Greg Abel

Gregory Edward Abel (born June 1, 1962) is a Canadian businessman, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and vice-chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway since January 2018. In May 2025, it was announced Abel will succeed Warren Buffett as the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway following Buffett's retirement in late 2025.^[1]

Greg Abel
Abel in 2021
Born	Gregory Edward Abel (1962-06-01) June 1, 1962 (age 63) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Education	University of Alberta (BComm)
Occupations	Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
Spouse	Andrea Abel
Children	4

Early life and family

Gregory Edward Abel was born on June 1, 1962, in Edmonton, Alberta.^[2][3] His father worked for a company that manufactured firefighting equipment, while his mother was a homemaker and part-time legal secretary. He is a nephew of hockey player Sid Abel.^[4]

During his childhood, Abel did odd jobs like distributing flyers and returning glass bottles to make money. He also worked as a laborer for a forest products company.^[5] He enjoyed hockey and football as a child.^[6]

He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Alberta in 1984, and is an AICPA certified public accountant.^[3][7]

Abel has three adult children from his first marriage. He has since married Andrea Abel, and they have a son. Abel lives in Iowa, and while protective of his privacy is known to be active in youth sports.^[8]

Career

Abel began his career as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in their San Francisco office. In 1992, he joined CalEnergy, a geothermal electricity producer.^[3] In 1999, CalEnergy acquired MidAmerican Energy, adopting its name, and Berkshire Hathaway acquired a controlling interest later that year. Abel became CEO of MidAmerican in 2008,^[9] and the company was renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014.^[3]

In January 2018, Abel was named Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman for non-insurance operations and appointed to Berkshire's board of directors.^[10]

Abel is also vice chairman of Edison Electric Institute, and a director of AEGIS Limited, Kraft Heinz, Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited, the Hockey Canada Foundation, the Mid-Iowa Council Boy Scouts of America, and the American Football Coaches Foundation. He has been on the board of trustees at Duke University and Drake University.^[11][12]

In a May 2021 interview, Warren Buffett confirmed Abel as his future successor as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.^[13][14] Abel's handling of CalEnergy’s take-over of a British utility in the 1990s is credited to mark the start of this transition.^[15]

In June 2022, he sold his 1% stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy for $870 million.^[16]

In October 2022, it was announced that Abel purchased 168 shares of Berkshire Class A shares worth approximately $68 million. This equates to an approximate average share purchase price of $404,761.90. Prior to this latest purchase, Abel held five Class A shares and 2,363 Class B shares, according to previous filings. ^[17]

In May 2025 Warren Buffett was quoted as stating "The time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end",^[18] thus paving the way for Abel to succeed Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.^[19] As reported by the Associated Press, only Buffett's children knew the timing of Buffett’s retirement announcement and Abel had no prior warning.^[20] Various media reports indicate Buffett selected Abel as his successor due in part to Abel's strong work ethic and strategic thinking, his commitment to Buffet's preferred paradigm of value investing, and the belief he will maintain the corporate culture established at Berkshire in previous decades.^[21][22][23]

Honors

He received a Horatio Alger award in 2018.^[5]