Berkshire announced Sept. 18 that Buffett, 96, would become chairman emeritus effective immediately. His oldest son, Howard G. Buffett, was elected chairman of the board, while Greg Abel remains chief executive officer. Warren Buffett will continue as a Berkshire director.

The move follows Buffett’s transfer of the CEO position to Abel on Jan. 1, 2026. It removes Buffett from Berkshire’s formal executive leadership while preserving his position on the board.

Buffett completes the formal leadership handover

Buffett has served as Berkshire’s chairman since 1970 and took control of the company in 1965. Under his leadership, Berkshire developed from a struggling textile manufacturer into a conglomerate with businesses spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing, retail and investments.

In his shareholder letter announcing the change, Buffett said he believed the timing was right to complete the transition.

He said Abel had already been making the company’s important decisions and expressed confidence in his leadership. Buffett will remain a director and shareholder.

The arrangement separates Berkshire’s operating leadership from its board leadership.

Abel runs the company as CEO. Howard Buffett chairs the board and is expected to focus on preserving Berkshire’s culture and values. Warren Buffett remains on the board as chairman emeritus.

Howard Buffett takes the board chair

Howard G. Buffett, 71, has served on Berkshire’s board since 1993. His appointment gives him responsibility for chairing the board while leaving day-to-day management with Abel.

Warren Buffett described his son as someone who would protect the company’s culture and values rather than direct its operating businesses. Berkshire’s board also continues to include Susan Decker as lead independent director.

Howard Buffett’s role is therefore different from his father’s historic position. He is not replacing Warren Buffett as CEO or taking control of Berkshire’s operating businesses.

The company’s management structure places those responsibilities with Abel.

Abel now has the operating mandate

Abel, 64, became Berkshire’s CEO at the beginning of 2026 after years overseeing the company’s non-insurance businesses.

His responsibilities include Berkshire’s operating companies and capital-allocation decisions, areas that had long been closely associated with Buffett.

Berkshire entered the new leadership era with a large cash position. The company reported about $364.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, giving Abel substantial financial resources as he evaluates acquisitions, investments and other uses of capital.

The scale of those resources makes capital allocation one of the areas investors will continue to watch as Berkshire operates without Buffett in an executive role.

Buffett’s influence remains, but his formal role changes

Although Buffett is leaving the chairmanship, the transition does not represent an immediate departure from Berkshire.

He remains a director and shareholder. The chairman emeritus designation recognizes his continuing connection to the company while transferring formal board leadership to Howard Buffett.

Buffett’s influence has also been built into Berkshire’s governance and investment culture over decades. His emphasis on long-term ownership, decentralized management and conservative capital allocation became defining features of the company.

The new structure is intended to preserve those principles without requiring Buffett to remain in an executive position.

Berkshire enters a new leadership era

The transition leaves Berkshire with a leadership structure that had been planned for years rather than created suddenly.

Abel now has the CEO role, Howard Buffett leads the board, and Warren Buffett remains a director and chairman emeritus.

That arrangement means Berkshire’s succession is no longer principally a question of who will replace Buffett as CEO. The company has already made that change.

The next phase will instead show how Berkshire operates under Abel while the board, led by Howard Buffett, maintains the governance and cultural framework established during Warren Buffett’s tenure.

For shareholders, the change also marks the end of Buffett’s formal leadership of Berkshire after more than 60 years at the center of the company.

Reporting Credit: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — Sept. 18 shareholder letter, leadership appointments and succession structure; Berkshire Hathaway 2025 Annual Report — executive leadership and Jan. 1, 2026 CEO transition.

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Published Time: 08-10-2025, 14:30 U.S. ET

The sudden death of Indian billionaire Sunjay Kapur has ignited a fierce inheritance dispute that highlights the complexities and risks inherent in family-run corporate empires across India. As Kapur’s family and Sona Comstar—the automotive components giant he helped lead—navigate conflicting claims and legal battles, experts emphasize the urgent need for formal succession planning among India’s numerous family-owned businesses.

Sunjay Kapur, heir to one of India’s largest automotive firms, passed away unexpectedly in June 2025. His death has triggered a contentious inheritance struggle involving his immediate family and the corporate board of Sona Comstar, spotlighting broader challenges faced by many Indian family businesses.

