The passing of Charlie Munger , Warren Buffett’s sounding board and right-hand man, has brought Berkshire Hathaway ‘s succession in focus, but most don’t foresee a material change to the transition plan already in place. Greg Abel, vice chairman of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations, became known as Buffett’s heir apparent in 2021 after Munger inadvertently made the revelation . Ajit Jain, Berkshire’s vice chairman of insurance operations, had been a top contender for the top job, but Buffett recently revealed that Jain “never wanted to run Berkshire.” Abel has been overseeing a major portion of Berkshire’s sprawling empire, including energy, railroad and retail. Earlier this year, the 93-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” sang Abel’s praises , saying he’s taken on most of the responsibilities at Berkshire. “All [Munger’s passing] does is add to the conversation that what happens when Buffett’s gone because this brings it home. One of the two is gone now,” said Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust and a Berkshire shareholder. Berkshire analysts believe the event won’t notably alter Berkshire’s transition plans. “His passing represents a significant loss to the Berkshire culture and to Warren Buffett, and could test (to a degree) transition plans Berkshire established several years ago, though we do not expect any significant issues to arise,” Catherine Seifert, CFRA’s Berkshire analyst, said in a note. James Shanahan, Edward Jones’ Berkshire analyst, also said he remains confident in the leadership of Berkshire following Munger’s passing. ‘He’s a big improvement on me’ Abel is also known for his strong expertise in the energy industry. Berkshire acquired MidAmerican Energy in 1999, and Abel became CEO of the company in 2008, six years before it was renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014. The 61-year-old vice chairman’s track record of more than two decades at the conglomerate convinced Buffett the two are on the same page in terms of deal-making and capital allocation. “It’s already improved dramatically, the management of Berkshire. And we think alike on acquisitions. We think alike on capital allocation. I mean, he’s a big improvement on me, but don’t tell anybody,” Buffett said in April when the two flew to Japan on a business trip. In an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick conducted shortly before his death , Munger said he remained hopeful that Berkshire will be able to deploy its near $160 billion cash pile and pull off an “elephant-sized” deal. He added that such a mammoth deal may have to be done by the next generation of leaders, including Abel, Jain, Buffett’s two investing lieutenants, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, or “somebody not yet identified.” To increase his skin in the game, Abel loaded up on Berkshire stock earlier this year, bringing his total position to more than $100 million worth of shares.
