As Greg Abel takes over as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway from Warren Buffett on January 1, 2026, investors are revisiting the quiet architect of Berkshire Hathaway’s financial power: Ajit Jain. Buffett once called him his “Gold Strike,” while Charlie Munger dubbed him an “Idea Factory.”
Born in Odisha in 1951, Ajit Jain graduated from IIT Kharagpur before starting his career at IBM in India.
After IBM exited the country, Jain moved to the U.S., earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and worked at McKinsey & Co..
In 1986, despite having no insurance background, he joined Berkshire to run its struggling reinsurance unit.
Ajit Jain transformed it into the engine that built Berkshire’s famed “float”—premiums collected upfront and invested over decades.
That float has grown to nearly $174 billion, generating billions annually, especially in today’s higher interest-rate environment.
Buffett famously told shareholders that if only one person could be saved in a sinking boat, it should be Ajit Jain.
Now vice chairman of insurance operations, Jain partners with Abel, who oversees non-insurance businesses.
Beyond the boardroom, Jain’s philanthropy through the Jain Foundation reflects the same discipline he brought to underwriting.
From Odisha to Omaha, his story underscores how intellectual rigor can quietly power one of the world’s greatest financial empires.
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