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Warren Buffett, the renowned investor, announced his intention to step down from leading Berkshire Hathaway, the vast and powerful company he has developed over the last sixty years.

The 94-year-old, often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha,” indicated that he would suggest Greg Abel as the successor to lead Berkshire when the year concludes.

“The moment has come for Greg to assume the role of chief executive officer at year-end, and I plan to present that suggestion to the board of directors,” he stated.

Abel, 62, whom Buffett had previously named as his eventual successor, is vice-chair of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations.

Buffett said he had not given Abel or Berkshire’s other directors any advance notice, making the announcement at the very end of a historic 60th annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Berkshire is one of the world’s largest conglomerates, managing a portfolio of nearly 200 businesses. Buffett took it over in 1965 when it was a medium-sized textile maker.

Buffett plans to convene a meeting on Sunday with Berkshire’s board of directors to answer questions about his decision.

“Two of the directors who are my children know what I’m going to talk about,” he said. “For the rest of them, this will come as news”.

He added that he “would still hang around and could conceivably be useful in a few cases”, but that the mantle should pass fully to Abel.

The crowd of tens of thousands of shareholders who had descended on Omaha for the event erupted into applause following the announcement.

“This is absolutely monumental,” Christopher Rossbach, chief investment officer of longtime Berkshire shareholder J Stern & Co, said through tears as he left the arena on Saturday afternoon.

“Berkshire Hathaway is an incredible business and an incredible achievement. It stands for everything that is best about American capitalism and entrepreneurship.”

Buffett is stepping down on a high. Berkshire “A” shares — the class held by Buffett himself and many of his earliest investors — closed on Friday at a record $809,808.50, a price that reflected not just his long-term investment success but also the cash pouring in from Berkshire’s operating businesses.

The stock is up 20 per cent since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 index has slid 3 per cent.

Buffett reassured shareholders that even while no longer officially leading the conglomerate, he would hold on to his Berkshire shares. “I have no intention — zero — in selling one share of Berkshire Hathaway,” he said. “I will give it away gradually.”

Berkshire now makes much of its money from its vast insurance business, which includes companies such as Geico, as well as myriad other companies from aerospace manufacturing to railways to chocolate shops. The textile business was shut in 1985.

Although he is among the country’s richest individuals with a net worth of about $168bn, according to Forbes, Buffett has maintained a folksy aura, attracting shareholders annually to Omaha for a weekend of festivities. He still only takes home a nominal salary of $100,000, as he has done for more than 40 years.

The death of his longtime friend and business partner Charlie Munger in 2023 increased speculation about when Buffett might step down. On Saturday afternoon in Omaha, the answer finally arrived.

“That’s the news hook for the day,” said Buffett with a chuckle.