Bill Gates Score! Pocketing Director Fees at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.b)

From Deal Journal:

Reading the proxy from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRKB -0.66% is always good for a chuckle.

There’s something almost silly in the fact that Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, earns a salary of $100,000 at Berkshire—and then cuts a check for $50,000 to reimburse Berkshire for “minor items such as postage or phone calls that are personal.”

But no number is sillier than the $1,800 that board member Bill Gates was paid for his service to Berkshire last year.

The average board fees for companies in the S&P500 was around $241,000 in 2011, according to executive compensation experts at Equilar. So the fees paid by Berkshire are low no matter who’s cashing the check. But with Gates, $1,800 is especially small.

Forbes earlier this month estimated the Microsoft co-founder was worth $67 billion. That means his fees from Berkshire amount to 0.000003% of his net worth.....MORE