OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett plans to attend, but not take questions, at next year’s Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting — a big change following his recent surprise retirement announcement.

Buffett’s handpicked successor, Greg Abel, told the Omaha World-Herald that Berkshire plans a shareholder meeting for the first weekend of May that will have a question-and-answer session. But Buffett, who will remain as Berkshire’s chairman, plans to sit with the conglomerate’s board of directors and not be on stage taking questions.

The annual meeting attracts some 40,000 people to Omaha, and the marathon Q&A sessions held by Buffett, 94, have been a major draw. — Associated Press