Shareholders look beyond Warren Buffett, at 91, world's most famous investor

Berkshire Hathaway, whose dozens of businesses include the BNSF railroad and Geico car insurance has a succession plan in place

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet said the building blocks of Berkshire Hathaway will survive him.

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders face a question that Warren Buffett sought to tackle at the company's annual meeting: How will Berkshire fare when he's no longer around?

Mr Buffett, perhaps the world's greatest investor, and with the star power to draw fans from around the world, is 91. His longtime vice-chairman, Charlie Munger, is 98.

Shareholders who watched them speak for hours at the CHI Health Center arena in Berkshire's hometown of Omaha in Nebraska face the reality they are in the twilight of their careers. Still, Mr Buffett's loyal investors say they will still stick with Berkshire, citing the honesty, humility, integrity and trust they believe his company and its leadership, current and future, embody.

"The company is more than Mr Buffett," said Ernesto Medina, a 61-year-old pastor from Omaha. "It really is about people that agree on a certain set of values and ethics. And those don't change. You know — or at least I hope." 

Berkshire, whose dozens of businesses include the BNSF railroad, Geico car insurance, and many energy, manufacturing and retailing companies, has a succession plan in place. 

Greg Abel, 59, a vice-chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, would replace Mr Buffett as chief executive when the need arose, while vice-chairman Ajit Jain, 70, would likely continue leading insurance operations.

Mr Buffett's oldest son Howard would become non-executive chairman. And Mr Buffett's portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler would take over investments. Asked by a shareholder how Berkshire might change over time, Mr Buffett said its building blocks will survive him.

"You've got a board of directors that understands our culture is 99.9% of running the business," he said. "If we have the same culture, we will be here in 100 years." 

Reuters