Berkshire Hathaway raises new CEO Abel's salary to $25 million

By Jonathan Stempel

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N said on Tuesday it raised the salary of new Chief Executive Greg Abel to $25 million, far exceeding the $100,000 annual salary that his predecessor Warren Buffett accepted for more than four decades.

Abel, 63, became chief executive on January 1, after spending eight years as vice chairman overseeing Berkshire's non-insurance businesses.

His compensation was set by Buffett during that period, and included a $21 million salary in 2024, a $20 million salary in 2023, and a $16 million salary plus a $3 million bonus in 2022.

Buffett awarded Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, who oversees Berkshire's insurance businesses, the same amounts from 2022 to 2024. Abel's and Jain's compensation for 2025 has not been disclosed.

Buffett, 95, ran Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire for more than 60 years.

He built it into a more than $1 trillion conglomerate with nearly 200 businesses including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad and an array of other insurance, energy, manufacturing and retail operations.

Buffett remains Berkshire's chairman and one of the world's richest people. During his leadership, Berkshire had said in regulatory filings that its executive compensation program was "different" from that at most public companies.

Abel also owns about $171 million of Berkshire stock, and in 2022 sold his 1% stake in the Berkshire Hathaway Energy business to Berkshire for $870 million.