In Search of Warren Wisdom, Part 2

Editor's Note: In Part 1, columnist Jeff Bronchick explores investing legend Warren Buffett's aversion to technology. Here, he examines Buffett's thinking on excessive compensation and the ability to do preferential deals.

Excessive Executive Compensation

Buffett and the crowd spent some time discussing the question of excessive executive compensation -- one of Buffett's longtime pet peeves. Asked one questioner: "If you sit on the board of Coke (KO Quote) and Gillette (G Quote) and are so against the policy of carte-blanche executive option grants, then why did ex-Coke CEO Douglas Ivester get the severance package of a lifetime? And why are Coke and Gillette as bad an abuser of the practice as anyone else?"

After fumbling around a bit, Buffett basically concluded with, "I didn't sit on the audit committee. I am never asked to sit on the audit committee because of my well-known views on the subject; and if you belch too much at the dinner table, you're not invited back." ...