Mary Childs

Read The Bull

The sixth episode of Read The Bull is an engaging discussion with NPR Planet Money's Mary Childs about her book The Bond King, an in-depth look at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) co-founder Bill Gross. Mary details Gross' rise as the world's top bond investor. Bond investing was once a sleepy domain of insurance companies where people literally clipped coupons, but Mary explains how it evolved and exploded in the 80s and 90s with PIMCO and Gross leading the charge. Mary covered Gross and PIMCO while she was a reporter at Bloomberg, and she talks to host Stefan Prelog about her first interaction with him and what it revealed about his relationship with the truth and the press. PIMCO and Gross were well positioned during Global Financial Crisis, and Mary explains how the firm leveraged their position to forge a cozy and beneficial relationship with the U.S. Government. Mary and Stefan talk about PIMCO's aggressive culture fueled by Gross and became fodder for the press and the investing community. She also talks about Gross' complex and often contentious relationship with former PIMCO co-CIO Mohammed El-Erian. Regardless of the relationship, Mary notes that El-Erian and Gross both were the beneficiaries of the rise of PIMCO and active bond investing. Gross and El-Erian's received eye-popping bonuses throughout their tenure, including $230 million and $300 million respectively in 2013. The topic of bonuses leads to a discussion of wealth inequality.
Gross is a fascinating figure who is finance famous, but his private exploits including his divorce bleed into the mainstream media. Stefan and Mary discuss Gross' legacy and how he will be remembered.
This is a conversation you don't want to miss.
Go to ReadTheBull.com for more information.