OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett said Tuesday he has been diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer.
“The good news is that I’ve been told by my doctors that my condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way,” Buffett said in a statement. “These tests showed no incidence of cancer elsewhere in my body.”
“My doctors and I have decided on a two-month treatment of daily radiation to begin in mid-July. This regimen will restrict my travel during that period, but will not otherwise change my daily routine,” he added.
Buffett said he received the diagnosis last Wednesday after tests suggested he may have the disease.
“I will let shareholders know immediately should my health situation change,” said Buffett. “Eventually, of course, it will; but I believe that day is a long way off.”
The 81-year-old magnate said in February that he has already selected his successor as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, but has not yet notified that person.
Worth an estimated $44 billion, Buffett was ranked as the third by Forbes magazine in its most recent annual listing of world’s richest people.
Buffett, often called the “Oracle of Omaha” for his success as an investor and businessman, has made headlines recently, after a law bearing his name was pushed by President Barack Obama.
The law, which proposed to increase the tax rate on Americans who earn more than $1 million annually, was shot down Monday in a Senate procedural vote.