When buying Forest River, Warren Buffett asked Pete Liegl what his compensation should be and said he would accept whatever Liegl named.

Factual claim about Buffett's own conduct when Berkshire bought Forest River (2005). True: Berkshire records (shareholder letters, such as the 2005 letter or the 2025 letter) or accounts by Pete Liegl confirm that Buffett asked Liegl to name his own pay and committed in advance to accept it. Mostly true: the exchange is confirmed but a minor detail differs (for example its exact timing relative to the deal). Mixed: Buffett asked Liegl about pay, but the advance promise to accept whatever he named is not supported. Mostly false: the account is confirmed only in a materially different form (for example pay was negotiated). False: Liegl or other records directly contradict it.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 How Pete Liegl Named his Own Salary with Warren Buffett RV Business (RVBusiness), reprinting an excerpt of a Benzinga report by Jeanine Mancini · 28 January 2026

   “"I asked Pete what his compensation should be, adding that whatever he said, I would accept," Buffett wrote.”

2. E2 How Pete Liegl Named his Own Salary with Warren Buffett RV Business (RVBusiness), reprinting an excerpt of a Benzinga report by Jeanine Mancini · 28 January 2026

   “When the topic of salary came up, Buffett asked Liegl what he wanted to be paid and told him that whatever number he gave, he’d accept it.”

3. E3 How Pete Liegl Named his Own Salary with Warren Buffett RV Business (RVBusiness), reprinting an excerpt of a Benzinga report by Jeanine Mancini · 28 January 2026

   “Liegl didn’t ask for millions. Instead, he requested $100,000 per year—the same salary Buffett took as Berkshire’s CEO for decades. Then he added a 10% bonus on profits above the current run rate.”

4. E4 How Pete Liegl Named his Own Salary with Warren Buffett RV Business (RVBusiness), reprinting an excerpt of a Benzinga report by Jeanine Mancini · 28 January 2026

   “In his 2024 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett shared the story of Pete Liegl”

E1, an RVBusiness reprint of a Benzinga report, quotes Buffett's letter to Berkshire shareholders: "I asked Pete what his compensation should be, adding that whatever he said, I would accept." E4 identifies the letter as the 2024 one, which is the kind of Berkshire record the criteria accept. E2 says Buffett asked Liegl what he wanted to be paid and told him he would accept whatever number he gave, and E3 says Liegl asked for $100,000 a year plus a 10% bonus on profits above the current run rate. The account comes from Buffett's own letter, relayed by an independent outlet, and none of the evidence contradicts it.