Warren Buffett will play ukulele as the economy burns

Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man according to Forbes magazine, will appear Friday night at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles where he will play his ukulele. Seriously.

The 78-year-old chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway will bring his beloved four-string Uke and join his son, musician Peter Buffett, on stage for a number during the younger Buffett’s scheduled concert at the broadcasting archive, museum and seminar hub. The younger Buffett has just released a new album, “Imaginary Kingdom,” on Tuesday, and his recording career reaches back to mid-1980s. He scored the memorable “fire dance” sequence in “Dances With Wolves,” which won the Oscar for best picture of 1990, and Buffett himself won an Emmy for the soundtrack he contributed to another Native American project involving Kevin Costner, the “500 Nations” documentary miniseries from 1995.

The elder Buffett, meanwhile, loves to play the signature musical instrument of Hawaii, but that isn’t his only hobby — nope, the Oracle of Omaha is a top-flight bridge player. Who knew? Buffett has wowed audiences with his string-work, like a 2007 shareholders event (above) where he warbled and strummed without ever loosening his tie.

The scene Friday might actually be even more surreal than it sounds; we’re told that Akon, the R&B star born in Senegal, is expected Friday night too and might perform. Why? Akon has recorded with the younger Buffett and the two co-founded a philanthropic website called Is there Something I Can Do. That's certainly admirable, and we have a great idea for a fund-raising charity single: Is there any chance to get $62-billion man to play backup ukulele a remix of Akon's 2006 booty hit “Smack That”? C'mon, pleeeease?

-- Geoff Boucher

UPDATED An earlier version of this post got Buffett's "Oracle of Omaha" nickname scrambled (we said "Oracle of Oklahoma"). And we wonder why our 401K is in tatters.

Photo by Nati Harnik / Associated Press shows billionaire investor Warren Buffett performing with a country band at a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting in May 2007.