Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire chairman and hands seat to son

Warren Buffett stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman on Friday and handed the seat to his son, Howard Buffett. The board named Warren Buffett chairman emeritus. The title keeps him on the board without giving him command over the company. Greg Abel remains chief executive. Abel continues to make day-to-day decisions and decide where Berkshire's money goes. Howard Buffett has been on the board since 1993. Susan Decker remains lead independent director. Warren Buffett said in a shareholder letter that Abel had already been making the decisions that mattered for some time. Class A shares closed Thursday at $763,936 after falling 2.10%. Class B shares finished at $509.20 after falling 2.04%. Class B shares traded at $509.24 in Friday pre-market trading and were barely changed. Howard Buffett has no public record of a position on Bitcoin or digital assets. He has run the Howard G. Buffett Foundation since 1999. He also served nearly a decade as a United Nations goodwill ambassador against hunger. Fortune reported last year that Howard Buffett was on track to send about $1 billion in aid to Ukraine. Warren Buffett has criticized Bitcoin as "rat poison squared" and as a gambling token. Berkshire's cash pile reached a record $397 billion while Abel maintained the company's anti-Bitcoin stance.