Mary Childs: The Rise and Fall of the Bond King

<p>Our guest this week is Mary Childs. Mary is a cohost and correspondent for National Public Radio's <i>Planet Money</i>. Previously, she was a reporter at <i>Barron's</i> magazine and before that, a reporter at the <i>Financial Times</i> and Bloomberg News. She received her bachelor's degree in business journalism from Washington & Lee University. Mary is the author of a new biography about the iconic Pimco bond fund manager, Bill Gross. It's called the <i>The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All</i>. We spent this episode delving into the book with Mary's help.</p><p><strong>Background</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.marychilds.com/about" target="_blank">Bio</a></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money/" target="_blank"><i>Planet Money</i></a><i> </i>podcast<i></i></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bond-King-Market-Built-Empire/dp/1250120845/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1650312636&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All</i></a>, by Mary Childs</p><p><a href="https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/pttrx/analysis" target="_blank">Pimco Total Return Analyst Report</a></p><p><strong>Early Life and Career</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beat-Dealer-Edward-Thorp/dp/0394416333/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1650313223&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>Beat the Dealer</i></a>, by Ed Thorpe</p><p>“<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/03/15/1086050274/the-strange-billionaire-who-revolutionized-the-bond-market" target="_blank">The Strange Billionaire Who Revolutionized the Bond Market</a>,” by Greg Rosalsky, npr.org, March 15, 2022.</p><p>“<a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/bill-gross-bond-market-investing-legacy-51549669974" target="_blank">Bill Gross Made the Bond Market What It Is Today</a>,” by Mary Childs, barrons.com, Feb. 8, 2019.</p><p><strong>Psychology and Motivations</strong></p><p><a href="https://doubleline.com/biographies/jeffrey-gundlac