Howard Buffett, the farmer who will guard his father’s business empire

Warren Buffett outlined nearly 15 years ago the reasons why his son Howard would, when the time came, serve as the “guardian” of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. He said then that “having Howie adds an extra layer of protection” to the decisions of the empire, currently valued at $1.1 trillion.

The passing of the baton was completed last Friday. Buffett, 96, handed the chairmanship of Berkshire Hathaway to his eldest son. Now Howard Buffett has the task of preserving the values and culture that the so-called ‘Oracle of Omaha’ instilled in the group, which includes the insurance giant Geico, railroads and clothing firms, as well as a respected investment portfolio.

As a nonexecutive chairman, “Howie,” 71, will act as a guardian of the empire his father built. Investment management will continue to be led by Greg Abel, a key figure with more than 25 years at the company who took over as chief executive in January from the legendary Buffett. In a letter to shareholders sent this Friday, Buffett praised Abel and explained that his extraordinary performance led him to complete the transition process.

“The timing is right to complete the transition [...] My son Howard will succeed me as chairman. Howard has been a Berkshire Director for 33 years. That is a longer apprenticeship than I served before taking the reins at the age of 34. Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet. Think of Howard as a policy the shareholders own and hope never to claim against,” Buffett wrote.

Although Howard Buffett is a familiar face at Berkshire Hathaway, his path diverged in many directions while his father was building what analysts consider one of the largest companies in the United States.

He served as sheriff of Macon County, Illinois; sat on the boards of companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, Coca-Cola and ConAgra Foods; was a corn and commodity farmer; a philanthropist; and even a photographer and executive producer of Academy Award–nominated documentaries, according to the website of his foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

In his philanthropic projects, for example, he has delved into the causes of migration from the countries of the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America — Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — and has provided humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

From Illinois cornfields to agricultural projects in El Salvador

A 2011 60 Minutes report, produced when his father announced that he would one day succeed him as company chairman, helps show those very different facets. He is seen on a tractor harvesting corn on his farm in the small town of Pana, Illinois. He also appears with a camera in hand on trips to promote agricultural projects in places as distant as Ethiopia and El Salvador.

In the interview he shared an anecdote that illustrates how unaware he and his sister Susan were of the gigantic company their father was slowly building. “We knew he was a securities analyst and had no idea what that meant,” he said.

“When my sister was asked at school what her father did, she said he was a security guard, and that’s what we thought he did for a long time — we didn’t know the difference,” he added with a laugh.

Over the years Howard Buffett dropped out of three universities. But that, far from angering his father, became an episode that reflects the trust Warren always had in his son. “He was simply trying to find his own path,” Warren Buffett replied when asked if it had worried him. “It really made no difference to me whether he found a university or not,” he added.

A mixed reception from analysts

Warren Buffett was stricter when, over time, he bought land from his son and required him to pay rent for it. “I don’t think [giving him the farm] would have been the right way to raise my son. I don’t think he had the right to be given one simply because his last name was Buffett.”

On those farms, Howard found what he could not in his university years — something he said he does not expect to abandon now that he is chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

His appointment to the post received a mixed reception from analysts. Some view him as a kind of safeguard for a business that had more than $360 billion in cash to invest as of June 30. Others see him as lacking the experience that comes from being involved in the day-to-day operations of a business of such scale.

His father, however, is clear about the reason behind the move. What he wrote in the letter to shareholders is something he has considered for years. “He knows a lot about the business, in the sense of its values. He may not know what sort of insurance policy we are signing today (...) but he knows the values,” he insisted when asked about this specifically in 2011.

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