Berkshire Hathaway has officially put an end to one of America’s most famous pay traditions, eliminating the $100,000 annual salary paid to Warren Buffett for more than four decades.
Greg Abel, who took over as chief executive on Jan. 1, will receive an annual pay package of $25 million, a significant break from the frugal compensation model that long characterized the Omaha-based investment giant.
Abel, 63, was already one of Berkshire’s highest-paid executives before taking the top job. In 2024, he earned $21 million while overseeing the group’s non-insurance operations as vice chairman. His new salary reflects both his expanded responsibilities and a more conventional approach to executive compensation at the world’s most closely watched corporation.
Buffett, now 95, remains chairman of Berkshire and remains one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of around $150 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He built Berkshire over more than 60 years into a sprawling empire worth more than $1 trillion, spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing and retail, and including brands such as Geico and BNSF Railway.
Unlike most business leaders, Buffett’s wealth comes predominantly from his equity investments rather than his salary. According to his most recent shareholder letter, Berkshire has averaged nearly 20 percent annual market value gain since 1965, and Buffett still owns more than a third of the company’s Class A shares.
Abel is also heavily invested in the business. He owns approximately $171 million in Berkshire shares and sold his 1 percent stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy back to the group in 2022 for $870 million, further cementing his long-term relationship with shareholders.
Buffett has long been vocal about executive compensation, repeatedly warning against what he calls “irrational” compensation systems. Although he said he doesn’t mind paying generously for outstanding performance, he was critical of pay structures that reward mediocrity or encourage managerial envy.
At Berkshire’s annual meeting in 2017, Buffett said he hoped his successor would already be wealthy and would be motivated by a sense of responsibility rather than the pursuit of ever-higher wages. He also criticized mandatory disclosures comparing CEO salaries with those of average workers, arguing that they often fuel upward pressure on pay rather than restraint.
The move to a $25 million salary for Abel marks a symbolic shift for Berkshire as the company enters a new era – one that balances its unique culture with the realities of succession at one of the world’s most valuable companies.
