Will Berkshire Hathaway Crash When Warren Leaves? (BRK.A, BRK.B)

Are

more important than the actual companies? We saw it today, with Apple

and

Apple shares were hit hard this morning, down some 5%. Shares are well off the lows as I had predicted earlier, but there are other companies that are susceptible to the "rockstar CEO" moniker, including Berkshire Hathaway

, with Warren Buffett. Buffett is hands down the greatest investor of our time, and has the track record to prove it. He's shown an ability to turn around companies, taking a fledgling textiles business and turning it into a powerful conglomerate. Berkshire is one of the strongest companies in the world, and is one of only a handful that has a AAA rating from S&P. His investing acumen is as strong as his ability to turn a company around. Just take a look at Berkshire Hathaway's

holdings. Coca-Cola

, Wells Fargo

and the stake in Johnson & Johnson

are worth billions more than what he paid for them. This is a man who made

after Procter & Gamble

bought Gillette during 2005. Despite his advanced age, 80, Buffett shows no signs of slowing down and has already started to plan his succession, naming Todd Combs as one person who will take over a part of the investment portfolio when Buffett leaves Berkshire. There will be a time when Buffett has to step down from Berkshire. We all do. He can't go on forever, and when he does leave, I would expect Berkshire Hathaway to suffer the same fate that Apple is having today. We also could potentially see a sharp downturn in the broader markets, as the equities Buffett holds may also drop, given the fact they are a large part of Berkshire's book value. Berkshire probably has a larger "CEO premium" than Apple does, so we could see a larger drop in the Omaha, Nebraska-based company than Apple is currently experiencing. This also factors into the larger drop in shares of Berkshire I expect to see than what Apple is currently experiencing. Berkshire has a strong bench of company CEO's, in addition to Charlie Munger who could take over some of Buffett's duties when he leaves Berkshire. I don't think however, that any one person could take over for Uncle Warren. He wears too many different hats. The "Wizard of Omaha" might be the only CEO in the world more synonymous with the health of his company than Jobs is at Apple. Ultimately, no one person is worth more than the company, and like Apple, I expect over time that shares of Berkshire Hathaway will recover and move past their highs once the dust is settled, and more news comes out over who will takeover what duties from Mr. Buffett. Disclosure: no position in names mentioned