Author Gary Sernovitz

Author Gary Sernovitz

Author: Paul Ollinger December 5, 2023 Duration: 59:08
Gary Sernovitz is one of the funniest financial writers working today. His hilarious new novel The Counting House tells the story of a university’s Chief Investment Officer who is suffering a mid-life crisis. If you possess either an interest in finance or a robust / dark sense of humor, The Counting House will make you laugh and, at times, cry in empathy with the protagonist. Gary has spent the last 25 years observing how money works from inside Goldman Sachs and the private equity business, bringing a keen writer’s eye to the money business through two previous novels, a non-fiction account of the oil and gas industrial, and a bunch of essays in The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal. A Milwaukee native and longtime resident of New York, Gary now lives in New Orleans with his wife and daughter. See more about Gary and The Counting House here.

In this conversation, Gary and I discuss:

Investing with the constraints of a modern university stakeholders

Whether your performance is your identity

The state and cost of college 

Writing as a side hustle while working full-time in finance


See Paul live in comedy mode:

Austin, Jan 11 - Buy Tickets Here


San Francisco, Feb 22 -  Buy Tickets Here


Nashville, Feb 28 - Buy Tickets Here 


🔥Learn and laugh by reading Paul’s Substack here. 🔥
🚀 Follow Paul on Instagram here. 🚀

Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe

Paul Ollinger has worn a few different hats-stand-up comedian, tech executive, and now, the curious host of Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger. This isn't a lecture series or a dry self-help guide. Instead, it feels more like pulling up a chair for a series of genuinely engaging talks that wander into the places where our daily lives, careers, and inner worlds collide. The conversations, which feature authors, thinkers, and various creatives, are refreshingly candid. They dig into the practical and philosophical questions about what it actually means to build a life that feels both successful and satisfying. You'll find that each episode of this podcast approaches big themes-money, purpose, and the pursuit of contentment-with a blend of wit and thoughtful depth. The underlying idea isn't about finding a perfect, Instagram-ready version of happiness, but something more grounded and attainable. It's for anyone who's ever wondered if there's a smarter, more meaningful way to navigate the pressures of business and culture without losing sight of what matters. Tuning in, you get the sense that Paul is figuring it out alongside his guests, making the insights feel earned and relatable. The result is a consistently interesting exploration of how we can all aim for a life that feels reasonably, and authentically, well-lived.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 321

Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger
Podcast Episodes
Millionaires v. Billionaires in NYC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:04
Chris Pavone is the bestselling author of some of the smartest and most stylish thrillers of the past decade. His latest book, The Doorman is set in a glamorous Manhattan apartment building where the lives of the ultra-w…
The Beatles, Ted Turner, and Ric Flair with Steve Chamberlain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:25
This week’s podcast is a conversation with my former Atlanta neighbor, Steve Chamberlain, a former media executive whose career has intersected with some of the biggest brands and celebrities in entertainment history. I…
Money, Fame, and Misery: Meet the Beatles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:00
Money, Fame, and Misery: Meet the Beatles (w/ Peter Doggett )In the late ‘60s, The Beatles had it all: worldwide fame, critical admiration, and more money than they ever could have imagined. So why were these four young…
Believe and You Will See! (w/ Nir Eyal ) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:46
My guest this week is Nir Eyal, whose two books ('Hooked’ and ‘Indistractable’) have sold over 1 million copies in over 30 languages. This week he published his latest - Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limi…
Gina Gershon on Fame, Desire, and Boobs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:42
Guess who I got to meet last week - Gina Gershon. That’s right, the incredibly beautiful and talented actress, author, singer, and long-standing disruptor of polite expectations. You know Gina from unforgettable roles in…
The Courage to Be Right w/ Matt Kaplan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:18
Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent at the Economist and author of the new book I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right in which he shares the stories of researchers—from…
Insider Trading w/Tom Hardin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:52
How do you handle it when you screw up badly? (Like really badly.) Former hedge fund trader and Wharton graduate Tom Hardin was convicted of Securities Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud, which are felonies.…
Surviving Middle Age w/ Ben Markovits [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:59
Ben Markovits is the author of several acclaimed novels, including his most recent release The Rest of Our Lives, which explores marriage, infidelity, empty nesting, and mortality. The book, which was short-listed for th…
Marriage, Infidelity, and Millennial Disillusionment with Erin Somers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:46
Erin Somers' new novel, The Ten Year Affair is a story about Millennial disillusionment (and extramarital sex). The New Yorker called it “intoxicating” and W praised the book for its “sometimes mocking examination of you…
A.I. Facts, Fears and Fiction (w/ Bryan Reimer) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:16
AI will have at least as big an effect on society as the invention of electricity. That’s the prediction of MIT’s Bryan Reimer. Bryan is the co-author of the new book ‘How to Make AI Useful’ in which he explores AI’s pow…