ABEL SHARES THE STAGE at Berkshire Hathaway's 2020 Shareholder Meeting

Berkshire Hathaway's 2020 Shareholder Meeting


Abel stood in for longtime Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 96, who normally joins Buffett to answer shareholder questions.

Buffett said Munger was in "fine shape" and "good health," and looked forward to attending Berkshire's 2021 annual meeting.

Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, 68, who oversees Berkshire's insurance businesses and is also considered a possible CEO candidate, was also absent from the meeting.

Abel lives closer to Omaha than Munger and Jain.

Berkshire has said its board of directors knows who would become CEO if Buffett died or became incapacitated.

Buffett's eldest son Howard would likely become non-executive chairman, and portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler could succeed Buffett as chief investment officer.

Abel told investors "I don't see the culture of Berkshire changing" after Buffett and Munger are no longer there.

He also said Berkshire was likely to expand its workforce, which totaled 391,539 people at year end, even though some businesses have furloughed employees and cut salaries since the pandemic began, and could start resorting to layoffs.

Berkshire wouldn't be alone.

Nationwide jobless claims have since March 21 totaled about 30.3 million, or 18% of the workforce, a level not seen since the Great Depression.

Abel nonetheless said that in five years, "we see our employment numbers being far greater than they are today."

Shareholders also elected Kenneth Chenault, a former chief executive of longtime Berkshire holding American Express Co , to Berkshire's board, making him the company's first African American director.

  - Reuters