In 2024, Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel received a base salary of $25 million, marking a substantial increase over Warren Buffett’s long-standing $100,000 annual paycheck. When stock awards and options are included, Abel’s total compensation package brings him above the S&P 500 median CEO pay of just over $16 million, though he still ranks below many of the top 100 highest-paid executives, most of whom exceed $25 million once noncash awards are factored in. Industry observers note that leading one of America’s ten largest public companies typically warrants compensation commensurate with such scale.

Warren Buffett famously capped his salary at $100,000 and redirected half of it back to Berkshire to cover personal expenses. Over decades, he amassed nearly $150 billion in personal wealth through massive gains on his Berkshire shares—gains that outstrip today’s CEO pay packages by orders of magnitude. Buffett has long advocated for performance-linked equity awards with annual strike price escalators tied to retained earnings, eschewing the standard flat-strike options that can reward executives simply for deferring dividends.

Jonathan Boyar, a portfolio manager at Boyar Value Group, acknowledges Abel’s $171 million personal stake in Berkshire as significant but urges the new CEO to increase his personal shareholding to align incentives more tightly with shareholders. Behavioral experts warn that exceptionally large paychecks can alter personal values over time, potentially eroding the founder-driven culture that has distinguished Berkshire. Observers expect that full alignment with peer practices will be gradual and may only accelerate once Buffett is no longer at the helm.