In an interview with 60 Minutes that will air this Sunday, Warren Buffett announces his choice of son Howard – or "Howie", as he's known in the family – as his successor at Berkshire Hathaway.

The elder Buffett tells interviewer Leslie Stahl that his son will serve as a "guardian" of the company's "values" rather than a CEO, as long as the company's board approves. When America's second richest person Buffett Sr. dies, 56-year-old Howard will be "non-executive chairman", an unpaid position.

Howie won't direct strategy at the multi-billion-dollar investment firm, and he'll keep his day job as a corn and soybean farmer. (His own son Howard W. Buffett is also a farmer, and one of Forbes' Names You Need To Know for 2011.)

"You worry that somebody will be in charge of Berkshire that uses it as their own sandbox in some way," Buffett explains to Stahl in Sunday's interview.

"That changes the way that decisions are made in reference to the shareholders. The odds of that happening are very, very, very low, but having Howie there adds just one extra layer of protection."

For his part, Howie doesn't think he'll be called upon to take over any time soon. "He won't leave until he's buried in the ground," he says of his dad, who is healthy at age 81.

Berkshire Hathaway's stock price has remained largely unchanged in the hours since the announcement, possibly due to the non-executive nature of Howie's future role. Shares in the Omaha, Nebraska firm trade at over $100,000 apiece.

在于上周日播出的《60分钟》访谈栏目中，沃伦?巴菲特宣布，他已选定儿子霍华德成为自己在伯克希尔?哈撒韦公司中的继承人。霍华德在家族中被称为“Howie”。

老巴菲特告诉采访者莱斯利?斯塔尔，只要董事会批准，霍华德今后就将成为公司“价值”的“守护者”，而不是首席执行官。将来美国第二富豪巴菲特去世后，现年56岁的霍华德将出任“非执行总裁”一职，但没有薪水。

霍华德不会参与这家资产数十亿美元的投资公司的战略决策，并且他平常仍然是种植大豆和玉米的农场主。（霍华德的儿子霍华德?W?巴菲特也在“务农”，他还上榜《福布斯》2011年度值得关注人物）。

沃伦?巴菲特向采访者斯塔尔解释说：“大家会担心掌管伯克希尔?哈撒韦公司的人会以某种方式为他们自己牟利。”

“这会影响那些和股东利益相关的决策。发生这种情况的几率非常，非常，非常低，但是有霍华德在，就又增加了一层保险。”

对霍华德来说，他不觉得自己会很快走马上任。他说：“他会一直干到入土。”沃伦?巴菲特今年81岁，还非常健康。

巴菲特宣布这一决定后，伯克希尔?哈撒韦公司的股价一直保持平稳，这很可能是由于霍华德未来角色的“非执行”性质。目前这家位于内布拉斯加州奥马哈市的公司股价超过10万美元。