What Warren Buffett Wrote in His Thanksgiving Letter

Warren Buffett, 95, has issued a thank-you letter to shareholders, in what he plans to make an annual tradition as he steps away from running Berkshire Hathaway and hands over the CEO title to his successor, longtime Berkshire executive Greg Able, on Jan. 1, 2026.

Buffett, who will remain chairman of Berkshire’s board, informed shareholders that he would no longer be writing the company’s annual report or speaking for hours at the annual meeting, but he would “stay in touch” with them through a thank-you letter.

He began the letter announcing that he had donated $1.3 billion in Berkshire shares to four family foundations: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Novo Foundation.

Each organization is run by Buffett’s three children (Susan, 72, Howard, 70, and Peter, 67) and has its own philanthropic focus, ranging from reproductive health to hunger.

Related: Warren Buffett has donated a record $6 billion to various foundations. Here’s how the money is being distributed.

“All three children now have the maturity, brains, energy and instincts to renovate a large fortune,” Buffett wrote, adding that they need to “step up” the pace of lifetime gifts to their foundations “to improve the likelihood that they will be my entire estate.”

However, Buffett assured shareholders that stepping up his donations to his children’s charities “in no way” affects how he sees Berkshire’s future. He praised Abel as “a very quick learner”.

“I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government — you name it — that I would choose more than Greg to manage your savings and mine,” Buffett wrote.

In the letter, Buffett also reflected on his life and career, sharing vivid memories of growing up in Omaha, Nebraska. He recounted a time in 1938 when, as an 8-year-old child, he had a “bad stomach bug” that required an emergency appendectomy. He nearly died, but instead spent three weeks recovering in hospital.

Related: Warren Buffett made 95% of his wealth after age 65. Here’s how much his net worth has increased by retirement age.

Buffett also mentioned famous figures in Berkshire’s history, such as former vice chairman Charlie Munger, former publisher Stanford Lipsey and former Berkshire board director Walter Scott Jr., all of whom were fellow Omanis, friends and business partners.

For example, he wrote that Lipsey, who sold Aunt Suraj Berkshire’s newspaper in 1968, played an important role in Berkshire’s early success in the newspaper business. In the early 1980s, Lipsey turned a struggling Berkshire thesis into a struggling business that allowed the company to earn more than 100% annually on a $33 million investment.

Looking forward, Buffett offered a piece of advice: “Decide what you want to say, believe it, and live it.”

“Find the right heroes and copy them,” Buffett wrote.

Warren Buffett, 95, has issued a thank-you letter to shareholders, in what he plans to make an annual tradition as he steps away from running Berkshire Hathaway and hands over the CEO title to his successor, longtime Berkshire executive Greg Abel, on Jan. 1, 2026.

Buffett, who will remain chairman of Berkshire’s board, informed shareholders that he would no longer be writing the company’s annual report or speaking for hours at the annual meeting, but he would “stay in touch” with them through a thank-you letter.