This epic biography tells the story of the rise of Wall Street and the
growth of Goldman Sachs from a small commercial paper company to the international banking
business we know today.
At its heart is the story of Henry Goldman, a man who spoke out passionately
for his beliefs, understood the importance of the bottom line, and was known to chuckle,
draw on his cigar, and remind his young protégés, "Just keep in mind . . . Money is
always in fashion."
Though you will rarely find a mention of him in the official history of Goldman
Sachs, it was Henry who established many of the practices of modern investment banking. He
devised the plan that made Sears, Roebuck Co. the first publicly owned retail operation in
the world, helped convince Woodrow Wilson to pass the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, and
became a power player in the world of Wall Street finance at a time when Jews were
considered outsiders.
The book traces Henry Goldman's hard-fought and often frustrating career
with Goldman Sachs, a company founded by his father Marcus and fraught with professional
rivalries.
The tensions between the Goldman and Sachs families extended outside of the
boardroom and into the larger world as the United States went to war. Henry’s steadfast
support for Germany during World War I would tarnish his reputation and drive him from the
firm. But his involvement with finance would continue throughout his life, as would close
friendships with luminaries like Albert Einstein, whom he would later join in outspoken
denunciation of Hitler’s atrocities against European Jews.
Here, June Breton Fisher, Henry Goldman’s granddaughter, tells his whole
story for the first time—a story that has shaped contemporary finance and continues to
resonate with us today.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1 Against All Odds 5
2 Banking in "The Swamp" 25
3 The Goldmans and the Sachses 43
4 Going Public 67
5 War in the Boardroom 89
6 Phoenix Rising 119
7 The Fine Art of Collecting Fine Art 161
8 Bull Point Camp 201
9 A Child Prodigy 225
10 End of the Line 245
Afterword 263
Notes 269
Index 274
288 pages, Hardcover