Are You More Like Warren Buffett or Jimmy Buffett? (As An Investor)

Two of the most influential investors of our time actually share the same last name…Buffett.

Warren and Jimmy are not related (as far as I know) and their fans are probably very different from each other. Yet they have both been wildly successful American entrepreneurial stories. And, thanks to the success of the Margaritaville brand and a long-running series of packed stadium concerts, Jimmy Buffett has garnered financial successthat puts him in the stratosphere of wealth as well. From what I can gather from online sources, Warren’s net worth is over $80 Billion, while Jimmy’s is “only” about $550 Million.Here is more on the “tale of the tape” between the two, just for fun:I am a big fan of both men, and I think their accomplishments each include a combination of the art and science of success. For Warren Buffett, it was decades of toiling with balance sheets, income statements, inspecting business culture and growthprospects. For Jimmy it was hitting the road to spread his unique message through music, and as time went on, finding many other ways to cash in on that.Both are extremely loyal to their business teammates. Warren and his relatively silent partner Charlie Munger have known each other since 1959, and reportedly have never had a fight. Jimmy Buffett’s keyboardist (Michael Utley) has been with him since 1975, a year after Jimmy started the “Coral Reefer Band.” Many other band members have been in place for decades.Related: 2018 Was A Stock Market Crash Test: Don’t Be A DummyBoth have evolved with their professions and endured through times of great turmoil and upheaval. Warren had to account for a stock market gradually invaded by algorithms, quants and others who have made traditional value investing a very patient game that relatively few investors can relate to compared to decades ago. Jimmy had to embrace the commoditization of the music business, in which people now download songs for free instead of buying record albums. Fortunately for Jimmy, his live concerts were already legendary by the time this started to happen.In their respective playing fields and as investors, Warren and Jimmy Buffett (who, again, are not related) have each brought admirable qualities to the nature of business, investing and the way we approach what drives us. And while they have done so in completely different spheres, capitalism ultimately became something they could capitalize on, by making smart decisions, being patient and looking at their businesses with wide perspective that has only increased with age. Or as Jimmy says, “Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same.”