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
Andrew Sullivan Holds Nothing Back - Ep 117 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:17
Andrew Sullivan’s new book, Out on a Limb: Selected Writing 1989-2021 captures the best of his three decade quest to identify and share The Truth with his readers. Because his philosophy does not adhere to the predominan…
How to Use Your 4,000 Weeks with Oliver Burkeman - Ep 116 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:04
Oliver Burkeman is the author of the new book, 4,000 Weeks: Time Managment for Mortals, which Adam Grant calls “The most important book ever written about time management.” In it, Oliver argues that using your life (4,00…
A conversation with my producer Mike Carano- Ep 115 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:56
Hello! My name is Mike Carano, I edit Crazy Money. At my suggestion I interviewed Paul for this weeks episode, and unexpectedly didn't get to a single question that I painstakingly crafted. In this episode we talk about…
God Wants You to be Rich with Rabbi Daniel Lapin - ENCORE EPISODE [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:01
(Originally posted May, 2020...but so worth another listen)Rabbi Daniel Lapin believes that money is the reward we get when we serve another one of God’s children. Therefore, doing business is doing God’s work. In his vi…
Why Commitment Matters with Pete Davis - Ep 113 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:37
Pete Davis is the author of Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age Of Infinite Browsing. His Harvard Law School graduation speech, which served as the cornerstone of the book, has been viewed over 30 million times.…
Does More $ = More Happy? with Sir Angus Deaton - ENCORE EPISODE [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:32
(Originally posted September, 2019...but so worth another listen) Princeton economist and Nobel laureate, Sir Angus Deaton co-authored a famous study concluding that well-being peaks at $75k/year in income. But the resul…
How to Change with Katy Milkman - Ep 112 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:29
Katy Milkman is the James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, host of Charles Schwab’s popular behavioral economics podcast Choiceology, and the author of the best-seller, How to C…
Living Rich v. Dying Rich with Joe Duran of Goldman Sachs - Ep 111 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:01
Joe Duran grew up poor, in a one-room house in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during violent and tumultuous times. Today, Joe is Head of Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, which serves clients across 100 locations thr…