Subject: WARREN BUFFETT WATCH
Berkshire filing provides glimpse of share buyback resumption

Berkshire Hathaway filed its definitive proxy statement with the SEC late this afternoon ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting on May 2 in Omaha.

It shows Berkshire bought back the equivalent of 309 Class A shares, roughly $226 million worth, on March 4, the day it resumed repurchases for the first time since May 2024. That's based on the number of outstanding shares as of March 4, the record date of the annual meeting, as shown in the proxy statement.

The company disclosed the resumption in a March 5 SEC filing "in the interest of transparency with our leadership transition" but provided no details. New CEO Greg Abel told CNBC last week there won't be any future buyback announcements, except for what's in its regular quarterly financial reports.

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Warren Buffett at the Berkshire Hathaway 2025 annual meeting in Omaha. Photo: CNBC

According to the proxy document, Warren Buffett's total annual compensation last year declined to $389,488 from $405,111 in 2024. That's a drop of close to 4%. It's entirely due to a reduction in the amount Berkshire paid for Buffett's personal and home security services. His salary each year was $100,000, as it has been for decades.

New CEO Greg Abel's salary last year was $22 million, up from $21 million the year before. Last week, Abel told CNBC he used his entire after-tax salary to personally buy $15.3 million of Berkshire Class A shares. He plans to continue to buy Berkshire stock with his salary for each year "as long as I'm CEO."

Abel's salary this year is $25 million.

Berkshire's insurance chief Ajit Jain's 2025 salary was also $22 million, up from $21 million in 2024.

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Shareholders attend the Berkshire Hathaway 2025 annual meeting in Omaha. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Shareholders are being asked to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to Berkshire's top executives. The board is also asking shareholders to endorse plans for another advisory vote on compensation three years from now.

The board is recommending a "no" vote on a shareholder proposal backed by Whistle Stop Capital calling for a report on Berkshire's "oversight framework for workforce and human-capital management across its operating subsidiaries" to address concerns the "company’s decentralized structure creates exposure to inconsistent approaches to human capital management."

The board argues "matters related to workforce and human-capital management are appropriately placed within the businesses’ oversight and discretion where decisions related to policies and practices may vary depending on geography and industry-specific concerns, risks, and opportunities."

 
Buffett drops to #9 on the Forbes list of the world's richest billionaires

Warren Buffett is the world's ninth wealthiest person according to Forbes, which released its annual ranking this week.

It puts his net worth at $149 billion as of March 10, down from $154 billion last year when he was in sixth place.

This year, Buffett trails Elon Musk ($839B), Larry Page ($257B), Sergey Brin ($237B), Jeff Bezos ($224B), Mark Zuckerberg ($222B), Larry Ellison ($190B), Bernard Arnault & family ($171B), and Jensen Huang ($154B).

Bloomberg's ranking has Buffett in the #11 position with $146 billion.

Since 2006, Buffett has donated Berkshire shares that would currently be valued at around $203 billion.

If he had held onto them, his net worth would be around $352 billion, which would make him the world's second richest person, behind Elon Musk.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has Buffett in the #4 spot of its ranking of the 50 biggest donors on 2025, which was also released this week.

Buffett donated $1.3 billion last year.

Michael Bloomberg is at the top of that list with donations of $4.3 billion, followed by Bill Gates ($3.7B), and the late Paul Allen ($3.1B)