Warren Buffett’s upcoming departure as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is set to leave investors with decades of substantial returns. Last Saturday, Buffett surprisingly announced his intention to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after 60 years in the position by the end of the year. This decision stunned the investment community, although the Berkshire board approved it, with the billionaire remaining in the position of chairman. The baton of CEO will be passed to Greg Abel, whom Buffett recommended to the board as his successor and who currently serves as vice chairman of the company.
Under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire’s stock price has steadily risen, delivering substantial returns to investors over the years, especially early investors. To be specific, according to Berkshire’s latest annual report, from 1965 when Buffett took over the struggling textile company to the end of 2024, Berkshire’s stock price has soared by 5,502,284%. In comparison, the S&P 500 index (including dividends) saw a growth of 39,054% during the same period.
This astounding figure for Berkshire translates to an annual compounded return rate of 19.9%, nearly double the S&P 500 index’s annual compounded return rate of 10.4%. Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told CNBC on Monday morning that over the past decade, Berkshire Hathaway has outperformed the S&P 500 index.
In his final year as Berkshire’s CEO, Buffett appears to have paved the way for the company to maintain its strong performance. So far in 2025, Berkshire’s Class A shares have risen by nearly 19%, reaching a historic high before last Friday’s annual shareholder meeting, while the S&P 500 index has declined by over 3% year-to-date.
(Reference: CNBC)