Berkshire’s Abel Commits Entire Salary to Purchasing Company Shares

Greg Abel Commits Entire Salary to Berkshire Hathaway Stock Purchases

Photo credit: Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) Greg Abel, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has pledged to invest all of his after-tax earnings into buying shares of the company for as long as he leads the firm.

This week, Abel acquired approximately $15.3 million worth of Berkshire stock, as disclosed in a recent regulatory document. He stated that his ongoing commitment—making similar purchases annually after the release of the company’s results—could total “hundreds of millions” in share acquisitions throughout his tenure.

Berkshire Hathaway resumed its share repurchase program on Wednesday. In a CNBC interview, Abel explained that the decision was made after leadership concluded that the stock’s “intrinsic value” exceeded its current market price.

Earlier in the week, Berkshire’s share price dropped following the release of its fourth-quarter financial results. The company reported a 30% decrease in operating profit, largely due to a 54% reduction in earnings from its insurance underwriting segment.

Investors have been closely examining the results for indications of Abel’s approach to buybacks, as the company had paused repurchases for six consecutive quarters. In his inaugural annual letter to shareholders last week, Abel reaffirmed Berkshire’s policy on shareholder returns, stating that dividends would not be considered unless each dollar of retained earnings was expected to generate more than one dollar in market value for shareholders.

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