Shares of Berkshire Hathaway and billionaire Warren Buffett’s net worth plummeted after he announced his retirement at the end of the year.

Over the weekend, billionaire Warren Buffett, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway announced that he would retire at the end of this year and nominated Vice Chairman Greg Abel to succeed him.

After that, Berkshire Hathaway’s Group A share price fell from $809,000 per share to $769,000 per share (down 5%), while Group B shares fell from $540 per share to $512 per share (down 5%), wiping out more than $30 billion from the group’s market capitalization.

Billionaire Warren Buffett attends Berkshire Hathaway shareholder conference in 2024

According to Forbes estimates, Mr. Buffett’s net worth also fell by $8.9 billion to $159.2 billion, making him the billionaire with the fastest “evaporating” wealth on May 5 even though he is still the fifth richest person in the world.

Berkshire’s stock price fell sharply despite Mr. Buffett still holding his current position until the end of the year. Earlier, the group announced a first-quarter profit that was 5% lower than analysts’ forecasts.

After taking over Berkshire Hathaway from 1965 to 2024, Mr. Buffett helped the group grow strongly and reach a capitalization of more than $1 trillion. During this period, Berkshire’s annual gross profit was 19.9 percent, nearly double the annual growth of the S&P 500 index.

According to Forbes, as of the end of 2024, Berkshire holds a stock portfolio worth $275 billion, including a 2% stake in Apple, a 22% stake in American Express and a 9% stake in Coca-Cola. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the group owned $348 billion in cash.

Despite being recognized as a legendary investor, Warren Buffett believes that Charlie Munger, the late Berkshire Vice Chairman and his long-time right-hand man, is the “architect” of the group’s success, and he himself is the one who implemented the plan.