Associated Press
NEW YORK–The world's second-richest man, Warren Buffett, wasn't even the highest paid employee at Berkshire Hathaway's 19-person headquarters again last year.
Buffett, chair and chief executive of the Omaha, Neb.-based company, received a total of $175,000 (U.S.) in compensation in 2008, the same amount he received a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing made yesterday.
Berkshire's chief financial officer, Marc Hamburg, earned the highest-paid distinction at company headquarters.
Buffett's base salary remained at $100,000, the level it's been for more than 25 years. He picked up an additional $75,000 for director's fees from some outside companies in which Berkshire has significant investments. That pay did not change from 2007, either.
Buffett, one of the most successful investors in history, has been an outspoken critic of lavish executive compensation packages at other companies. In keeping with that philosophy, his own company doesn't award large pay packages or give out perks or stock options.
While Buffett's pay remained unchanged, his net worth tumbled and he fell from his perch as the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine.
Forbes valued Buffett's net worth at $37 billion, $25 billion less than a year earlier, when the magazine estimated he was worth $62 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway's profit slid as well in 2008. For the full year, Berkshire's net income fell to $4.99 billion, from $13.21 billion in 2007.
Berkshire owns more than 60 companies, including insurance, furniture, jewellery, and utilities.
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