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Key Takeaways
- Howie Buffett is a philanthropist, farmer, and the middle child of Warren Buffett.
- After Warren dies, Howie is set to become Berkshire Hathaway’s non-executive chairman.
- Warren trusts Howie, who has sat on the boards of multiple companies, to preserve Berkshire’s culture and look after its shareholders.
- Howie plans to keep things as they are, but some predict he may be forced to break up the company.
Warren Buffett transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a failing textile company into a sprawling conglomerate worth nearly $1 trillion. Now he’s 94 and the time to pass the reins is nearing, with one of the most high-profile jobs, the role of non-executive chairman, set to go to his middle child, a philanthropist and farmer with an interesting resume.
Who Is Howie Buffett?
Howard Graham Buffett is Warren Buffett’s middle child. Born in December 1954, Howie, as he likes to be called, reportedly excelled at school but struggled in college and never earned a degree.
His resume is long and full of various job titles. Over the years, Howie Buffet has been an employee at numerous companies, including Berkshire subsidiaries, a sheriff, a member and then chairman of the Nebraska ethanol board, a best-selling author, a philanthropist, and a farmer.
He has also served on the boards of companies, including Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), The Coca-Cola Company (KO), Coca-Cola Enterprises, Lindsay Corporation (LNN), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Sloan Implement, and Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B).
Why Warren Buffett Wants Howie to Succeed Him
Warren Buffett’s decision to hand the reins over to his son, made years ago, has mainly been interpreted as a way to preserve Berkshire Hathaway’s culture. He has spoken of his fear of the company falling into the wrong hands, ignoring shareholder interests, and being stripped down. That means he had to leave Berkshire to somebody he trusts who knows the company inside out. Howie was the answer.
Howie Buffett has had a front-row seat to how his father runs Berkshire from the very beginning. He listened to his dad’s business calls when he was a child, has been on the company’s board for more than 30 years, and trained for decades to sit at the head of the table.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Possible Future
Some investors are worried about the plan. Criticisms of Howie include his lack of experience making big investments, taking over companies, and running a conglomerate with such diverse operations. To them, the move stinks of nepotism.
Warren Buffett downplayed concerns about Howie’s lack of experience, claiming his son “won’t have to think about running the business” but only whether the board “may need to change the CEO.” For Warren, the most important characteristic of the non-executive chairman is to know the company and its culture well. And Howie, who says he has no plan to pursue change at Berkshire, appears to tick that box.
Some analysts say that without Warren Buffett and longtime vice chairman Charlie Munger, who died in 2023, Berkshire could lose its influence and bargaining power at a time when it, like any large buyer of other companies, struggles to keep finding deals that add enough value. A common opinion is that Berkshire will be forced to adapt its business model to please investors, namely by breaking the company up and prioritizing returning capital to shareholders.
The Bottom Line
In his son Howie, Warren Buffett has somebody he can trust will do his best to protect the culture of Berkshire Hathaway and make sure the business is run how he would want it run. Howie knows the company inside out, has experience sitting on the corporate boards, and has been training for this role for years.
But that might not be enough to prove the critics wrong. Howie has very big boots to fill.
