CEO Quits After Daughter Hands Him List of Milestones He's Missed

[Townhallsavoy]

The head of a $2 trillion investment fund has revealed he quit his job after his 10-year-old daughter wrote him a note listing 22 special moments in her life he had missed.

California-based Mohamed El-Erian shocked the financial world when he announced his resignation as chief executive of PIMCO in January 2014.

Mr El-Erian, who made $100 million 2011 alone, said in a recent essay for Worth that his wife and daughter were at the heart of his decision to quit.

The 56-year-old said the "wake-up call" happened when he was arguing with his daughter about brushing her teeth and she left to fetch a piece of paper from her room.

"It was a list that she had compiled of her important events and activities that I had missed due to work commitments," he wrote.

"The list contained 22 items, from her first day at school and first soccer match of the season to a parent-teacher meeting and a Halloween parade.

"I felt awful and got defensive: I had a good excuse for each missed event! Travel, important meetings, an urgent phone call, sudden to-do.

"But it dawned on me that I was missing an infinitely more important point ... I was not making nearly enough time for her."

Mr El-Erian used to leave home for work at 4.30am each morning but since resigning he and his lawyer wife Jamie take turns in waking up their daughter, preparing her breakfast and bringing her to school, he wrote.

He said he has taken a "portfolio" of part-time roles, including being chief economic adviser at Allianz, which require far less travelling and allow him more flexibility.


Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2014/09/25/06/42/high-flying-ceo-quits-after-daughter-sends-him-22-things-he-missed#9d9OhhZSfi5QYOJX.99

[CCTAU]

With 100 million in the bank, why not take the risk and quit....

[Buzz Killington]

This is my plan as well...as soon as I make my first $100M I am quitting.  I figure at my current rate I should get there around 3035.

[War Eagle!!!]

If I ever make $100M I will retire too. Not such a huge announcement of being a great family man to me...

[Townhallsavoy]

If I ever make $100M I will retire too. Not such a huge announcement of being a great family man to me...

I think a lot of businessmen who get into a position of richness such as El-Erian often want to add to that wealth.  Not to mention, the rich often have grandiose displays of luxury like yachts, mansions, French villas, and private jets.  You cannot keep that lifestyle if you do not consistently earn billionaire-like money. 

So while El-Erian's sacrifice is minuscule compared to what most of us go through on a daily basis, it's still nice to see a successful man give up work and a position of power to hang out with his family. 

[Godfather]

I think a lot of businessmen who get into a position of richness such as El-Erian often want to add to that wealth.  Not to mention, the rich often have grandiose displays of luxury like yachts, mansions, French villas, and private jets.  You cannot keep that lifestyle if you do not consistently earn billionaire-like money. 

So while El-Erian's sacrifice is minuscule compared to what most of us go through on a daily basis, it's still nice to see a successful man give up work and a position of power to hang out with his family.

#firstworldproblems

[Buzz Killington]

Some of us just want to be able to afford a pool

[djsimp]

Some of us just want to be able to afford a pool

Yeah, like some of the others around here.

[Saniflush]

Some of us just want to be able to afford a pool

Or a hot tub.

[WiregrassTiger]

You guys can talk all the smack that you want about what you will or won't do if you get to $100 mil. But I can tell you that after taxes and living an affluent lifestyle, it isn't always as easy to turn down the security of a regular paycheck. As long as there are stock options and perks of course.

[AUTiger1]

Or a hot tub.

Or a beach trip every month. 

[Jumbo]

I like traffic lights.

[Snaggletiger]

Or a beach trip every month.

Speaking of...it's been a while since I saw the water as clear as it was this past weekend. And mini guessed the correct sunset time at Bud & Alley's.  Of course, he couldn't drink the free beer he won so I was happy to handle that for him.  Man, there is nothing like a sunset at the beach with a cold beer in hand. 

[Townhallsavoy]

Or a hot tub.

Or the girl in 4E.

[wesfau2]

Speaking of...it's been a while since I saw the water as clear as it was this past weekend. And mini guessed the correct sunset time at Bud & Alley's.  Of course, he couldn't drink the free beer he won so I was happy to handle that for him.  Man, there is nothing like a sunset at the beach with a cold beer in hand.

Fuck you.

[Vandy Vol]

I think it's just an elaborate plot against the daughter.  Fast forward 6 years...

Daughter:  "Daddy, I'm 16 today!  Can you buy me a car?"

Father: "Well, sweetie, I would...but daddy can't afford to now, because you decided to take after your mother and be an unbearable mommy part six years ago by nagging about how I'm never home.  So instead of making tons of money to buy you a Maserati, I decided to show up to your worthless recitals, games, and other shit that would never amount to anything, because in reality, you'll never learn anything that will allow you to become a self-sustaining adult, as you ultimately just plan to suck off my financial teat for as long as you can, before you decide in a hormonal rage that you hate me, want to leave the house, and get impregnated by a transient drug addict."

[bgreene]

Some of us just want to be able to afford a pool

I will give you mine.

[GH2001]

I think a lot of businessmen who get into a position of richness such as El-Erian often want to add to that wealth.  Not to mention, the rich often have grandiose displays of luxury like yachts, mansions, French villas, and private jets.  You cannot keep that lifestyle if you do not consistently earn billionaire-like money. 

So while El-Erian's sacrifice is minuscule compared to what most of us go through on a daily basis, it's still nice to see a successful man give up work and a position of power to hang out with his family.

This is true. At some point it becomes more about the rush and the power moreso than the money and a lot of these guys have issues walking away. Kudos to him for seeing the error of his ways. Most of them never do. They just die of a heart attack at 62 after 40 years of the intense lifestyle he eluded to.