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Buffett's Berkshire Gives Wall Street-Sized Payouts: Hot Trends

Written by: Brittany Umar 03/16/12 - 9:20 AM EDT
Tickers in this article: MCD BRK.A AAPL

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet Friday include Warren Buffett as reports indicate the billionaire investor, who has taken a public stance against banker greed, pays employees compensation competitive with Wall Street awards.

In 2011, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway(BRK-A) allotted $17.4 million in compensation to Thomas Nerney, CEO of its United States Insurance Group; $12.4 million to Geico CEO Tony Nicely and the National Indemnity Co. paid $9.26 million to Ajit Jain, who heads several reinsurance businesses. Buffett, whose office is in Omaha, Neb., continues to maintain a salary of $100,000.

Buffett has been outspoken in addressing banker greed and has called for watchdogs over banking conduct as well as higher taxes on the wealthy and increased efforts to narrow the wide gap between the nation's richest Americans and the rest of society. He has admitted to paying out large bonuses in the past, saying he is willing to pay talent accordingly.

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McDonald's(MCD) is trending as Chinese state television has accused the chain of selling expired chicken products.

China Central Television accused a Beijing McDonald's of selling chicken products 90 minutes after being cooked, despite company rules indicating that chicken cannot be sold more than 30 minutes afterwards. McDonald's released a public apology and said it is currently investigating the report. Food safety is an ongoing issue in China, which has seen various scandals in the food industry.

China Central Television also accused French retailer Carrefour of selling expired chicken products.

Steve Wozniak is another popular search as the Apple(AAPL) co-founder waited in line in Los Angeles for the new third-generation iPad being released Friday.

Wozniak was seen at the Westfield Mall in Century City, Calif. He said his wife was first in line to get the new device, while he was second. Wozniak reportedly acknowledged that he doesn't have to wait in line for his new iPad, but told a reporter from What's Trending that he'd "rather be genuine, like the real people."