<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At 94 years old, Warren Buffett stunned the investor world when he announced he was stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he had a simple answer for why he decided to hand over the position to Greg Abel at the end of the year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There was no magic moment," Buffett said to </span><em><span>The Wall Street Journal</span></em><span> in an interview.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-teen-escapes-captivity-after-seven-years-of-abuse-authorities-say/5126627e-8544-4391-88ab-53255da0f870" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Teen escapes home after years of 'horrific' captivity, abuse in US</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"How do you know the day that you become old?"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abel, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and the vice chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire, is slated to succeed Buffett at the start of 2026. Buffett said in the announcement he will remain as chairman until his death.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I didn't really start getting old, for some strange reason, until I was about 90," he continued to WSJ.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/warren-buffett-reveals-reason-for-stepping-down-from-berkshire-hathaway/5e22a980-0b0d-4b2b-bf57-a57e8ac1c24c" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-meeting-saudi-arabia-qatar-gulf-leaders-nuclear-deal-iran/b11feb9e-b761-478b-a08f-6b4ee01400a0" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Iran must cease support of proxy groups as part of any nuclear deal: Trump</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But when you start getting old, it does become – it's irreversible."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some of those symptoms, he said: losing his balance, having difficulty recalling names, a harder time reading the newspaper.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abel, 62, an Edmonton, Alberta-born businessman, was designated as Buffett's successor in 2021.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Buffett, who has been with Berkshire Hathaway since 1965, made the announcement at the company's annual shareholder meeting, an event often called "Woodstock for Capitalists."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/mackenzie-anderson-murder-tyrone-thompson-sentence-to-be-appealed-by-prosecutors/1e61f9c5-87da-403b-9406-ec914785c3ab" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Grieving mum welcomes appeal of DV murderer's sentence</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/04/02/08/54/top-10-richest-people-in-the-world-for-2025"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/DIAFlrA3vwDeR6OcUHAo_WzBI0A=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F9a3085a9-f38d-4108-9539-e7558a87705d" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/DIAFlrA3vwDeR6OcUHAo_WzBI0A=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F9a3085a9-f38d-4108-9539-e7558a87705d 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/wf_IiCIwCEb2lB_sMhwgWhWIJHo=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F9a3085a9-f38d-4108-9539-e7558a87705d 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The world's top 10 richest people for 2025</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/04/02/08/54/top-10-richest-people-in-the-world-for-2025">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Buffett told the </span><em><span>Journal</span></em><span> he still plans to keep working, and his investing acumen is very much intact.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"My health is fine, in the sense that I feel good every day," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm here at the office and I get to work with people I love, that they like me pretty well, and we have a good time."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As for his retirement plans from Omaha: "I'm not going to sit at home and watch soap operas … My interests are still the same."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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