Berkshire Hathaway's retirement gift for CFO: 30 NetJets hours per year

By Alexandre Rajbhandari

 

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s outgoing Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg is getting an unusual perk for his retirement days: free flights on the conglomerate’s jets.

 

Hamburg will be granted as many as 30 hours of flights a year on mid-sized jets operated by Berkshire-owned NetJets Inc. through May 2037, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday. The benefit, which is transferable to Hamburg’s spouse if he dies before her, is estimated to cost Berkshire about $490,000 per year.

 

Hamburg is stepping down from the role in June and will be replaced by Charles Chang. Following a one-year transition period, Hamburg will retire after 40 years of service. In a statement announcing the change last December, Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett praised the executive’s integrity and judgment. 

 

 

“He has done more for this company than many of our shareholders will ever know,” Buffett wrote at the time. “His impact has been extraordinary.”

 

Berkshire is going through a major leadership transition after Buffett announced his intention to retire as chief executive officer last year. Greg Abel, who took the reins of the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate this year, has shaken up top management, adding a general counsel position for the first time in decades and parting ways with Hamburg and long-time stock picker Todd Combs, who left for a role at JPMorgan Chase & Co.  

 

Hamburg’s successor, who until now served as chief financial officer of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, will receive an $8 million cash salary in his new role, Berkshire said in the filing. That’s almost double the compensation Hamburg received in 2025.