Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Greatest Investor

Chapter . About Family

Don’t Spoil Your Kids

First of all a clarification—Warren Buffett and musician Jimmy Buffett of “Margaritaville” fame probably are not related. If there is a kinship, it’s buried so deep in the bloodline that nobody can find it. But there is one connection—Jimmy is a Berkshire investor.

One of the great transformations in Buffett’s life over the past decade has occurred within his family. His wife, Susie, was battling mouth cancer when she suddenly died of a stroke. Two years later, Warren and his companion, Astrid Menks, were married. And in a seemingly natural way, each of his children has progressively defined and strengthened her or his own role in the world. There now is a clearer picture of how the Buffett offspring conduct themselves, considering that they are surely among the most privileged people on earth.

While the younger Buffetts cannot be accurately described in simple terms, I will try. Suzie tends to keep the Nebraska home fires burning; Howard is the fiscally conservative international environmentalist and Berkshire heir apparent; and Peter is the musical, creative dreamer.

Munger explains Buffett’s attitude regarding family: “Warren is just as tough on his children as he is on his employees. He doesn’t believe that if you love somebody the way to do him good is to give him something he’s not entitled to. And that’s part of the Buffett personality.”^[1]

“Our kids are great. But I would argue that when your kids have all the advantages anyway, in ...