Clearly One of the Great Questions of Our Time
Are Warren Buffett and Jimmy Buffett related?
By Geoffrey Colvin

The Oracle of Omaha and the Minstrel of Margaritaville do share a lot of similarities. Jimmy plays tropical guitar; Warren plays the ukulele. They've both cashed in on unlikely investments: Warren bet on furniture, insurance, and vacuum cleaners and is now worth $35 billion; Jimmy bet on the illusion of a colada-drenched beach bum and forged a multi-million-dollar brand with over 30 albums, eight movies, a clothing line, nightclubs, a record label, and three best-selling novels.

But: Are they related? It sure looks like they are. Warren's sister Doris, the family genealogist, has unearthed three possible ancestral links: John Buffett, a poor 17th-century pickle farmer from Long Island; a Newfoundland sailor; and Norfolk Island in the South Pacific, which is inhabited by hundreds of Buffetts but used to be a penal colony, so centuries of inbreeding have blurred family lines.

Despite the lack of absolute proof that they're related, Warren and Jimmy have become friends. While Jimmy insists "Uncle Warren" doesn't slip him any investing tips, the two have been known to break out in song. Warren jokes that "I think he's angling to get into my will. But the way things are going, I'd rather be in his."