Remember the Day — news feed beginning 2026-09-19

Warren Buffett became Berkshire Hathaway chairman emeritus on September 18 after 56 years as chair. He remains a director; Howard Buffett now chairs the board, while Greg Abel continues to run the company as CEO.

Buffett turned a struggling textile company into a conglomerate valued above $1 trillion. Insurance float supplied patient capital for acquisitions and investments, while Berkshire’s per-share market value compounded at 19.9% annually from 1965 through 2025, versus 10.4% for the S&P 500 with dividends.

The succession deliberately separates the roles Buffett once combined: Abel operates and allocates capital, Howard guards the culture, and Buffett remains an elder voice. Berkshire’s next test is whether patience, decentralization and trust can survive without their architect at the controls.

In a Berlin Altbau without an elevator, a parcel delivery becomes a practical question and a moral experiment: does delivery stop at the building entrance, or at the apartment door three floors above?

German consumer law protects actual handover and unauthorized abandonment is not proper delivery. But Amazon’s public German guidance does not clearly promise that every ordinary parcel will reach every upper-floor apartment door; the product, carrier and booked service matter.

For an ordinary parcel, the humane answer is cooperation rather than a staircase trial by combat. If you can easily meet the courier downstairs, do. If you cannot, explain that clearly and ask for handover at your door without apology.