Crowd shrinks as Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO leads the annual meeting for the first time Saturday
Greg Abel led Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting for the first time as CEO, marking a transition from Warren Buffett's long-standing leadership. Attendance was significantly lower than in previous years, with the arena only slightly over half full. While Buffett remains chairman and made a brief appearance, Abel focused on business performance, including the company's use of artificial intelligence.
- ▪Greg Abel became CEO of Berkshire Hathaway in January 2026, succeeding Warren Buffett, who remains chairman.
- ▪The annual meeting saw reduced attendance, a decline from past years when over 40,000 shareholders attended.
- ▪A video tribute to Buffett was shown, and symbolic jerseys with his and Charlie Munger's names were retired during the event.
- ▪Abel emphasized Berkshire's use of artificial intelligence to solve problems across its portfolio companies.
- ▪Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the meeting and received a lengthy ovation, recognized for helping grow Berkshire's investment in Apple from $35 billion to $185 billion.
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Business Crowd shrinks as Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO leads the annual meeting for the first time Saturday By Associated Press Published May 2, 2026, 1:17 p.m. ET OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The folksy wisdom and jokes that were a staple of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting for decades when Warren Buffett was leading the show will be missing Saturday, but shareholders still started lining up at midnight outside a Nebraska arena to listen to new CEO Greg Abel. Attendance is down significantly this year with the arena only a little over half full as the meeting started. That’s much different from the past few years when more than 40,000 attended to listen to the 95-year-old Buffett and — before his death in 2023, Buffett’s longtime partner Charlie Munger was always part of the fun.
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