OMAHA — Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett slipped Saturday at the company’s annual meeting, throwing his first question to Des Moines resident Greg Abel, the 93-year-old’s choice to replace him as CEO when he decides to step down.
“Charlie?” said the oracle of Omaha.
A friend and business partner, Charlie Munger sat beside Buffett for decades, answering questions from shareholders at Berkshire’s annual meeting, called a “Woodstock for capitalists,” attracting thousands to Omaha each year.
But Munger died in November at the age of 99.
“I’ve actually checked myself a couple of times, but I’ll slip again,” Buffett said.
Buffett chose 61-year-old Abel, who oversees Berkshire Hathaway’s non-insurance businesses, to be his successor in 2021, saying in his annual letter that Abel, “in all respects, is ready to be CEO of Berkshire tomorrow.”
Buffett and Abel, joined on the stage by Ajit Jain, Berkshire’s vice chairman of insurance businesses, discussed needing billions of dollars of investment to meet the nation’s energy needs and the company’s transition to renewable energy.