Warren Buffett’s son Peter didn’t find out his father was a billionaire until he was in his 20s—and he learned it the same way the rest of the world did: by spotting his dad’s name on a 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, now 68, recalled in a 2013 Forbes interview with both Peter and Warren Buffett. “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.’”
Peter is the youngest of Warren Buffett’s three children with his first wife, Susan Alice Buffett. Peter is an American musician, composer, author, and philanthropist who has won a regional Emmy Award, become a New York Times best-selling author, and served as co-chair of the NoVo Foundation. But Peter recalled that conversation with his mom, with little effect on his outlook or perception of his family.
“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,” Peter said. “Our friends were as surprised as I was.”
Warren Buffett backed up his son, saying that by the time his children found out just how rich they were, they had already formed their own personalities and paths.
“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,” Warren Buffett said.
Still, Buffett has never been much of one to brag about money—and it’s not how he defines success.
“When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world,” Buffett wrote. “Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior…Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman.”
A version of this story was originally published on Fortune.com on January 17, 2026.
