Warren Buffett doesn’t name names. He rarely needs to.
In his latest Thanksgiving letter, the Berkshire Hathaway chair let his thoughts roam from the usual business wisdom to something a bit more biting. Hidden between reflections on succession, responsibility, and compensation, one line caught readers off guard: “Envy and greed walk hand in hand.” What triggered the buzz wasn’t just the phrasing—it was the context.
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Buffett’s letter, which he says will now replace his longtime annual shareholder address and meeting appearances, included commentary on ballooning executive pay. “What often bothers very wealthy CEOs—they are human, after all—is that other CEOs are getting even richer,” Buffett wrote. “The new rules produced envy, not moderation… The ratcheting took on a life of its own.”
Naturally, readers began to speculate. With Elon Musk recently securing approval for a Tesla compensation package that could be worth up to $1 trillion if all targets are met, some interpreted Buffett’s words as a subtle but clear critique. Buffett never mentioned Musk directly, but when you’re talking about envy, greed, and runaway pay—and the richest man in the world just walked away with board approval for a historic payout—it doesn’t take much for dots to get connected.
Especially given the history.
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The relationship between Buffett and Musk has been icy at best. Back in 2018, during a Tesla earnings call, Musk dismissed Buffett’s legendary investment concept of “economic moats”—referring to durable competitive advantages—as outdated. “First of all, I think moats are lame,” Musk said. “If your only defense against invading armies is a moat, you will not last long.”
Buffett, ever dry-witted, responded at the next Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting: “Certainly you should be working on improving your own moat and defending your own moat all the time… I don’t think [Musk] would want to take us on in candy,” a reference to Buffett’s See’s Candies.
More recently, Musk has recounted a story on X about dining with Charlie Munger—Buffett’s longtime partner—who allegedly told a table full of guests all the reasons Tesla would fail. Musk said he responded with “I agreed with all those reasons & told him I would probably lose everything,” before concluding that Munger’s remarks actually inspired him.
Despite the chilly moments, Buffett has called Musk “brilliant,” though he’s also clearly skeptical of the showmanship and mega-compensation that surrounds him.
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It’s worth noting that Buffett and Munger took a different road in the EV world. While they passed on Tesla, they made a long-standing bet on China’s BYD—an electric automaker they began investing in back in 2008. The investment turned into one of Berkshire’s biggest international wins.
As for Buffett himself, he’s the opposite of flashy. He still lives in the same Omaha house he bought in 1958. Musk, while wealthier on paper, lives in a $50,000 modular home near SpaceX HQ in Texas. Both men reject extravagance, yet they couldn’t be more different in how they talk, act, or treat legacy.
Buffett’s Thanksgiving letter didn’t offer investment tips or a stock pick. But it did deliver a few sharp reminders. CEO pay, he warned, can become a race of egos. And once that race starts, “the ratcheting takes on a life of its own.”
Whether that was meant for Musk or not, some readers think the timing says enough.
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This article 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? originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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