Mohamed El-Erian, the former CEO of the trillion-dollar firm PIMCO, turned away from a job that reportedly earned him $100 million a year.
His departure in January was rumored to be caused by a rift between him and the firm's founder Bill Gross. But of the 70-year-old, El-Erian said that he thought the man is "brillant."
After months of silence on the issue, he first spoke up in April 2014 that although he valued his time at PIMCO, it was time for him to step back and re-evaluate his life and the long hours he put into the company.
It was revealed that his resignation was, in truth, triggered by a conversation with his 10-year-old daughter. One morning, she refused to brush her teeth after he told her to do so several times.
Growing impatient, Mohamed told her that there was a time not long ago when she would have done what he asked of her.
Her response was to excuse herself to get a piece of paper from her room to give her father. It was a list of 22 milestones in her life that he had missed because of work, including her first day in school, a soccer match, a Halloween parade, and others.
El-Erian said this was his wake up call to reflect seriously on his work-life imbalance. He decided that he already missed too much and made arrangements to leave his post at PIMCO.
These days, El-Erian's life has taken on a slower pace; no longer spent globe-trotting for business and juggling trillions of dollars. In the mornings, he takes turns with his wife, Jamie, a lawyer in California, preparing breakfast for their daughter and taking her to school. To make up for the time he's lost with her, he said they are planning a father-daughter trip together.
He admits that he is fortunate enough to be in a position that allows him to work on few part-time consultation projects so that he can be home with his family more. But that is a luxury that most families are unable to afford.
After 14 years with PIMCO, he was able to create a large enough portfolio and network in order to take on some part-time consultation work, rather than a full-time job.
"So far, it's been the right decision for me," he says proudly, telling reporters that it is far more important for him to be a good father to his daughter than a good investor to his clients.
In an essay he wrote for the June 2014 issue of Worth, he says he does not regret his decision and he hopes that his actions will inspire others to look more at their lives and have their own wake up calls about their work-life balance.
