to step up the pace of lifetime gifts to their foundations,” Buffett wrote. “They simply need to improve somewhat upon what generally is achieved by government activities and/or private philanthropy.”
Warren Buffett’s wisdom endures
Buffett’s farewell reads less like a retirement notice and more like a moral will. “Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it,” he urged shareholders. “Kindness is costless but also priceless.”
His final advice could double as a summary of his entire career: Invest simply, live modestly, act decently.
“I wish all who read this a very happy Thanksgiving,” he wrote. “Yes, even the jerks; it’s never too late to change.”
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Berkshire Hathaway Thanksgiving Message to Shareholders (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12); Wikipedia: Greg Abel (6); USNews: The Complete Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio (9); Economic Policy Institute: CEO Pay in 2023 (4); Giving Pledge: Warren Buffett Profile (11)
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