How a Legendary Financier Became a Blockbuster Novelist

December 5, 2022
Hosted by Ron Roel

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Episode Description

For 40 years, Jay Newman was a legendary hedge fund portfolio manager, traveling across the globe to recover billions of dollars in debt defaults by countries like the Congo, Panama, and Argentina. When he retired in 2016, he considered writing a biographical, non-fiction account of his storied career. Instead, he decided that fiction would be a better vehicle to capture the essence of the people and events he encountered over the years. In today’s episode, Jay talks about his new novel, “Undermoney,” a blockbuster financial thriller about a group of Americans who secretly take over the world’s largest dark money fund. He’ll talk about what he learned about how the unseen confluence of money, power and corruption has shaped the destiny of nations. “Undermoney,” in fact, is a term invented by Jay—it’s the money you don’t see on the surface, but you know it’s there, influencing people and events. Jay will also describe how he made the transition to a first-time novelist in retirement, learning how to use research, along with his experiences, to create a richly fictional world that eerily appears to foreshadow today’s evolving geopolitical landscape. And he’ll offer some insights and observations about what we can learn from the world’s mega-crooks, and how we might limit the corruption that inevitably pervades each generation.

45 Forward

Monday at 12 Noon Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

Thanks to advances in medicine and health, most of us are just at half-life when we reach our mid-40s, with many potentially productive years ahead. But there’s no road map to prepare us for this period. That’s where 45 Forward comes in.

My show provides you with strategies to shift the traditional waiting-for-retirement model to a journey of compelling life chapters. Each show tackles an aspect of health, finance, family and friends, housing, work and personal pursuits as part of an integrated plan. Experts discuss topics like revitalizing relationships, creating mini-retirements, managing the maze of technology, finding your next homestead and caring for aging parents.

The show instills confidence, and hopefully some comfort, amid the stresses permeating today’s society. Fear of the future is not knowing how to prepare for it. 45 Forward does not proffer prefabricated answers, but helps you shape your life amid the daily anxieties of our time.

Ron Roel

I’m a veteran journalist who spent a wide-ranging career covering business, politics and social issues, the last two decades focusing on the blend of diverse life skills I call successful aging.

I have written extensively on aging topics, spoken at conferences, radio and TV shows, and launched several entrepreneurial ventures, discovering along the way that the path to aging well also requires an unexpected entrepreneurial vision. I spent 20 years as a writer and editor at Long Island’s daily newspaper, Newsday, helping to found Act 2, a weekly section for 50-plus readers. I created Roelresources.com, a website offering practical advice and inspirational essays for people ages 40 and above. I have been a volunteer and consultant to AARP Long Island, writing articles, advocating for seniors, and developing action plans for the AARP Age-Friendly Communities initiative.

I am active in programs and organizations that support seniors, such as the National Aging In Place Council and the Senior Umbrella Network. I have developed a special expertise in family caregiving, as one of four brothers who took care of their mother for almost 25 years. I regularly collaborate with many professionals who provide services and support for older Americans, and I am completing a book for caregivers on Long Island, “The Caregiving Navigator/How to Plan, What to do, and Where to Turn When Caring for you Aging Loved Ones. And Yourself,” scheduled for publication in early 2021.

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