After six decades as the moral compass of the business world, Warren Buffett has written his goodbye. His farewell letter is about luck, humility, and his life in general rather than financial advice or forecasts. It reads less like a corporate announcement and more like a final lesson from a teacher who has spent a lifetime studying both business and human nature.At ninety-five, Warren Buffett is finally stepping back. In his November letter, he announced he will no longer write Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report or lead the marathon Q&A sessions that defined his tenure, naming Greg Abel as the new chief executive. Instead of recounting accomplishments, Buffett used his farewell to reflect on life, luck, and purpose—moving from childhood memories in Omaha to lessons on time, character, and generosity. The message resonated because it felt personal; Buffett has always treated shareholders as partners, and this last letter carries the warmth of a genuine goodbye. It marks the end of an era for Berkshire—and for investors who long looked to him as a model.The Omaha StoryBuffett opens his letter not with Wall Street but with Omaha, the place he still calls home. He recalls his near-fatal appendicitis as a child in 1938, the Catholic nuns who cared for him, and the fingerprinting kit his aunt gave him to pass the time. Even then, curiosity was his driving force. Surprisingly enough, the first part of his letter talks more about others than himself. He remembers neighbours who later became icons, including Charlie Munger, his lifelong partner, Walter Scott, who brought MidAmerican Energy into Berkshire before becoming a “valued Berkshire director”, and Don Keough, the future president of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO). All of them grew up within a few blocks of one another. Omaha, he writes, was a small world that produced outsized friendships and values.To Buffett, geography mattered. Staying in Omaha kept him grounded and insulated from the noise of New York. It was a place where business remained personal, and trust was built face to face. He bought his first and only home there in 1958, two miles from where he grew up. Looking back, he insists that both Berkshire and his own life turned out better because they were rooted in Omaha. “Through dumb luck,” he writes, “I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth.” Few billionaires would phrase their life story that way, which is precisely why Buffett still feels relatable even at ninety-five.Passing the Torch: Greg Abel Steps InThe letter marks the official transition. Buffett confirms that Greg Abel, currently vice-chairman for non-insurance operations, will lead Berkshire Hathaway. “He is a great manager, a tireless worker, and an honest communicator,” Buffett says simply. For shareholders, those words carry as much meaning as a formal vote of confidence.Abel, a sixty-two-year-old Canadian who rose through Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has long been seen as Buffett’s heir apparent. For the record, Greg Abel also used to live within a few blocks of Warren Buffett’s place, without them ever meeting. Buffett explains that Abel understands both the potential and the risks of Berkshire’s diverse empire better than anyone else. He modestly claims that Abel has a “far better” understanding of many of Berkshire’s businesses and staff than himself. He adds that the company should only need five or six chief executives over the next century, provided it continues to choose leaders with character rather than ego and who, just like him, are not planning on retiring at 65.Buffett also addresses his own continuing role as a shareholder. He says he intends to keep a substantial block of A-shares “until Berkshire shareholders develop the comfort with Greg that Charlie and I long enjoyed.” He also offers a sober assessment of Berkshire’s future strengths and limitations. He explains that, that Berkshire’s resilience matters more than chasing hyper-growth, claiming it has “less chance of a devastating disaster than any business [he] know[s]”, but acknowledges that its sheer size naturally caps its growth and that shareholders should expect the stock to fall 50% from time to time without treating it as a sign of weakness.Source: Charlie BilelloAbel’s appointment closes a long chapter of speculation. For years, investors wondered who could possibly succeed a man whose identity was inseparable from the firm. Buffett answers that question by shifting the focus from personality to principle. What matters is not who follows him but how they think. And in that aspect, Abel has “more than met the high expectations [Buffett] had for him.”The Philanthropy BlueprintThe letter is also devoted to what happens next with Buffett’s fortune. On the day the letter was released, he converted over $1.3 billion worth of Berkshire A (NYSE:BRKa)-shares into Berkshire B-shares (NYSE:BRKb) and donated them to four family foundations: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation. Each is run by one of his three children or by teams they helped shape. These foundations give away more than five hundred million dollars a year.Buffett explains that at ninety-five, time itself has become the constraint. His children, Howard, Susie, and Peter, are now in their sixties and seventies. He wants them to have the energy and judgement to continue the family’s charitable work while he is still alive. Rather than waiting for a will to activate, he is handing them the tools now. “It would be a mistake to wager that all three will enjoy my exceptional luck in delayed ageing,” he writes.He also makes it clear that his children are free to chart their own course. He has no interest in “ruling from the grave.” Their goal, Buffett says, is not perfection but progress: doing somewhat better than what government or traditional philanthropy often achieve.The section reads like a tutorial in humility. Buffett admits he once considered grand philanthropic schemes but learned that the most effective giving often happens quietly. His children, he says, “do not need to perform miracles nor fear failures or disappointments.” They simply need to improve the world where they can. That line captures his entire philosophy: steady improvement over spectacle, purpose over performance.In contrast to many billionaires who establish foundations as monuments to their own name, Buffett’s model decentralises control. He trusts his family’s instincts and accepts that their approach may differ from his. What unites them is intent, not image. The decision also reinforces a deeper belief that wealth is a responsibility, not an inheritance. “Dynastic choices,” he warns, too often lead to waste and arrogance. His solution is to give early, distribute widely, and let the next generation learn by doing.Legacy and PhilosophyIn the final pages, Buffett turns inward. He writes that he owes his life to luck: to being born in the right place, at the right time, with health and opportunity. He calls “Lady Luck” wildly unfair, noting that many talented people never receive the same breaks. Acknowledging this imbalance, he says, should make us more compassionate, not complacent.He also writes candidly about ageing. His body slows, his eyesight fades, but he still goes to the office five days a week. “Father Time is undefeated” he says. Yet he feels content. What matters now is not the next deal but the legacy of behaviour. His advice is simple: learn from mistakes, choose your heroes carefully, and live the kind of life you would want written in your obituary. Greatness, he insists, is not measured in money, fame, or power. “Kindness is costless but also priceless.”He criticises how corporate pay transparency, introduced to shame excess, instead fuelled envy among executives. When salaries became public, competition replaced moderation. “Envy and greed walk hand in hand,” he writes. When reading Buffett’s critique towards the large salaries now paid to CEOs, one cannot help but think about Elon Musk’s recently announced pay package potentially worth $1 trillion if all performance goals are achieved. The observation sums up his career-long resistance to excess.The world’s most successful investor ends by telling readers to thank America for their opportunities, to recognise the role of chance, and to practise gratitude. He admits he has made many mistakes but says learning from friends and mentors has made him better. For Buffett, decency compounds just like capital. His letter closes not as a farewell to shareholders but as a guide to living well.Source: Berkshire HathawayConclusionWarren Buffett’s farewell marks the close of one of capitalism’s most extraordinary chapters. This letter was a final demonstration of humility, gratefulness, and wisdom. The numbers will move, the market will do what it does, and Berkshire will have its volatile stretches. But Warren Buffett’s lessons and legacy are here to stay.His parting message is both simple and enduring: “Choose your heroes carefully and emulate them.” It sounds like advice to investors, but it is really advice to everyone. His true wealth is not what he accumulated, but what he taught the world about how to use it well.