Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire chairman, replaced by his son Howard

Warren Buffett stepped down on Friday as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), opens new tab, ending more than six decades building ​the conglomerate and making himself perhaps the world's most revered investor.

Buffett, 96, was named chairman emeritus, with his oldest son Howard Buffett, 71, a director since 1993, becoming non-executive ‌chairman.

The change came nearly nine months after Buffett stepped down as chief executive officer, handing the reins to longtime lieutenant Greg Abel. Warren Buffett remains a director.

Known as the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett transformed Berkshire from a failing New England textile company into a $1.1 trillion conglomerate. He promoted a value-oriented investment philosophy that influenced generations of investors and executives, with a folksiness that made him understandable and endeared him to people around the world.

"Father Time always wins. He has, however, been ​generous with me," Buffett said in a letter to shareholders. "Sixty-plus years in, I still have the best job in the world. That is not something many people my age can say, and ​I have never felt better about what comes next."

Berkshire's empire includes GEICO car insurance, the BNSF railroad, a slew of energy, industrial and retail businesses, Dairy ⁠Queen ice cream, and grizzled brands such as Ginsu knives and the World Book Encyclopedia.

It also owns hundreds of billions of dollars of stocks such as Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, American Express (AXP.N), opens new tab, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Coca-Cola (KO.N), opens new tab. ​Berkshire is an outlier in a club of trillion-dollar companies dominated by technology giants.

Shares of Berkshire rose 0.4% in afternoon trading.

Buffett's move was the latest step in a years-long leadership transition, and his reduced role was ​not a surprise.

The billionaire did not provide new details about his health, but said he recently saw his 1-year-old great-grandson, who was "moving a bit faster" than he could.