That's how he and his wife, Jennifer, came to set up the NoVo Foundation, which is focused on community building and women's advancement.

In Hong Kong to share his experiences, Buffett has given a talk on family philanthropy at an invitation-only forum organised by the Zeshan Foundation, a local charity, and will discuss the foundation and perform some of his music tonight at an evening hosted by the Asia Society.

'It's very useful to talk to wealthy families about philanthropy and how parents can pass on their values to their children,' he says. 'My father did a great job with all three of us - not one of us went off the rails. Three out of three is pretty good going.'

Buffett senior made a calculated choice in giving his children an equal sum to manage rather than have them all administer a charitable trust.

'It's better than all being on one board, having disagreements or wondering if one is getting more attention than the other,' Peter Buffett says. 'That's not to say there is any sibling rivalry - we all get along very well - but it was just in case there was a tendency towards that.

'My father has always encouraged us to be distinct individuals. Yet, even though we are all doing our own thing [with the money], we sometimes work together anyway. There is a natural synergy between us.'

Even so, managing such a big foundation took getting used to.

'Oh yeah, it weighed heavily on me at first,' says Buffett, who worked in advertising composing jingles before pursuing a career in music. (In 1990, he wrote Fire Dance for the film Dances with Wolves and his score for the documentary Wisconsin: An American Portrait, won an Emmy for best soundtrack in 1999.)

'I had been following my own path, I had my music career and then suddenly I had a billion-dollar foundation to organise. But I haven't done it alone,' he says.

His wife is co-chair and president of NoVo and 'she is as passionate about it as I am', he says.

Charged by Buffett senior to 'go places where others wouldn't', the couple did their research, consulted experts, looked at other charities and spoke to people on the front lines to figure out what direction they should take.

'There's not one path with philanthropy - it's way more complicated than you might think,' Buffett says. 'Then we had an 'aha!' moment. It seemed obvious that the way to help the greatest number of people would be to empower girls and women. Three years ago, supporting adolescent girls in the developing world was not such a popular topic as it is now. It was hard to find people to sponsor girls and women.'

Often, programmes require a multi-pronged approach, he explains. Education may be important, but it can be a luxury for a poor family with many immediate needs, so girls in such situations may not be able to get to secondary school. But the foundation is careful to be sensitive to each community's needs.

'We don't want to change somebody's culture. I'm really against what I call philanthropic colonialism. We'll always speak to people at grass-roots level. In that way I've taken a page from my father's book. His investment style was to consult experts, find great people and invest in them. We do the same with the NoVo Foundation.'

People are often surprised by how 'normal' and down to earth Peter Buffett seems for a son of the second-richest man in the world.

'That's because of the way my parents raised us,' he says. 'We grew up not really knowing what my father did for a living. In fact, my sister Susie once thought he checked alarm systems when she heard that his work was something to do with securities.'

His father is famously frugal, but Peter Buffett appreciates his childhood in Omaha and wouldn't change a thing about it.

'Our house was two blocks from where my mother grew up, so we had a feeling of roots. Omaha was a typical Midwestern town - small-town America. We knew all our neighbours, we felt safe and secure. It was maybe a little bit boring, but I don't think that's a bad thing when you're a kid,' he says.

'We've all inherited dad's values and he leads by example. It's always a case of 'don't do as I say, do as I do'.'

Buffett finds it hard to judge how much he has inherited of his father's character but says he has come to realise that aspects of his behaviour are very similar.

'Just as he decided to stay in Omaha and not move to Wall Street, I decided to stay in Milwaukee and not go to Los Angeles after the success of Fire Dance. I didn't want to get thrown off course.'

But he talks with equal admiration, affection and pride about his mother, Susan Thompson Buffett, who died from cancer in 2004.

'My mum got a bit short-changed in terms of praise [for Buffett senior's philanthropy and their upbringing] because dad's such a big public figure. But the two were in it together,' he says.

'We called her the Dalai Mama because she really had such a high level of compassion. She was involved in civil rights and abortion rights in Omaha in the 60s. She really connected with people in a special way and brought their stories out.'

Buffett laughs when asked about his father's modest lifestyle.

'Dad still lives in the same house we grew up in and when I visit him I sleep in the bedroom I had as a child. He still sits in the same armchair he's had for 40 years, drives the same car he's had for a long time to the same office along the same route he's been taking every day for decades.

'The money doesn't matter to him. Really. It's his score card, but he's not emotionally involved. He was - and remains - a person to whom material things mean very little.'

Which begs the billion-dollar question: Why does Buffett senior work so hard at accumulating all that wealth if he doesn't really want it?

'Because he genuinely enjoys what he does in just the same way I enjoy making music,' he says.

Peter Buffett has since written a show, Spirit: The Seventh Fire, about a native American on a journey to discover his roots, which he hopes to take on tour, including to Hong Kong and the mainland.

'I think it will resonate with people here,' he says. 'It's about finding a balance between your culture, your roots and your dreams and aspirations.'

Concert & Conversation with Peter Buffett; Recital Hall, Academy for Performing Arts, 7.30pm tonight; $350 ($280 Asia Society members). For information about the NoVo Foundation, visit novofoundation.org