Crazy Money With Paul Ollinger

Joe Duran grew up poor, in a one-room house in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during violent and tumultuous times. Today, Joe is Head of Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, which serves clients across 100 locations throughout the United States. A proven entrepreneur, investor, best-selling author, and sought-after industry speaker, Joe previously built Centurion Capital, which he sold to General Electric Financial (GE) in 2001 and United Capital, which Goldman acquired in 2019. Having came to the United States with $200 in his pocket, Joe is the ultimate American success story. Through his entrepreneurship, he has not only achieved personal affluence but has created "hundreds of millionaires” and countless jobs for others along the way. He is also a unique business leader who starts with purpose and works outward, guided by philosophy and the belief that truly knowing his client will help them set better goals unique to their history and values.  In this conversation, we discuss philosophy, wealth, immigrat

Human life expectancy increased more in the 20th Century than it did in all prior years of human existence combined! This has meaningful impact on how we should think about our health, careers, families, and government programs.  Laura Carstensen is the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and the author ofA Long, Bright Future: Happiness, Health, and Financial Security in an Age of Increased Longevity. She is also a Professor of Psychology and the Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor of Public Policy. Laura is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served on the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Network on an Aging Society and the National Advisory Council. In addition to many other honors, Laura has earned a Guggenheim Fellowship. She received her B.S. From the university of Rochester rand her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from West Virginia University.  Learn more about her work at the Stanford Center on Longevity here  === SUPPORT THE SHOW: ✍️ RATE / REVIEW Crazy Money

Melissa Bernstein has great wealth, a wonderful husband, and six healthy children. She has also endured a lifetime of “existential anxiety and depression,” suicidal thoughts, and a feeling that she does not belong on earth.  The Co-founder of Melissa & Doug’s toys describes her brain as a “prison of despair” but that same brain also provides her the “boundless expanse of imagination” that has helped her design over 5,000 toys in the 32 years since she and her husband co-founded the massively successful company. Despite her success, all the money in the world can’t change the way her brain works, nor would she trade it for anyone else’s brain. For decades, Melissa kept her condition to herself and tried to fit in by pursuing conventional indicators of success: good grades, the right college, an investment banking career. Earlier this year, Melissa and Doug launched LifeLines, an app, book and online resource center for anyone dealing with severe mental health issues of their own or in their family.  Check it o

Moby’s first job as a DJ was spinning records at a dive bar next to a methadone clinic. A few years later, he was rich and famous, but "never felt more depressed.” Having grown up as "poor white trash” in the wealthy town of Darien, CT, Moby's financial status made him feel like a “third-class citizen.” Decades after selling over 20 million albums, winning all kinds of awards, and experiencing "baffling success," he still feels disenfranchised.  The massive, unpredictable success of his 1999 album, Play set an incredibly high bar against which the press and he himself measured his subsequent work. His consumption of alcohol, cocaine, and related chemical goodies drove him to a dark place from which he finally rebounded in 2008. He has been sober ever since. Moby addresses all these issues in the upcoming documentary, MobyDoc. In this episode of Crazy Money, we also discuss his relationship to finances, debt, why he’s never had a mortgage, and can’t even bring himself to borrow 50 cents to buy a pack of gum. H

In 1988, Maura McVann Coley sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury that deprived her of the ability to walk. Just 17 at the time of the accident, the then high school athlete had to adjust her expectations for senior year, college, and life beyond. On today’s episode, Maura shares with great candor how she adapted logistically and emotionally to her new and very different circumstances. She offers insight into how she navigated college at the University of Illinois, traveled through Europe, and figured out young adult life. Things get very real when Maura tells me why she was scared to date.  Today, Maura and her husband, Kevin Coley raise two children and a dog in Daphne, AL where they own and operate a small business called We Rock the Spectrum Daphne. Maura also runs a pediatric speech therapy practice called Speech Time Therapy Services where kids of all abilities learn and develop critical communication skills in a fun and playful environment. She loves traveling to new places with her family, helping

(Originally posted Jan, 2020...but so worth another listen) In The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, Jonathan Rauch explores the decline in happiness that most people experience in middle age and what there is to do about it. Even after achieving all we had ever dreamed of and more, many of us experience a disappointment or melancholy, and question if “this” is all there is to life.  The first thing to understand that this is normal. Your doubts are okay and part of the aging process of the mind. The second thing to embrace is that you will be okay! Listen now to find out how and why. Jonathan Rauch is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributing editor of The Atlantic. His writing spans the full spectrum of society, including politics, marijuana legalization, health care, gay marriage, adultery, agriculture, economics, height discrimination, and animal rights.  This work has earned him many honors, including the National Magazine Award and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalis

Matthew J. Slaughter is the Dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth where Paul (the host of this show) earned his MBA. In today’s conversation, Matt and Paul discuss the role of business education in creating not just savvy business leaders but curious, ethical human beings. Matt shares insights into the challenges the pandemic inflicted on universities, how Covid-19 caused the worst day of his career, and how to behave in the Oval Office. An expert on globalization, Matt is also the Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business. From 2005-07, he served on President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research; a member of the academic advisory board of the International Tax Policy Forum; and an academic advisor to the McKinsey Global Institute. Matt received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa fr

(Originally posted Sept, 2019...but so worth another listen) Our brains are not good at predicting what will actually make us happy. You think you want more money, more fame, and to be alone, but what will actually make you happy are more social connections and more gratitude. Dr. Santos’ course Psychology and the Good Life—the most popular class in Yale’s history—teaches students to live happier, more fulfilling lives, which is good because student rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts are at an all-time high.  Laurie Santos, PhD is a cognitive scientist, Professor of Psychology and Director of Yale’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory. She is the host of The Happiness Lab podcast. Laurie earned her AB, AM and PhD’s from Harvard University.  **Please rate and review Crazy Money.** Follow Crazy Money on Instagram here and join the Crazy Money Listeners Group here. Email Paul guest suggestions, Bitcoin, and gift certificates at:  Paul@CrazyMoneyPodcast.comAbout Crazy Money: Unlike traditional perso

What does it mean to “own” something? Do you “own”your body? Do you own the dirt in your backyard? If someone flies a drone over your deck, do you have the right to blast it out of the sky? (Seems fair to me, but the law says otherwise.) In their new book,Mine!, law professors Michael Heller and James Salzman explore the the concept of ownership and property in ways you have almost certainly not considered.  I love books that make me re-think a concept that I take for granted. InMine!, Heller and Salzman do just that. Most of us assume we know what it means to own something or who has the right to certain things or spaces. But the law isn’t always self-evident, is wildly inconsistent, and varies from country-to-country and state-to-state.  Manyof the examples they cite will piss you off! For example, who owns the space just behind the airplane seat in front of you? Does that sweaty dude in that chair have the right to recline? Or does that space belong to you and your sensitive knees? Also, why can you copyri

This week we tried out a new format—a panel discussion about the 1987 classic Oliver Stone film, Wall Street. It starred Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Darryl Hannah and a whole bunch of other amazing actors. The movie, which was a morality tale about financial excess, both celebrated and condemned the era's obsession with money and over-the-top luxury (clearly that’s over!). In addition to cocaine, caviar, and steak tartare, it asked us to consider: How much is enough?  How do you define success? Is greed, for lack of a better word, good? My friend A.M. Bhatt and I moderated this discussion on the Clubhouse app including previous Crazy Moneyguests: Turney Duff, author of The Buy Side Lisa Birnbach, author of The Official Preppy Handbook Brad Klontz, financial psychologist and author of Money Mammoth and other books  Get tickets to Paul’s show in Woodstock on April 22 here. Rate and review Crazy Money here.

