“Is it possible to have too much ambition? Is it possible to be too successful?” ~Lloyd Blankfein
Lloyd Blankfein was born in the Bronx. Now he’s head of Goldman Sachs.
Image: Bloomberg
Lloyd Blankfein is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Group. He was first nominated for the position of CEO in 2006 by former CEO Henry Paulson, and he has remained in the position ever since. He is one of the highest paid Wall Street executives.
Blankfein was born and raised in New York City’s Bronx borough, and grew up in the Linden Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development. His family’s modest income did not stop him from graduating as valedictorian of his high school in 1971 or from attending Harvard College. There, he earned his A.B. and later his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
After graduating from law school, Blankfein worked as a lawyer for a few years before deciding to switch career paths. He joined the J. Aron Currency and Commodities Division of Goldman Sachs in 1982 and quickly worked his way up through the ranks, making partner status by 1988 and co-head of the division by 1994. When the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division was established in 1997, Blankfein became its co-head. Continuing his upward momentum, Blankfein eventually became chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group in 2006.
Lloyd Blankfein is also associated with various non-profit organizations and educational boards, including the Dean’s Advisory Board at Harvard Law School, the Dean’s Council of Harvard University, the Advisory Board of the Tsinghia University School of Economics and Management, the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and the Partnership for New York City.
