Barack Obama and Warren Buffett are Distant Cousins, ancestry.com says

This has nothing got to do with technology or social media, but I’d like to share with you guys this interesting story about President Barack Obama and investment guru Warren Buffett.
Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online resource for family history, confirmed today that President Barack Obama and billionaire financial investor Warren Buffett are more than just political allies — they are actually related. The discovery, made by Ancestry.com family history experts, determined that the men are 7th cousins three times removed, related through a 17th-century Frenchman named Mareen Duvall.
The No.1 family history Web site revealed that Duvall, who immigrated to Maryland from France in the 1650s, is Pres. Obama’s 9th great-grandfather and Buffett’s 6th great-grandfather. Duvall arrived in America as an indentured servant. By 1659, he had purchased property in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which he later named “Middle Plantation.” According to historical records, Duvall belonged to a religious sect called the Jacobites, was a planter and merchant and was “conservative in his political life.”
And while Obama and Buffett may not share the political views of their great-grandfather, Duvall’s servant-to-landowner life journey may offer clues into the successes of his influential grandsons.
“We’ve all watched Pres. Obama and Warren Buffett’s ongoing association, from Buffett’s official endorsement of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign to their sometimes differing views on economic policy,” said Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com. “Like most family members, the President and Buffett may not always agree on everything, but this latest discovery confirming they are related may shed light on why the two seem to see eye-to-eye on many issues.”
The new-found connection between Pres. Obama and Warren Buffett is one of many fascinating discoveries Ancestry.com uncovered within the President’s family tree:
Earlier this year, Ancestry.com confirmed that Pres. Obama has German roots through his 6th great-grandfather Johann Conrad Wolfley from Besigheim, Wuerttemberg, Germany.
In 2007, Ancestry.com uncovered the President’s family history connection to Moneygall, Ireland. Pres. Obama’s 3rd great-grandfather Falmouth Kearney left his hometown of Moneygall for the New World, landing in New York harbor in 1850.
In 2007, Ancestry.com linked the leader of the Free World to one of Hollywood’s leading men – Brad Pitt. The family history Web site confirmed the two are 9th cousins.
Via PRNewsWire

Posted in: