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. 🚀

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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
Why Status Matters with Will Storr [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:08
Where do you sit on the social hierarchy?You might not think about it daily, but if I asked you to compare your status to that of one of your friends, you'd probably know the answer: above some, below others, and probabl…
Emotions and Money Stress with Ken Honda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:48
The news from the economic world is pretty bad right now. Inflation up and the stock market’s down, which means we're all experiencing some degree of financial stress. Here to help us put it all in perspective is Ken Hon…
Money in College Sports, Part 1 with Darren Rovell and John Staton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:16
Up until last year, no college athlete could legally, officially accept compensation for playing a sport at his or her college. That changed last year with a Supreme Court ruling that now allows college athletes to be co…
Porn, Money, and Women in Hollywood with Maitland Ward [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:36
Maitland Ward is an adult film star and author of a new book called Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood. Best known for her role as Rachel Maguire on Boy Meets World, Maitland enjoyed a successful career as a H…
The Prison Break of a Global CEO - The story of Carlos Ghosn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:58
Carlos Ghosn is the former CEO of both Renault and Nissan. Japanese authorities arrested him for (allegedly) paying himself tens-of-millions in unreported income (and some other shady stuff). Carlos escaped the brutal Ja…
Student Loan Debt with Oren Cass [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:28
Why in the world is student debt treated differently than all other kinds of debt? Why does the cost of college keep sky-rocketing? Why do colleges and universities have so little skin in the game when it comes to the de…