The Bond King’s Genius Was No Match for His Ego
In an excerpt from her new book, Mary Childs, the co-host of NPR’s Planet Money, takes a close look at the rise and fall of billionaire investor Bill Gross.
I. Team Bonding
When Bill Gross started his career in investing in the fixed-income department of a sleepy life insurance company in the 1970s, bonds were just pieces of paper stored in vaults. Gross soon became the face of a revolution: actively trading those pieces of paper in pursuit of price appreciation. He was good at it—by most accounts, the best. He and Pacific Investment Management Co., the firm he co-founded, reigned over the bond market for decades, earning Gross the title of “Bond King.” From the outside, he seemed folksy, if a bit eccentric, and Pimco appeared polished and professional. The truth was more complicated.