Still in the spirit of Father’s Day, I bring you an insightful and rare interview from my transcribed video library with Warren Buffett’s youngest son. This interview shares priceless lessons that fathers and parents, in general, can learn from the life of the great Warren Buffett.

It is important to note that Warren Buffett’s family life is far from perfect—just as I am not aware of any single person whose life or family is. Yet, the lessons shared here outweigh the imperfections in his family life and do not impugn his role as a father. I believe that, in most instances, a person’s legacy is best discussed by those who are closest to them, as they know them best. Typically, these are their nuclear family members, particularly their children, whether biological, adopted, or fostered, if they choose to build a family. 

However, I am aware that some people, by choice, decide not to have  nuclear family. In this context, as I discuss the legacy of a father, notable figures like Odia Ofeimun, a renowned literary giant and former private (political) secretary to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Bill Maher come to mind. These men, and others like them, are great and are by no means of less relevance and significance than those who chose to build a nuclear family. In fact, I dare say that it is better to abstain from being a father or parent than to make a nuisance of the demanding status and onerous roles and responsibilities of fatherhood or parenting.

Back to my discussion today, KKE TV, known as Omaha’s news leader, recently granted an interview to Peter Buffet.

Bob MACARTNEY: Good morning and thanks for joining us I’m Bob McCartney. It’s one of the biggest weekends of the year for Omaha Berkshire Hathaway shareholders will descend on the metro later this week. Today we want to get you ready from a conversation with the Oracle of Omaha’s youngest son to what Warren Buffett means to the businesses he’s made part of the weekend four years and later we have your guide to the event and when you can hear Buffet speak
Peter Buffet recently did a zoom interview with me from his home in New York and I asked him honestly if he would like to come back for the big Berkshire event.

Peter BUFFETT: Can I say no? I mean of course there’s also some things I love about it, mostly seeing family that otherwise you know we don’t get to see except once a year. I am excited because of things like that but I got to be honest; it’s also a little bit I would imagine like being an animal in a zoo right now in other words you’re so close to the thing that so interesting to so many people that you know there’s sort of some kind of gravitational pull, that part I’m not crazy about.

Bob MACARTNEY: Why do you suppose Peter that the Berkshire weekend is so important, I mean obviously the money it brings in but is there something more than that?

Peter BUFFETT: Well, I mean you know it is rare for somebody of my dad’s notoriety in whatever form and I would say often to stay in their own town the entirety of their careers actually and so the fact that he has chosen to stay there and do the thing he loves there, I think has brought a certain kind of pride or something to the Omaha. It is all warm up there and always will be.

Bob MACARTNEY: Did your dad always want a big event like this?

Peter BUFFETT: I can’t imagine; I think he enjoys it frankly because it’s one day a year when people get to say you’re amazing thank you very much, all the things; because otherwise he’s just doing what he already does and so I think he enjoys it in a certain way for sure but I can’t imagine he ever expected it.

Bob MACARTNEY: So, let’s talk all about growing up off Buffett. What was it liking around the dinner table?

Peter BUFFETT: Well, I mean the most important part of that is it we were around the dinner table every single night; you know my dad was home around the same time every night we all ate dinner together. Back then there was no internet and there wasn’t even a TV and within air shot or anything like that I mean there was just us around the table. There would be times when my dad would use specifically my sister as a focus group as a one person focus group, asking what she might like to drink or what she might read or what she like and I remember the Sun newspaper which was part of my dad’s life, he was very interested in what she was interested in, but it was just very family matter.

Bob MACARTNEY: What is it about your dad that draws people to him?

Peter BUFFETT: Honestly, I think it’s integrity, I think it’s the uniqueness of how he’s done what he’s done, but the bottom line I think it’s the integrity just the fact he’s being who he is the whole time.

Bob MACARTNEY: What do you think his legacy is going to be in Omaha?

Peter BUFFETT:I think his Legacy is going to be that, I mean I think it will be this midwestern grown, you know again he gets up on his dad he’s it’s a it’s a certain quality I think in that side of the family of particular but my dad really exemplifies what I think a lot of people would think after as what it means to be Midwesterner and what it means to be from Omaha.

Bob MACARTNEY: Did he give you an hour and did you get any advice?

Peter BUFFETT: Obviously it was more through action in the sense that again we saw somebody that loved what he did, he was content he didn’t come home mad at the boss so it wasn’t so much advice as a modelling of a certain kind of way to live a life.

Bob MACARTNEY: He was present in your life and that was huge right?

Peter BUFFETT: Huge, present right, available yes, he was often in the office reading and talking to Charlotte Monger, we knew where he was, we knew he would be there if we needed that kind of thing so yes, the consistency and the availability.

Bob MACARTNEY: For those who don’t know, you wrote the best seller “Life is what you make it, Find your own path to fulfillment”. It is pretty biographical, is it?

Peter BUFFETT: Yeah, it really is and I only wrote it, I never really did set out to write a book ever .

Bob MACARTNEY: You pretty much were told, Peter, correct me if I’m wrong, told to go out into the world, fend for yourself but you kind of fend for yourself?

Peter BUFFETT: Yes, certainly figure it out for yourself, yeah, there was no blank cheque anywhere ever and there was none of that it was really the presumption that that would be the way we would find our way in life as our own experiences and mistakes and successes and all that.

Bob MACARTNEY: One way you always find your way through life is that you started the Novo Foundation that’s about 20 years now, it says it’s supports initiatives that promote the holistic interconnected and healing vision for Humanity, but what are you doing?

Peter BUFFETT: My dad in 2006 famously you know made this pledge to all three of us and would say this as well back to my mom and it’s really the two of them but my mom had that vision for Humanity essentially and so that lives in me and what it really means is people being more kind to each other and all the ways that does manifest now and so the foundation sort of automatically through that lens finds itself working with people that have been historically marginalized and specifically black women and girls and indigenous people and other populations that have been left out of some version of American dream.

Bob MACARTNEY: Do you think the people who have stock in Berkshire understand not only what your dad does but also with you, your sister and your brother are also trying the big picture of helping the planet?

Peter BUFFETT: I would say not necessarily, I mean I think that you know the Berkshire shareholders are there for the value and the opportunities that owning Berkshire shares kind of allow people. I mean I can’t imagine how many roofs on houses, kids going to college, you know I mean the list of what Berkshire has done for the people that have invested, its got to be an extraordinary thing to just to try to quantify and then what I think Berkshire will slowly do is that its stock will turn into resources then my sister, my brother and I and others can start to moving to the world to make it hopefully a better place so we’re working over here it’s working over there, hopefully they don’t just absolutely cancel each other out, we will see.

Bob MACARTNEY: By the way Peter Buffett is also an accomplished musician in fact he says he wrote nearly 30 songs last year, just another one last week you can hear them on his YouTube channel.