During the question and answer session of the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting one from the audience asked about fuller disclosure of compensation of more than the top executives as required by the SEC.  Since there were so many managers getting top pay should this not be disclosed to the shareholders as well?

Buffet and Munger were in ready agreement that too many details on compensation should not be disclosed.  In their vast experience owning and actively involved on the boards of nearly a hundred companies such disclosure was not in the best interest of the shareholders.

Why?

Because the net effect was to ratchet up the pay. Rarely did an executive read about the high compensation of another executive and deem himself to be worth less.  As Munger so characteristically briefly noted, he saw no benefit in feeding the culture of envy that infects so many executive suites, including those owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

Few would think that less disclosure is better, but few have the wisdom and experience of Buffett and Munger.

Their pay, for the record, is $100,000 a year.  Each.

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