Meet the next Warren Buffett. His name is Greg Abel.

The folksy business builder wowed his mentor to win the most closely watched succession race in corporate America. But can anyone really replace Warren?

- SHAWN TULLY

"WARREN, WHO'S YOUR HEIR AS CEO?" That question had become perhaps the most oft-asked and never-answered query in corporate history, tossed to Berkshire Hathaway's legendary chairs year after year during the onstage Q&A at the annual meeting hosted by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. The duo's regular response - the board has anointed a successor, but we're not saying who it is-was as much a staple of the weekend as the 5K footrace and the See's Candies coconut bonbons dipping display.

But at midafternoon May 1, 2021 (the meeting was held virtually during COVID), came the ultimate "wow" moment, a famous slip of the tongue by then 97-year-old Munger, who responded to a question about the company culture going forward by answering, "Greg will keep the culture."

Munger's stumble put to rest the most closely watched and longest-running CEO succession mystery ever. Berkshire investors and followers instantly recognized "Greg" as Greg Abel. In a CNBC interview two days later, Buffett confirmed that Abel will take charge when Buffett finally ends his reign, which began in 1970, when anti-Vietnam War protests rocked college campuses early in the Nixon presidency and Elvis was still topping the charts. The revelation was a crucial guidepost for charting Berkshire's future course.