How a 10-year old got her CEO dad to quit his $100 million job instantly

28 Sep, 2014 by Rachel Alexander

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Money vs. family, where do you draw the line? This incredibly successful dad, who made millions of dollars every year as CEO of PIMCO, a global investment firm located in Newport Beach, Calif., was convinced to resign immediately after his 10-year-old daughter sent him a note listing 22 special occasions he had missed in her life because of his job.

According to IJ Review, Mohamed El-Erian explained to Worth:

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

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.

After quitting his job, El-Erian now works at multiple part-time jobs. But it allows him to be there for his family. He’s even been able to make breakfast for his daughter before she left for school. How commendable of him, in today’s materialism-obsessed society. Guess how he will feel 15 or so years from now, when his daughter is fully grown? My money is on not regretting it. Same for his daughter.

Rachel Alexander

Rachel Alexander is the editor of Intellectual Conservative. She is a senior editor at The Stream, and is a regular contributor to Townhall, the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research, and The Christian Post, and provides weekend news items for Right Wing News. She frequently appears on TV and news radio as a conservative commentator. She is a recovering attorney and former gun magazine editor. She previously served as a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona, corporate attorney for Go Daddy Software, and Special Assistant/Deputy County Attorney for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. As co-president of the UW Political Science Honor Society, she obtained degrees in Political Science and History from the University of Washington, followed by a law degree from Boston College and the University of Arizona. She was ranked by Right Wing News as one of the 50 Best Conservative Columnists from 2011-2017.