Greg Abel: How Do You Follow the Greatest Investor of All Time?
Greg Abel: How Do You Follow the Greatest Investor of All Time?
Real Moves. Real Lessons. One Leader at a Time.
4 min read
Warren Buffett ran Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years. Greg Abel took over in January 2026. His first quarterly results are in — and the question every investor is asking is whether the greatest succession in business history is actually working.
Greg Abel officially became CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on 1 January 2026 — inheriting a company worth over $1 trillion, a record $397 billion cash pile, and the weight of 60 years of Warren Buffett’s legacy. On 2 May he ran his first annual shareholders meeting as CEO, delivering his first quarterly results and facing a room that was half as full as in the Buffett years. The tone was different. The format was different. The man on stage was different. And yet the early verdict from investors was clear: Berkshire is in good hands.
But performing well in your first quarter is not the same as defining your era. That is the question Abel is only just beginning to answer.
This is the first post of the May 2026 series. The Monthly Leaderboard drops on 1 June 2026. Missed April? Catch up: Tim Cook · Josh D’Amaro · John Ternus
What Abel Got Right
✅ WIN — CONTINUITY AS A STRATEGY: EARNING THE RIGHT TO BE DIFFERENT LATER
The most interesting thing Abel did in his first months as CEO was not what he changed — it was what he deliberately did not change. He ruled out any break-up of Berkshire at the annual meeting. He maintained the decentralised culture Buffett built. He kept the cash reserve at a record $397 billion, signalling patience rather than pressure to deploy. And when Buffett said publicly “Greg is doing everything I did and then some, and he’s doing it better in all cases,” Abel let that endorsement land without trying to distance himself from it.
This is a masterclass in succession intelligence. Abel is not trying to prove he is different from Buffett. He is proving he understands what made Berkshire great — and that he can sustain it. The results back him up. Operating earnings rose 18% year-on-year to $11.35 billion, with insurance underwriting profits up 28%. For a first quarter under a new CEO, that is a strong opening statement.
His first annual shareholder letter also revealed something important about how he sees the role. He described Berkshire less as a company than a stewardship arrangement, writing that shareholder capital “does not belong to us.” That framing — humble, accountable, long-term — is exactly what a $1 trillion audience of investors needed to hear in year one.
Leadership Lesson
When you succeed a legend, the instinct is to differentiate yourself immediately — to prove you are your own leader. Abel resisted that instinct. Continuity, done well, is not timidity. It is the foundation that earns you the trust to eventually make the moves that are genuinely yours. Prove you understand what worked before you change anything.
What Could Have Been Better
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❌ The Miss The annual meeting crowd was half as full as a typical Buffett year. That is not Abel’s fault — Buffett was a global phenomenon who turned a shareholder meeting into a pilgrimage. But it is a signal that Abel has not yet built his own gravitational pull with the outside world. His presentation style was noted as more operational and structured than Buffett’s freewheeling, anecdote-driven format — reassuring for analysts, but less magnetic for the broader audience that Berkshire’s brand has always attracted. One investor commented: “But with more practice, I hope Greg can find his own style.” That one line captures the gap. |
The Silver Lining No new CEO in history has walked into a more impossible comparison. Buffett built Berkshire over 60 years and became one of the most recognised humans on the planet. The fact that Abel ran a coherent, detailed, credible first meeting — and that investors left reassured rather than rattled — is genuinely impressive. Style is learnable. Trust, once lost, is not. Abel kept the trust. The style will come. |
Leadership Lesson
Every leader eventually needs to find their own voice — not to replace what came before, but to add something genuine that only they can bring. The audience is patient in year one. By year two they will start wondering what Abel’s era actually stands for. That question deserves an answer before it gets asked.
The Speculation: What Happens Next?
The $397 billion cash pile is the story everyone is watching. Abel has signalled patience — he is not going to deploy capital just to prove he can make big moves. But at some point, sitting on that much cash becomes its own question. Energy and infrastructure are his home ground and the most likely deployment areas. A major acquisition in either sector would be the clearest signal yet that the Abel era has its own strategic identity.
Watch his AI approach carefully. At the annual meeting, Abel said Berkshire was thinking critically about how to use AI to add value, and that they were not “going to do AI for the sake of AI.” That disciplined framing is pure Berkshire. But the companies in Berkshire’s portfolio — from BNSF to GEICO to its manufacturing subsidiaries — all face AI transformation decisions. How Abel navigates those across 90-plus businesses will define Berkshire’s competitive position more than any single investment.
And keep watching the dynamic with Buffett. The chairman is still in the building, still making remarks from the floor, still the most followed investor alive. That relationship — managed well — is Abel’s greatest asset. Managed poorly, it becomes the story that overshadows everything else he does.
The Scorecard
Communication & PR
★★★★☆
Credible, detailed, and reassuring to the investors who matter most. The shareholder letter set the right tone. The gap is in broader public magnetism — Abel has not yet found the personal storytelling voice that turns a business meeting into a must-attend event. That will come with time and practice.
Business Results & Performance
★★★★★
18% operating earnings growth, 28% insurance underwriting improvement, a record cash reserve, share buybacks restarted, and investor confidence restored at the first annual meeting. For a debut quarter inheriting the most scrutinised company on earth, this is exceptional.
Overall
★★★★☆
Four and a half stars. Abel has passed the hardest test any new CEO faces — the first one. The business is performing, the investors are reassured, and the culture is intact. The half star holds for the voice that is still forming. Ask again in twelve months — this score will tell a very different and more definitive story.
The Leadership Leaderboard — May 2026
This month so far: You are reading the first post of the May series — two more leaders are coming throughout the month.
The May Monthly Leaderboard drops on 1 June 2026.
Your question for this week:
Abel’s strategy in year one is continuity — don’t break what Buffett built, earn the trust, then find your own voice. Do you think that is the right approach when following a legend? Or does playing it safe in year one mean missing the window to set your own agenda before everyone expects you to be a carbon copy?
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Bobola Adeoye Leadership & Property Insights · bobolaadeoye.com |
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