A working class kid from the poor part of Connecticut, Jared Dillian somehow managed in 2001 to land a job as a trader at Lehman Brothers, the then-prestigious investment bank. Wearing cheap suits from the Mens Wearhouse, he found himself out-of-place among the Armani-clad Ivy League set on Wall Street. But he loved trading and made a lot of money in the process. In this candid conversation, Jared shares frank insights into the incredible stress of trading and the mental health that became apparent as his career progressed. Those persistent mood swings turned out to be a symptom of undiagnosed Bipolar disorder, which resulted in him spending three weeks in the psychiatric ward, a place he described as “a very healing environment." After Lehman went bankrupt, Jared pivoted to a successful writing career. Today, he is the Editor of The Daily Dirt Nap, an investment newsletter providing daily market commentary and insight to traders and very serious investors. He has also written two books: Street Freak: A Memoi

My guest today paid a dowry of eight cows for his first wife and six cows and three sheep for his second wife. Josphat Mako, or just “Mako," grew up in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, a massive plain just north of the Serengeti. He taught himself English, learned how to drive, and has since become become a well-known safari guide for the legendary Cottars camps.  In today’s episode, we talk about his childhood, daily life in the Maasai Village, who goes to school in their culture (it will surprise you!), and what it was like when he attended a football game at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Special thanks to Ann Short travel here in Atlanta, Bush & Beyond in Nairobi and the good people at Cottars Conservation camp in the Mara. See photos from our trip are in the Crazy Money Listeners group in Facebook.   See the Sidecar hat carrier here. Get tickets to see Paul at MadLife Studios here.  Rate and review Crazy Money here.   Topics covered in this episode include: #alabamafootball #maasai #maasaimara #travel

(Originally posted October, 2019) Ryan Holiday is the author of ten books, which have sold sold more than 2 million copies worldwide and been translated into 30 languages. World-class athletes, celebrities and political leaders use his lessons to achieve peak performance. His 2014 book, The Obstacle Is The Way, was read by the New England Patriots during their 2014 Super Bowl-winning season and by four-time major champion golfer Rory McIlroy as preparation for the 2019 Masters Tournament.  In this conversation, recorded in September, 2019, we discuss his then-upcoming release, Stillness is the Key, the author explores how each of us can find wisdom in our lives by slowing down and quieting the barking dogs in our head. Ryan is also the founder of Daily Stoic, a community of 200,000 people dedicated to leading better lives by contemplating the ancient philosophy.  Find Ryan on http://dailystoic.com Find Paul on http://PaulOllinger.com Email Paul at Paul@CrazyMoneyPodcast.com TICKETS to Paul’s upcoming comedy s

Communicator, author, and pastor Andy Stanley founded Atlanta-based North Point Ministries (NPM) in 1995. Today, NPM consists of seven churches in the Atlanta area and a network of nearly 100 churches around the globe that collectively serve nearly 185,000 people weekly. A survey of U.S. pastors in Outreach magazine identified Andy as one of the ten most influential living pastors in America. Andy holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Georgia State University and a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than 20 books, including Irresistible; The New Rules for Love, Sex & Dating; How to Be Rich; Deep & Wide; Enemies of the Heart; When Work & Family Collide; Visioneering; and Next Generation Leader. His success reaches well beyond the Atlanta area. Over 10.5 million of his messages, leadership videos, YouTube videos, and podcasts are accessed each month. He is the host of the TV show, Your Move with Andy Stanley, which airs in major markets after Saturday Night Liv

Comedian Paul Ollinger started Crazy Money to explore the connection between money, happiness, work, and meaning through the lens of his guests' expertise and/or money journeys. Preveious interviewees include prominent authors, academics, CEOs, celebrities, and winners of the Nobel Prize, Heisman Trophy, PGA Championship, and Olympic Gold medals, including: Academics: Princeton's Sir Angus Deaton (Nobel laureate) and Peter Singer (“the world’s most influential living philosopher”), Yale’s Laurie Santos, Brookings' Richard Reeves, Jonathan Rauch, and Carol Graham, Oxford’s Will MacAskill, UC Berkeley’s Barry Schwartz on The Paradox of Choice, Yale Law School’s Daniel Markovits. Journalists: Ron Lieber (NYT), Paul Sullivan (NYT), Paul Tough (NYT), Adam Minter, Oliver Burkeman (The Guardian). Best-selling authors: Ryan Holiday, Bill Browder, Lori Gottlieb, Michael Arceneaux, Christopher Ryan, AJ Jacobs, James Altucher, Jesse Itzler, Lisa Birnbach. Broadcasters: Guy Raz, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Adam Carolla, Bo

