Opinion: The king Warren Buffett is retiring. Long live Greg Abel, his Canadian successor [Video]

Chris Gay is a former Wall Street Journal staffer. He has also worked or written for U.S. News and World Report, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Forbes, Slate and others. He writes the newsletter Figure at Center and owns Berkshire Hathaway shares.

In the high-pressure realm of Hard Acts to Follow, Greg Abel, an unassuming Canadian, is now centre stage in the world of investing. Mr. Abel, a 62-year-old Edmonton native and University of Alberta grad, is set to become CEO of Berkshire Hathaway by the end of the year.

The company is, of course, arguably the best investment anyone could have made in the decades since Warren Buffett took control 60 years ago. And now Mr. Buffett, for whom the adjective “legendary” seems inadequate, is departing. He announced to stunned shareholders at the company’s widely watched annual meeting on Saturday that he would relinquish the position by year’s endand recommend as his successor Mr. Abel, his …