Peter Buffett says he only realised his father’s wealth in his 20s, despite Warren Buffett’s global fame

Peter Buffett, the youngest son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, has said he only became aware of his father’s immense wealth in his early adulthood, a discovery that came as a surprise even to him.

In a 2013 interview with Forbes, Peter recalled that he and his mother first realised the full extent of Warren Buffett’s status when they saw his name on Forbes’ list of the richest Americans. “I’m not kidding. It was when I was in my 20s that my mom and I talked at some point, because there he was, on this list,” Peter said. “And we laughed about it, because we said, ‘Well, isn’t it funny? You know, we know who we are, but everybody’s treating us differently now.’”

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Now 67, Peter is the youngest of Warren Buffett’s three children from his first marriage to Susan Alice Buffett. Over the years, Peter has forged a career far removed from his father’s financial legacy. He has gained recognition as a musician and composer, won a regional Emmy Award, become a New York Times bestselling author, and served as co-chair of the NoVo Foundation, a philanthropic organisation.

Despite the attention that followed his father’s growing public profile, Peter said the revelation did not fundamentally change how the family lived or how he viewed his upbringing. He said their lifestyle was not built around wealth, and their social circle remained unchanged. “It was a fascinating switch, although not a huge one because we didn’t live in that world or a cultural framework where there was a lot of wealth being shown,” he said. “Our friends were as surprised as I was.”

Warren Buffett has echoed his son’s view, noting that his children had already developed their own identities before realising the scale of his fortune. “The kids were formed by that time, and they knew who their friends were, and their friends were their friends because they liked ’em, and not because they were the rich kid on the block or anything of the sort,” he said.

Warren Buffett’s wealth has long been a subject of public fascination. The former Berkshire Hathaway CEO once became the world’s richest person in 2008, with a net worth of around $62 billion, overtaking Bill Gates. Today, he remains among the world’s wealthiest individuals, with an estimated net worth of about $145 billion, placing him in the top 10 globally.

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However, Buffett has consistently rejected extravagant displays of wealth. The 95-year-old is known for his frugal lifestyle, choosing simple habits like eating McDonald’s, driving an older car, and living in the same Nebraska home he purchased in 1958 for $31,500.

In his final shareholder letter for Berkshire Hathaway in November, Buffett wrote that money alone does not define success. “Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government,” he said. Instead, he has stressed the importance of kindness and philanthropy. “When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world,” he wrote. “Kindness is costless but also priceless.”