For more than six decades, Warren Buffett’s annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders have been the closest thing to scripture in the investment world—revered, dissected, and quoted by professionals and amateurs alike. But in 2025, at age 95, the Oracle of Omaha has written his final Thanksgiving letter, closing a historic chapter in global finance. In what he describes as his “last long-form conversation” with shareholders, Buffett reflects on his life’s work, the evolution of Berkshire, and the principles that shaped one of the most extraordinary investing track records in history.
As he steps back from day-to-day leadership, his final message is part farewell, part philosophy, and part roadmap for the future. It is not a goodbye to Berkshire—Buffett insists he will remain available in an advisory role—but it is a decisive transition from the era defined by his voice, judgment, discipline, and homespun wisdom.
This concluding letter is more than a corporate document. It is a milestone in American business history, an emotional coda to a career built on patience, integrity, rationality, and compounding.
A Thanksgiving Tradition Comes to an End
Although Buffett’s most widely read letters come in February or March after Berkshire’s annual report, his Thanksgiving reflections have become a beloved staple: a moment of gratitude, perspective, and candid reassurance during uncertain economic times.
In 2025, however, the tone is unmistakably valedictory.
Buffett writes with characteristic modesty and clarity, but readers can sense the finality. He acknowledges his age, the natural cycle of leadership, and the importance of allowing the next generation—including CEO Greg Abel and vice chair Ajit Jain—to steer Berkshire through its next chapters.
In his final Thanksgiving letter, Buffett expresses:
- Gratitude to shareholders for “trusting me far longer than any one person deserves”
- Confidence in Berkshire’s successor leadership
- Pride in the conglomerate’s culture of integrity and autonomy
- Hope that future investors will continue to think independently
- Encouragement to embrace long-term thinking over short-term noise
For a man who has spent his life avoiding sentimentality in business, the tone is surprisingly warm, reflective, and personal.
Buffett Reflects on His Legacy: “We Built Something That Will Outlast Us All”
The 2025 letter includes some of Buffett’s most poignant reflections on his career. He emphasizes that Berkshire’s greatest achievement is not its market capitalization, nor its acquisitions, nor its compounding returns—impressive as those are—but something less tangible:
A corporate culture built on trust, discipline, and quiet excellence.
Buffett highlights three elements of Berkshire’s DNA:
1. Decentralization with Accountability
Berkshire’s 60+ subsidiaries operate independently, often without traditional corporate oversight. “We hire great people,” Buffett writes, “and then we get out of their way.”
2. Ethical Consistency
Maintaining a reputation for honesty was always more valuable to Buffett than posting a single extra penny of profit. “Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation, and I will be ruthless.”
3. Long-Term Focus
Buffett reminds readers that Berkshire’s success is built on decades—not quarters—and that “patience remains our last true competitive advantage.”
He also acknowledges Charlie Munger, calling him “the architect and editor of my best ideas,” a final tribute to the friend and partner who passed away in 2023.
A Farewell to Shareholders: Gratitude Without Grandiosity
True to form, Buffett avoids self-praise. He attributes Berkshire’s rise to:
- the managers who built its operating businesses
- the shareholders who remained loyal
- the American economic landscape
- and “a fair amount of luck, sprinkled generously across nine decades”
He stresses that Berkshire was always a partnership—never a one-man show—and that the firm’s resilience comes from structural design, not charismatic leadership.
“I was the conductor,” he writes, “but the orchestra made the music.”
The Future of Berkshire Hathaway: Stability in Transition
Buffett dedicates a substantial portion of the letter to reassuring shareholders about Berkshire’s next phase. He expresses full confidence in Greg Abel, long seen as his successor, praising his “rationality, temperament, and devotion to Berkshire’s principles.”
He offers several assurances:
- Berkshire’s decentralized operating model will remain intact
- Its culture will continue to prioritize transparency and integrity
- The company’s fortress-like balance sheet will preserve stability
- Capital allocation decisions will remain disciplined
- Share buybacks will continue when shares trade below intrinsic value
Buffett makes clear that succession is not a rupture—it is a continuation.
A Final Lesson: What Buffett Wants Investors to Remember
Buffett closes his final Thanksgiving message with an outline of the principles he hopes future generations of investors will carry forward:
1. Think independently
“Crowds are often wrong, and markets frequently overreact.”
2. Invest only in what you understand
“If a business requires a spreadsheet to understand, walk away.”
3. Avoid leverage
“Leverage is the weapon of people who think they’re smarter than math.”
4. Focus on the long term
“Compounding is slow, then unstoppable. But it requires solitude, patience, and trust in arithmetic.”
5. Never compromise integrity
“Money lost can be recovered. Reputation lost is gone forever.”
Buffett’s last lesson is not about the stock market but about life itself: “Find the people you admire most, and work only with them. The rest takes care of itself.”
The End of an Era—And the Enduring Power of Buffett’s Voice
For millions of investors around the world, Buffett’s annual letters have served as a guiding light—offering financial wisdom, philosophical depth, humor, humility, and clarity amid market chaos. They bridged the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, turning complex concepts into accessible truths.
His final Thanksgiving letter marks the end of a literary and financial tradition unmatched in business history. But it also marks something larger:
The passing of the torch from one of history’s greatest capital allocators to the next generation of leaders and thinkers.
Even as Buffett steps back, his influence will persist—in Berkshire’s structure, in the investment philosophies of countless institutions, and in the mindset of ordinary savers who learned to think long-term because of his teachings.
Buffett concludes his letter with a simple message:
“I have been extraordinarily lucky. Thank you for giving me a life richer than I ever deserved. Berkshire is in good hands. I leave with gratitude—and confidence in the future.”
With that, the Oracle of Omaha signs off for the last time, closing a chapter but leaving behind a legacy that will continue compounding long after he’s gone.
