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
The Joys and Anxieties of Wealth with Paul Schervish - Ep 142 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Description: Paul Schervish studies very wealthy people: what worries them, what delights them, and what motivates them to give to charity. The Director of Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, Paul is the…
Mid-Life Career Re-invention with Chip Conley - Ep 141 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:46
Something happens to many of us in our 40’s or 50’s: having achieved a certain level of success, we yearn to find work that is an expression of who we are. Chip Conley can help with that. He founded and runs Modern Elder…
Fixing Financial Chaos with Joe Saul-Sehy - Ep 140 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:14
41% of people who make over $200k per year still cry about money. That’s the finding of a recent study that Paul discusses this week with Joe Saul-Sehy, Creator and co-host of the Stacking Benjamins podcast AND author of…
What’s Your Problem? with Jacob Goldstein - Ep 139 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:30
Jacob Goldstein is the author of Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing and former co-host of Planet Moneywhere he worked for over a decade. His new podcast, What’s Your Problem? from Pushkin Industries explores how co…
Comparison and the Ultimate Money Delusion - Ep 138 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:31
If you think Paul Ollinger can’t draw poignant and funny lessons about money from the 1996 box office smash, Jerry Maguire, you are sadly mistaken. On this week’s very special spring break episode of Crazy Money, Paul re…
Why Things Are Better than You Think with Grant J. Ryan - Ep 137 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:01
Many people want you to believe that the world is in worse shape than ever. They assert that wages are stagnant, inequality is growing and the earth is heating up. But for the vast majority of humanity, things have never…
LL COOL J - ENCORE EPISODE [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:58
Nobody works harder than LL COOL J. The musician, producer, actor, and entrepreneur has been playing at the highest levels of art, business, and culture since he burst on the scene at the age of 17, in 1985.For over 35 y…
Judd Apatow on Fame, Money, and the Creative Process - Ep 136 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:22
Judd Apatow doesn’t care that much about money. This non-attachment to material goods leaves him more time to focus on what matters: writing, developing talent, and getting his family together for dinner. In this week’s…
Olympic Economics with Apolo Ohno - ENCORE EPISODE [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:01
In this episode, Apolo Ohno and I go deep into the economic realities of becoming an Olympian. Due to the steep cost of coaching, training, equipment, and travel, many (perhaps most) athletes and their families go deep i…