Tycoon's paltry pay packet

Warren Buffett was awarded total compensation of about US$519,490 ($740,858) in 2009 to run Berkshire Hathaway, a 6 per cent increase mainly reflecting the higher cost of keeping the world's third-richest person safe.

According to Berkshire's proxy filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett's salary was US$100,000, as it has been for more than 25 years.

In September 2007, a man carrying a fake gun and wearing dark camouflage paint on his face tried to break into Buffett's ungated home in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett was home at the time. A security guard disarmed the man.

Buffett's compensation is among the lowest of any major US corporate chief executive. His net worth however is about US$47 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

- NZPA