Sudden Death Sparks Controversy and Legal Challenges

Kapur, 53, died from a heart attack while playing polo in Surrey, UK, on June 12, 2025. He was part of a prominent business family that controls Sona Comstar, a $3.6 billion company with manufacturing facilities across India, China, Mexico, and the United States. The firm is a key player in India’s automotive components sector, publicly traded on Indian stock exchanges under the ticker Sona BLW.

Shortly after his death, Kapur’s mother, Rani Kapur—former chairperson of Sona Comstar—raised serious concerns about the circumstances surrounding his passing. In a letter to the company’s board dated July 24, she described the death as occurring under “highly suspicious and unexplained circumstances” and alleged undue pressure to sign important documents amid her grief.

However, the Surrey coroner’s office confirmed that the death was due to natural causes following a postmortem investigation, and the case was officially closed.

Despite this, Rani Kapur’s claims have fueled public speculation and media attention. She also requested the postponement of the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) planned for July 25, aiming to delay appointing a new director purportedly representing the family’s interests. The board proceeded with the AGM regardless, appointing Sunjay Kapur’s widow, Priya Sachdev, as a non-executive director.

Conflicting Claims and Corporate Governance Questions

Rani Kapur maintains she is the sole beneficiary of a will from 2015 that includes a majority stake in Sona Group, encompassing Sona Comstar. The company, however, disputes her claims, stating she has had no involvement in its affairs since at least 2019. The board also issued a legal notice accusing her of spreading false and damaging statements.

Public shareholders—including banks, mutual funds, and financial institutions—own roughly 72% of Sona Comstar, while promoters control the remaining 28% through a private firm, Aureus Investments Pvt Ltd. Sunjay Kapur was the sole beneficiary of the RK Family Trust, which manages the promoters’ stake.

Legal experts note that while Rani Kapur is not a registered shareholder and lacks direct voting rights, her involvement in trusts or private agreements could complicate ownership claims. Corporate litigator Tushar Kumar explains, “Until the relevant trust documents are made public, it remains unclear what interests she may hold.”

A Wider Issue Among Indian Family Businesses

The Kapur family feud is far from unique. Family ownership dominates Indian listed companies, with nearly 90% controlled by founding families. Yet a PwC survey finds only 63% have formal succession plans, leaving many vulnerable to internal conflict after the passing of a patriarch or key leader.

Kavil Ramachandran from the Indian School of Business observes that ambiguity around ownership and inheritance is common. “Most Indian family businesses operate with significant uncertainty about who owns what and who inherits when,” he says. This lack of clarity often leads to disputes over management control and ownership stakes.

Business advisor Ketan Dalal adds, “Without merit-based leadership and clear agreements, disputes arise quickly, making resolution difficult as time passes.”

Notable Precedents in Indian Corporate Succession Battles

India’s corporate history includes several high-profile succession struggles that have impacted shareholder value and public perception. Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, was involved in a prolonged feud with his late father’s other heir over the Reliance Industries empire following Dhirubhai Ambani’s death without a will in 2002. The conflict was eventually resolved through mediation by their mother, Kokilaben Ambani.

More recent disputes have unfolded within the Raymond Group and the Lodha family, whose company developed the Trump Tower in Mumbai. Such conflicts often disrupt operations and erode investor confidence.

Sandeep Nerlekar, managing director of the legacy planning firm Terentia, warns, “Companies suffer when control remains concentrated in a few hands without proper succession planning. Stock prices and business outlooks can deteriorate quickly.”

Positive Steps Toward Structured Succession

Some Indian business families have taken steps to avoid succession pitfalls. The Bajaj family, after a court-mediated dispute in the 2000s, implemented a governance model involving a family council that oversees decision-making by consensus.

Similarly, the Godrej Group, one of India’s oldest business houses, recently announced an amicable division of its multi-billion dollar empire, signaling a move toward clearer succession frameworks.

Mr. Nerlekar advocates for robust governance: “Families need strong boards empowered to guide the business long-term. They must groom the next generation proactively and have clear succession plans well before transitions occur.”

Mukesh Ambani’s approach of preparing his children for leadership roles years in advance exemplifies this trend. Ramachandran emphasizes that “succession cannot be rushed; it requires deliberate preparation of both family members and the operational team over a planned transition period.”

The ongoing dispute surrounding the Kapur family and Sona Comstar underscores the critical importance of transparent, legally sound succession planning in India’s family-owned business landscape. Without such measures, heirs risk costly conflicts that threaten both legacies and company performance.

Source: BBC – Billionaire inheritance feud spotlights India’s messy family succession

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