Tim Cook (left) and Warren Buffett at Apple Park — image credit: Apple
Apple’s Tim Cook has praised investor Warren Buffett, who has announced he’s stepping down from the firm he’s led for six decades.
Steve Jobs was famously dismissive of anyone who wasn’t a “product person,” and even included Tim Cook in that description. But both he and Cook have said that they learned business from a man who never made a single product, and instead became rich through investing in people who did.
There’s never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom. It’s been one of the great privileges of my life to know him. And there’s no question that Warren is leaving Berkshire in great hands with Greg. pic.twitter.com/7p5zXtq5hP
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 3, 2025
On Saturday, May 3, 2025, Buffett surprised the shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway company by saying he was stepping down as CEO. Not just surprised, either, as CNBC reports one shareholder saying he was “stunned.”
There’s an argument that the news came without any warning, but then Buffett is now 94, so come on. It’s also not as if he’s retiring — after 60 years running Berkshire Hathaway, he won’t be CEO, but he will stay on as chairman.
The company’s vice chairman Greg Abel is to take over as both CEO and president from 2026. Like the pro he is, Tim Cook used his tweet paying tribute to Buffett, to also praise Abel.
Buffett has been repeatedly selling off Berkshire Hathaway’s stock in Apple, although he once said a particular round of sales had been “probably a mistake.”
He has also consistently praised both Apple and in particular Tim Cook, who he describes as a “fantastic manager.”
Reportedly, stocks in in the $1.2 trillion Berkshire Hathway fell by 2% after the announcement.
