Warren Buffett Says 'Very Wealthy CEOs Hate When Others Get Even Richer' — Was It a Dig at Elon Musk As He Could Become World's 1st Trillionaire?

Warren Buffett doesn't sanction names. He seldom needs to.

In his latest Thanksgiving letter, the Berkshire Hathaway seat fto his thoughts roam from the accustomed concern contented to thing a spot much biting. Hidden betwixt reflections connected succession, responsibility, and compensation, 1 enactment caught readers disconnected guard: "Envy and greed locomotion manus successful hand." What triggered the buzz wasn't conscionable the phrasing—it was the context.

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Buffett's letter, which helium says volition present regenerate his longtime yearly shareholder code and gathering appearances, included commentary connected ballooning enforcement pay. "What often bothers precise affluent CEOs—they are human, aft all—is that different CEOs are getting adjacent richer," Buffett wrote. "The caller rules produced envy, not moderation… The ratcheting took connected a beingness of its own."

Naturally, readers began to speculate. With Elon Musk precocious securing support for a Tesla compensation bundle that could beryllium worthy up to $1 trillion if each targets are met, immoderate interpreted Buffett's words arsenic a subtle but wide critique. Buffett ne'er mentioned Musk directly, but erstwhile you're talking astir envy, greed, and runaway pay—and the richest antheral successful the satellite conscionable walked distant with committee support for a historical payout—it doesn't instrumentality overmuch for dots to get connected.

Especially fixed the history.

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The narration betwixt Buffett and Musk has been icy astatine best. Back successful 2018, during a Tesla net call, Musk dismissed Buffett's legendary concern conception of "economic moats"—referring to durable competitory advantages—as outdated. "First of all, I deliberation moats are lame," Musk said. "If your lone defence against invading armies is simply a moat, you volition not past long."

Buffett, ever dry-witted, responded astatine the adjacent Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting: "Certainly you should beryllium moving connected improving your ain moat and defending your ain moat each the time… I don't deliberation [Musk] would privation to instrumentality america connected successful candy," a notation to Buffett's See's Candies.

More recently, Musk has recounted a communicative connected X astir eating with Charlie Munger—Buffett's longtime partner—who allegedly told a array afloat of guests each the reasons Tesla would fail. Musk said helium responded with "I agreed with each those reasons & told him I would astir apt suffer everything," earlier concluding that Munger's remarks really inspired him.