Warren Buffett is shocking shareholders, announcing the intention to retire at the end of the year

Omaha, neb. – Warren Buffett shocked the arena full of its shareholders on Saturday, announcing that he wants to retire at the end of the year.

Buffett said that he would recommend the management of Berkshire Hathaway, that Greg Abel should turn out to be the general director at the end of the year.

I feel the time has come when Greg should turn out to be the company’s general director at the end of the year – said Buffett.

Earlier, a 94-year-old investor all the time said that he was not planning to retire.

Earlier, Buffett warned on Saturday before the tragic global consequences of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, telling hundreds of investors gathered at his annual meeting that “trade should not be a weapon”, but “there is no doubt that trade may be an act of war.”

Buffett said that Trump’s industrial policy aroused the risk of global instability through anger, the rest of the world.

“In my opinion, this is a big mistake when you have 7.5 billion people who do not like you very well, and you have 300 million who rush about how they did,” said Buffett as he discussed this topic at the starting of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.

Although Buffett said that it is best to balance trade between countries, he doesn’t think that Trump does it properly along with his common tariffs. He said that the world can be safer if more countries were prosperous.

“We should want to trade with the rest of the world. We should do what we do best and should do what they do best,” he said.

Buffett said that America has been undergoing revolutionary changes from the birth and promise of equality for everybody who has not been fulfilled only after years. But nothing that is happening today has modified his long -term optimism about the country.

“If I was born today, I would just negotiate in the womb until they said:” You could be in the United States, “said Buffett.

Buffett said that he simply doesn’t see many attractive investments that he understands now, so Berkshire sits $ 347.7 billion in money, but predicted that sooner or later Berkshire can be “bombarded with possibilities for which we will be satisfied with cash.”

Buffett said that the last confusion in the markets that generated headers after Trump’s tariff announcement last month “it’s really nothing”. He rejected a recent decline on the market because he saw three periods in the last 60 years of Berkshire management, when his company’s reserves were reduced. He cited when the industrial average Dow Jones increased from 240 on the day he was born in 1930 to 41 during the great crisis as a extremely significant decline in markets. Currently, the industrial average Dow Jones is 41 317.43 USD.

“It wasn’t a dramatic bear or anything,” he said.

Buffett said that this year he didn’t buy any Berkshire motion because they don’t seem to be a chance.

Investor Chris Bloomstran, who is the president of Semper Augustus Investments Group, said on Friday at Gabella’s investment conference that the financial crisis might be the smartest thing for Berkshire, because it will ensure the opportunity to invest at attractive prices.

“I am sure that he prays that the trade war is worse. He will not say it in public, but Berkshire needs a crisis. I mean that Berkshire is developing in crisis,” said Bloomstran.

The meeting attracts about 40,000 people each year, who want to hear from Buffett, including some celebrities and well -known investors. This year, Hillary Rodham Clinton also took part. Clinton was the last Buffett candidate in public, because in recent times he avoided politics and all a controversial topic for fear of hurting Berkshire.

Haibo Liu even crashed at the night before the arena to be the first on Saturday morning. Liu said he was apprehensive that this year might be the last meeting of Buffett, because he is 94 years old, so the priority to take part in the second meeting.

“He helped me a lot,” said Liu, who traveled from China to participate. “I really want to thank him.”

Shareholder Linda Smith, 73 years old, first learned about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, when she rented a room from his sister Doris when she was a graduate in Washington Smith, she said that Doris returned home from the annual meeting shortly after Berkshire bought Candy See’s Candy and he or she told her that she was to buy her shares.

Smith couldn’t buy it immediately, because the price of one share was sold for about USD 3,400, which was equal to its income as a student. But as soon as she got a job after graduation, she took advantage of her friend’s advice and started saving to buy part of the share, which is now selling for USD 809,350.

Over the years, Smith estimates that she probably participated in about 20 years of meetings – often bringing a friend.

“I really like to listen to Warren Buffetta – especially this year with everything that happened,” said Smith.

Buffett has long said that there are not any retirement plans because he likes to wonder an excessive amount of where to invest Berkshire money. He plans to proceed working until he dies or is overwhelmed. But he stays in good health, although he uses a cane, and this year he shortened the period of query and the answer of the meeting.

“I think that even if it dies, these companies will keep their value,” said Smith, looking around an exhibition hall with an area of ​​200,000 square feet full of cabins from Berkshire, reminiscent of BNSF Railroad, Geico Insurance, Pilot Truck Stops, Duracell Battery and plenty of others. “I expect my supplies fall for a moment, but good companies and good people will come back,” she said.

But Smith and hundreds of others definitely miss listening to Buffett’s reason after his departure. Buffett is now running Berkshire for 60 years.

Buffett said that Vice -President Greg Abel, who already supervises all non -insurers of Berkshire, will take over the position of general director.

Shareholders reminiscent of Steven Check, who conducts checks, don’t worry about succession, because Abel is proven and Berkshire is largely running. Buffett said that Abel may even be a more practical manager than he did and get more from Berkshire.

“I think we will receive a more practical manager and it can be a good thing,” said Check. But he said that Abel also knows that these managers enjoy the freedom to run their corporations, and Abel will do nothing to turn them off.

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