Warren Buffett Awards Wall Street-Sized Pay Praised by Jamie Dimon

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett, who has said banker greed helped deepen the U.S. financial crisis, attracts the workers he wants with compensation that competes with Wall Street awards.

Berkshire gave $17.4 million in 2011 compensation to Thomas P. Nerney, CEO of its United States Liability Insurance Group; $12.4 million to Geico Corp. CEO Tony Nicely and the National Indemnity Co. unit gave $9.26 million to Ajit Jain, according to filings to state regulators. Berkshire, which is set to send its annual-meeting notice to shareholders today, said in last year’s proxy that Buffett’s salary remains $100,000 at his request.

Buffett, whose office in Omaha, Nebraska, is more than 1,000 miles from New York’s financial center, endeared himself to bank critics last year by decrying income inequality and calling for higher taxes on the wealthy. Still, his pay practices won praise from JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, who said last month he would bet the top 20 or 30 people at Berkshire make more than the biggest earners at his bank.

“Whether it’s Warren Buffett or Jamie Dimon, they all pay a lot,” said Charles Elson, director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Corporate Governance. “Pay is out of control everywhere.” .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-16/buffett-awards-wall-street-sized-pay-praised-by-dimon.html

[Snake Alchemist]

1. Does this surprise anyone? nt

[Brickbat]

2. Good pay attracting good workers is only for the select few.

The rest of us? We're greedy, jealous, trying to get something for nothing and ignorant of how harrrrrd those at the top work.

[denverbill]

3. Did any of these guys run federally insured institutions into bankruptcy and take bailouts?

All the while pocketing enormous bonus checks and foreclosing on people after they themselves were bailed out?

No.

I don't object to someone making $20 million/year. I object to them gambling with MY money.

[Snake Alchemist]

4. The stock market is the epitome of gambling and speculation. nt

[denverbill]

5. Maybe but none of these guys do anything related to the stock market.

They run insurance companies.

[girl gone mad]

6. Buffett was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the bailouts.

Buffett's portfolio was heavily dependent on the government's decision to save the financial industry. At the time of the crisis and today, the Berkshire portfolio includes a number of financial firms. As the industry stood on the brink of collapse, holdings such as Wells Fargo, US Bancorp and American Express were seriously threatened.

Also, it is difficult to forget Buffett's bet on Goldman Sachs. Like other financial institutions, Goldman was on the verge of collapse as Buffett was stepping in. Thanks to government intervention and the shuttering of competitors, the company was able to survive and grow, earning the crown as King of Wall Street.

Buffett's first rule for investing is "don't lose money" and in the event that the financial industry was allowed to crumble, Buffett's company would have likely suffered a massive loss. Instead, as a result of the government's decision to step in, Buffett was able to pocket billions.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10925563/2/how-us-bailout-benefited-buffett.html

[denverbill]

7. I guess by that logic I was a beneficiary of the bail-out too, since I own mutual funds.

I'm quite sure some of those funds owned shares in banks and mutual funds.

He wasn't the one running those banks and as far as I know, he wasn't the one running to the government begging for a bailout, and he didn't award those CEO's bonuses for their failures. The bank stocks were a small fraction of Berkshire's total investments.

Bashing Buffett over the bailouts seems kind of a cheap shot to me. He's one of the most vocal proponents of progressive taxation in America. That's why Republickers hate him.