“I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting,” Buffett wrote in the letter. “As the British would say, I’m ‘going quiet.’ Sort of.”
This “sort of” is classic Buffett misdirection. While he is stepping back from the grueling demands of running the $1 trillion conglomerate, he intends to keep a singular line of communication open. “I will continue talking to you and my children about Berkshire via my annual Thanksgiving message,” he assured shareholders. “Berkshire’s individual shareholders are a very special group who are unusually generous in sharing their gains with others less fortunate. I enjoy the chance to keep in touch with you.”
The letter was accompanied by a tangible act of that generosity. Buffett converted 1,800 Class A shares into 2.7 million Class B shares—valued at approximately $1.35 billion—donating them immediately to four family foundations: The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation. This continues his lifetime pledge to distribute 99% of his net worth to philanthropy.
Buffett used the missive to heap praise on his successor, ensuring investors that the company remains in steady hands. “Greg Abel will become the boss at yearend,” Buffett wrote. “He is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure.”
But the letter was also deeply personal, reflecting on his 64-year friendship with the late Charlie Munger and the serendipity of his life in Nebraska. He asked readers to “Indulge me this year as I first reminisce a bit,” attributing much of his fortune to the “magic ingredient in Omaha’s water” and the sheer luck of being born in America.
For the business community, the letter serves as a final navigational chart from a man who has steered capital through seven decades of market turbulence. His message remains consistent: bet on America, trust in compounding, and acknowledge your mistakes.
“You will never be perfect, but you can always be better,” he said.
As Greg Abel prepares to take the helm, the silence from Omaha will be louder than usual this coming spring. There will be no sprawling annual manifesto to dissect, no marathon Q&A sessions to parse for hidden meaning. Instead, we are left with this Thanksgiving dispatch—a final, gentle reminder from the world’s greatest investor that while money is important, the time we have to give it away is the only asset that truly depreciates.
You can read Buffett’s final letter to shareholders in full below.
