"Who's a busy man? Me? I'm Chairman of the Board. I've got nothing but time." -- Everett Sloane as Mr. Bernstein in "Citizen Kane" (1941)
Warren Buffett once famously remarked, "I can buy anything I want, basically, but I can't buy time."
But as Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Hathaway in 2026 Warren Buffett just might have more time.
- Check out our coverage of the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting and other exciting Omaha value investing events here.
And that's a good thing for everyone: more time for his wisdom to grow, compound and guide Berkshire through the coming years.
When once asked how he wished to be remembered, Warren Buffett answered simply, "As a teacher."
And he's a great teacher!
Warren Buffett, together with his late "partner," Charlie Munger, has conducted the longest running and hands-down best continuing financial education course in the history of the world: the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.
Absolutely free!
Likewise his annual reports, available online at: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/reports.html
Best textbook of finance ever.
Of course, a great teacher must be always be learning.
"If it is wisdom you're after, you're going to spend a lot of time on your ass reading." -- Charlie Munger
As CEO and Chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway, a role he will surrender at the end of this year, Warren Buffett reportedly spends 80% of his working day just reading and thinking.
"I just sit in my office and read all day." -- Warren Buffett
"You'd be amazed at how much Warren Buffett reads—and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out. -- Charlie Munger
"We both insist on a lot of time being available almost every day to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. We read and think. So Warren and I do more reading and thinking and less doing than most people in business." -- Charlie Munger
So, for the seasoned student-shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren's ascension to Chairman of the Board is no cause for apprehension.
According to Becky Quick, Warren will continue to come to work each day, just as before.
Thus the recent 5% decline in Berkshire stock price -- cutting its quoted valuation by a breath-taking fifty-nine billion dollars -- was a mere shudder from sellers of little faith: a total non-event in terms of the future of Berkshire Hathaway.
For those who might think otherwise, witness Charlie Munger's sage commentary, recalling repeated 50% drops in the quoted value of his own holdings:
And what could be better for all of us, shareholders and observers alike, than the world's greatest investor having more time to read, think -- and write -- in splendid isolation?
"There is nothing like writing to force you to think and get your thoughts straight." -- Warren Buffett
So when Warren Buffett announced his retirement as CEO he received a ten-minute standing ovation from the assembled shareholders, board members and employees, with no regrets, only appreciation.
Wealthier by far than every one of them he is nonetheless beloved, never envied.
For as Charlie Munger recalled of his own great-grandfather, William Ingham (1827-1914):
"‘Nobody envied the success, so fairly won and wisely used.'" -- Charlie Munger
Full disclosure: grateful student-shareholder
