Greg Abel Leads First Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting as CEO
Greg Abel presided over Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha on May 2, 2026. Attendance was more than half full at the CHI Health Center arena. Reviews of the meeting were generally positive though some shareholders noted less emphasis on investing philosophy compared with prior years.
cnbc.comGreg Abel led his first Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting as CEO on May 2, 2026, in Omaha. The CHI Health Center arena was a bit more than half full. That turnout remains higher than at typical corporate annual meetings. Abel provided detailed information about Berkshire's operating businesses, which drew praise from attendees.
However, the company reported share repurchases of $234 million in the first quarter. Some investors expressed disappointment over the level of buybacks and the lack of clarity on the future of the equity portfolio and cash holdings. com's Yun Li that the meeting was "Very solid.
" Barron's Berkshire watcher Andrew Bary gave Abel a "B-plus" but noted areas for improvement in delivery and capital allocation messaging. " She added that Berkshire needs to do a better job articulating its plan to manage the investment portfolios.
University of Maryland finance professor David Kass told Fortune that Abel "demonstrated his knowledge of and passion for" Berkshire's businesses and investments. Kass noted that Abel is more serious in demeanor but very pleasant. " Other attendees expressed a different view.
Reuters quoted shareholder Xiao Zhang as saying he was a little bit disappointed. "In previous years, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger sat on the stage, sharing their investing experiences and also life experiences and philosophies. " Sophia Deng told Reuters, "Most people are here for investing knowledge and life philosophies.
It was one of the reasons I was drawn to Berkshire. With Greg Abel, the emphasis was very, very different. " Investors gave a positive but muted review to both Abel's performance and Berkshire's first-quarter financial results, which were released just before the meeting.
Berkshire's Class A shares rose 1 percent for the week. Class B shares gained 0.6 percent while the S&P 500 advanced 2.3 percent.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the chairman of reinsurer Gen Re since 2018 has been chosen by Berkshire Hathaway to run all of its insurance operations when Ajit Jain decides to retire. Jain, who is 74, has not indicated when he might step down and is expected to remain in the role for the foreseeable future.
Berkshire acquired Gen Re in 1998 for $21.7 billion in stock. At the 2011 annual meeting, Buffett said hiring Jain in 1982 was his best deal. The retiring chief financial officer will receive up to 30 flight hours per year on a mid-sized NetJets aircraft until 2037 in recognition of decades of service.
The new chief financial officer will receive an $8 million annual cash salary.
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