Nobody works harder than LL COOL J. The musician, producer, actor, and entrepreneur has been playing at the highest levels of art, business, and culture since he burst on the scene at the age of 17, in 1985. For over 35 years, LL has pushed himself to achieve in all that he does while leading with spirit and character. And achieve he has. The two-time Grammy-winner and first ever Hip Hop Kennedy Center Honoree has recorded 14 studio albums, landing massive hits including Going Back to Cali, Mama Said Knock You Out, Rock The Bells, and many, many more. As an actor, he has played “Sam Hanna” on NCIS: Los Angeles for the last 12 years, appeared in hit films like In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, and Wildcats, and starred in the NBC sitcom, In the House. In this, the 100th original interview of Crazy Money, LL shares what he really wanted when he released his first record, how he approaches potential business deals, and why he pours his soul into Rock The Bells, his company that elevates timeless and classic Hip-H

“Never tell anyone a secret because they will surely use it against you.” That’s what Lord John Browne’s mother, an Auschwitz survivor, always told her son. The former CEO of BP followed her advice until he was 59 years old when his secret—the fact that he was a closeted gay man—was exposed by an ex-boyfriend in the British tabloids.  The revelation resulted in a media storm and Lord Browne’s immediate resignation. Just like that, after almost 40 years of service to his employer, he was out of a job and out of the closet. Keep in mind that in the few years before he was outed, Lord Browne had been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, named to the house of Lords, won the UK’s “Most Admired Leader” Award 4 times in a row. John Browne, Baron Browne of Maddingley served as BP's CEO from 1995 until 2007. When he took the helm, the company was called British Petroleum. The re-branding to BP was only one of several major accomplishments during his tenure. He also engineered mergers with Amoco, Arco, and oversaw major exp

James Altucher is an author, chess master, podcaster, former hedge fund manager, angel investor, and — just to top it off —comedian. Oh, he’s also an entrepreneur who has started 20 companies, 17 of which failed. Over the course of his career, James has made and lost multi-million dollar fortunes “three or four times.”  The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Choose Yourself, Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth, and The Power of No has  a new book, Skip the Line that is all about how thinking linearly and doing things the way they have always been done will get you exactly nowhere. Oh, he also owns a comedy club. You’ll hear all about this.  Learn more about James’ podcast and books on his website. Here’s his NY Post essay, New York City is Dead Forever (you probably read this). **Please rate and review Crazy Money.** Follow Crazy Money on Instagram here and join the Crazy Money Listeners Group here. Read Paul’s latest thoughts on life on Medium.  Here’s the link to my 2019 interview with my wife, Stacey,

Rachel Greenwald is a professional match-maker whose business serves wealthy men looking for love. A graduate of Harvard Business School where she is an Executive Fellow, Rachel is also the New York Times bestselling author of Have Him at Hello and Find a Husband After 35. In today’s episode we discuss the mistakes both men and women make when talking or inquiring about money during courtship. She also divulges the #1 mistake successful women make on first dates, as reported in interviews with over 1,000 men. (Some of you won’t like this, so it’s that much more important that you listen!) An expert on building successful relationships in both love and work, Rachel also helps corporate executives improve their professional relationships, deepen connections among their teams, and elevate their EQ skills by using tactics honed through her two decades of match-making. Learn more about Rachel and her books on her website. **Please rate and review Crazy Money.** Follow Crazy Moneyon Instagram hereand join theCrazy