By Hannah Erin Lang

When Anthony Bielobockie's stock portfolio was decimated by the dot-com crash, he went searching for answers. He found Warren Buffett.

So when the Oracle of Omaha revealed Saturday he planned to step down in December as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, his conglomerate for the past 60 years, Bielobockie was one of many individual investors who felt a pang of sadness for the end of a long run.

"A lot of people look at him like 'finance dad,'" said Bielobockie, who credits Buffett for persuading him to think less like a trader and more as a long-term owner in his investments. "For sure, it's going to be a loss."

Buffett, who is 94, said Monday he will remain Berkshire's chairman. But on Jan. 1, the role of overseeing the company's myriad businesses and making decisions on how to put its capital to use will fall to Greg Abel, the CEO-in-waiting since 2021. Buffett has long praised Abel for his skills as a manager and a dealmaker.

Some individuals said they have no reason to doubt Abel. But his talents, however valuable they are to a conglomerate that employs more than 392,000 people, aren't what draws them to Buffett or his company. Decades of stunning returns and folksy witticisms, the capacity to weigh in on anything and the willingness to laugh at himself, won over millions of fans.

Buffett's admirers, many of whom have never owned Berkshire stock, have read his shareholder letters and the library of biographies on his long career. They follow his advice, and recite his quotes with gusto. Will they hang on Abel's words as they have Buffett's?

"I kind of doubt it," Bielobockie said. Abel "is going to be a super effective manager -- but he's not a celebrity. He doesn't have that aura."

Allen Tran, 27, was in grade school when his father first taught him about Buffett. He became an inspiration for pursuing his own investing career.

"Buffett was just a quintessential example of the American dream," said Tran, whose parents immigrated from Vietnam. "Being able to identify a specific individual I knew I could look up to...that was a very key step in my development and love of this industry."

Tran is now CEO of HaiKhuu Trading, a company that runs chat rooms for individual investors. He respects Abel, even if can't see him ever filling Buffett's shoes.

"I've not followed the new CEO at all," he said. "I don't think realistically I would look up to Greg or honestly anyone the same way I would look up to Warren Buffett. Those are the shoes of a legend."

Jim Ireland, 79, credited Buffett for helping him retire in 2011.

After pulling out of stocks during the financial crisis of 2008, Ireland took Buffett's advice and put his savings into index funds six months later -- just as the market began to rally. The gains allowed Ireland to keep his plan to retire at age 65 on target.

"I listened to him, and through all the ups and downs I stuck with it," Ireland said. "If you don't listen to him, you'll learn an expensive lesson."

Now retired, Ireland said he no longer seeks out investment advice, and won't be watching Abel or Berkshire. "I don't know hardly anything about him, other than Buffett felt like he was good enough to do the job -- which is good enough for me," he said.

Good enough to do the job well, perhaps, but not larger than life.

"I'm trying to embrace the change," said Melissa Caro, a 53-year-old investor in New York who has been a longtime fan of Buffett's unique mix of investment guidance and life advice. "I'm looking forward to seeing what Abel is capable of."

Though not a shareholder, Caro will still keep an eye on Berkshire. She sees the next seven months as Buffett's final chapter. And like the many others that have preceded it, this one will offer lessons for his many admirers to follow. Namely, how to pass the torch.

"It's like we all have a free business course right now," she said. "I think there will be a lot to learn from this."

Write to Hannah Erin Lang at hannaherin.lang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2025 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

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