Warby Parker is going public with a Buffett among its investors - but it's Jimmy, not Warren

Jimmy Buffett.

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• Warby Parker's investors include a Buffett, but it's Jimmy, not Warren.
• The eyewear retailer disclosed the musician is a shareholder in its S-1 filing this week.
• The two Buffetts aren't related but call each other "Uncle Warren" and "Cousin Jimmy."
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Warby Parker is going public with a Buffett among its shareholders. But it's Jimmy, not Warren.

The eyewear retailer - which is pursuing a direct listing after securing a private valuation of $3 billion last year - listed Jimmy Buffett as a stockholder in its S-1 filing this week. Jimmy Buffett is a musician whose hits include "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburgers in Paradise," while Warren Buffett is an investor and the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

The two Buffetts took a DNA test to check whether they shared more than a last name, but learned they weren't related, The New York Times reported in 2018. They call each other "Uncle Warren" and "Cousin Jimmy" anyway, the newspaper said.

Both men oversee corporate empires. Berkshire owns dozens of businesses including Geico and See's Candies, and holds multibillion-dollar stakes in Apple, Coca-Cola, and other public companies. Meanwhile, Margaritaville spans hotels, restaurants, drinks, merchandise, retirement homes, casinos, and even a Broadway musical.

Jimmy has known Warren for around 30 years, and the singer has attended Berkshire's annual shareholder meetings many times and performed a few skits for the crowd, he told MarketWatch in 2018. Warren has also given business advice to Jimmy, and underscored to Bloomberg the value of the musician's followers and their lifelong loyalty to him.

"Jimmy doesn't need a revolving group of fans," he said. "He basically just accumulates them, and he doesn't lose them. Except when they get old and die."

Buffett isn't the only familiar name on Warby Parker's shareholder list. It also features "Originals" author Adam Grant, who turned down the chance to invest when the company's cofounders were college students, and Alexander von Furstenberg, the investment chief of Ranger Global Advisors and the son of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

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