Warren Buffett’s final lesson: The Oracle reflects on luck, legacy and the future of Berkshire Hathaway

The letter marked both an ending and a renewal. As Buffett transfers control of Berkshire’s US$900 billion empire to Abel, he’s also accelerating his lifetime giving plan — converting 1,800 A shares into 2.7 million B shares to donate to family foundations including The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation (3).

A lifetime of luck and lessons

Buffett attributes much of his success to circumstance rather than genius (4). “I was born in 1930 healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America. Wow! Thank you, Lady Luck,” he wrote. “My sisters had equal intelligence and better personalities but faced a much different outlook.”

The sentiment echoes a recurring theme in Buffett’s letters: Humility in the face of fortune. His reflections on privilege stand in sharp contrast to the culture of self-made mythologies that dominate modern business narratives.

“Lady Luck continued to drop by during much of my life, but she has better things to do than work with those in their 90s,” he joked.

Passing the torch to Canadian-born, Greg Abel

Buffett leaves shareholders in capable hands (5). “Greg Abel will become the boss at yearend. He is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure,” he wrote.

Abel, a Canadian born in Edmonton and long-time head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has been widely seen as Buffett’s natural successor (6). Buffett’s endorsement was unequivocal (7): “I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government — you name it — that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine.”

Abel now oversees a conglomerate spanning insurance, railroads, energy, retail, and manufacturing — and an investment portfolio worth more than US$370 billion, including major stakes in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and American Express (NYSE:AXP).

Hathaway Berkshire resilience — and realism

Buffett remains pragmatic about Berkshire Hathaway’s growth prospects (8). “In aggregate, Berkshire’s businesses have moderately better-than-average prospects,” he said. “However, a decade or two from now, there will be many companies that have done better; our size takes its toll.”

Still, he assured shareholders that Berkshire is built to endure. “Our stock price will move capriciously, occasionally falling 50% or so as has happened three times in 60 years. Don’t despair; America will come back and so will Berkshire shares.”