Mohamed El-Erian walked away from a nine-figure job after his 10-year-old handed him a list of life events he'd missed

Godwin Oluponmile

Sun, September 20, 2026 at 2:30 PM GMT+3 5 min read

Rob Kim / Getty Images

If you work full-time and have kids, there's a good chance you've missed a school concert or game because you had to work. A Pew Research survey of 2,242 working parents, published in June, found nearly half of full-time working parents say they at least sometimes miss their children's activities because of work.

Mohamed El-Erian got his reminder on a piece of paper.

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In a 2014 essay for Worth magazine, the former CEO of PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management) recalled asking his daughter to do something several times — brushing her teeth, he thought — with no luck. He reminded her she used to listen the first time. She asked him to wait before stepping out of the room and returning with a list.

"It was a list that she had compiled of her important events and activities that I had missed due to work commitments," El-Erian wrote.

There were 22 items on the list, including her first day at school, her first soccer match of the season, a parent-teacher meeting and a Halloween parade. "And the school year wasn't yet over," he added. By that September, the essay had gone viral.

The job and the paycheck he gave up

El-Erian was PIMCO'schief executive officer and co-chief investment officer. PIMCO was the world's largest bond fund manager, looking after nearly $2 trillion in client assets. (That distinction now belongs to Larry Fink's BlackRock.)

In January 2014, PIMCO announced El-Erian was leaving. COO Douglas Hodgewould step in by mid-March. PIMCO didn't say why, and El-Erian didn't either.

PIMCO didn't disclose what it paid people, but in 2012, The New York Times reported that El-Erian took home about $100 million the year before, citing an anonymous source familiar with PIMCO's books. Documents obtained by Bloomberg View columnist Barry Ritholtz later showed that El-Erian got a $230 million bonus for 2013, his last full year at the firm.

Why the list wasn't the whole story

El-Erian's first reaction was to defend himself. "I felt awful and got defensive: I had a good excuse for each missed event! Travel, important meetings, an urgent phone call, sudden to-dos…" he wrote.

Then it sank in. "As much as I could rationalize it — as I had rationalized it — my work-life balance had gotten way out of whack," he wrote.

He called that wake-up call "one of the main reasons" he made a major professional change — emphasis on "one of." A Wall Street Journal report published in February 2014 described a falling-out between El-Erian and PIMCO co-founder Bill Gross that deepened as PIMCO's returns weakened. A source close to El-Erian also told Reuters he had reportedly let Gross and other top executives know in 2013 that he wanted to leave.

What his days look like now

El-Erian kept working, basically swapping one massive job for"a portfolio of part-time jobs that requires a lot less travel and offers a ton more flexibility."

In 2014, El-Erian became chief economic adviser to Allianz, PIMCO's corporate parent. He later joined Under Armour's board and became the sportswear company's non-executive chair in 2024. His X profile also lists him as a professor of practice at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"I now alternate with my wife in waking up our daughter every morning, preparing her breakfast and driving her to school," he wrote.

He was upfront about his luck, too. "I'm the first to recognize that I am incredibly fortunate to be able to structure my life in this way," El-Erian wrote. He added that "unfortunately, not everyone has this luxury."

The part of his story you can borrow

El-Erian could afford his big switch, and he said as much. But the feeling behind it is common. Pew found that 60% of full-time working parents say they spend too little time with their kids, and work is the top reason.

He picked his new work partly for its flexibility, and that's a realistic first step for most parents. Most full-time working parents who aren't self-employed say working from home on a needed basis would help a lot, but only24% say they have that kind of flexibility. It may be worth asking your boss.

If cutting hours is on the table, check what you'd lose besides pay. Pew found 87% of full-time working parents can get health insurance through work, compared with 37% of part-timers. So know what your own coverage would cost before you cut back.

Then do a test run. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists losing income as a common reason to have an emergency fund. For a few months, live on the smaller paycheck you'd get and save the rest. If that works, you've got your answer.