Goldman Sachs facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | |
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US38141G1040 US38141G1040] |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1869 |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | 200 West Street,
New York City, New York
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U.S.
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Services |
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| Revenue |  US$46.25 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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US$10.74 billion (2023) |
| US$8.52 billion (2023) |
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| AUM |  US$2.81 trillion (2023) |
| Total assets | US$1.64 trillion (2023) |
| Total equity | US$117 billion (2023) |
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Number of employees
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45,300 (2023) |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Capital ratio | Tier 1 15.0% (2022; Basel III Advanced) |
| Rating |
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The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a big American company that helps people and businesses with their money. It's like a special bank for large companies and wealthy individuals. It was started in 1869 and has its main office in New York City.
Goldman Sachs is one of the largest investment banks in the world. It helps companies with many things, like buying other companies or selling their own shares to the public for the first time. They also help manage money for people and businesses. The company has offices all over the world.
Contents
History of Goldman Sachs
How it Started
Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman in New York City. He started his business in a small basement office. Later, in 1882, his son-in-law, Samuel Sachs, joined the company. In 1885, Marcus Goldman's son, Henry Goldman, also joined, and the company became known as Goldman Sachs & Co.
The company was one of the first to help businesses raise money by selling special papers called commercial paper. In 1896, Goldman Sachs joined the New York Stock Exchange, which is a big marketplace for buying and selling company shares.
Growing the Business
Goldman Sachs helped many famous companies sell their shares to the public for the first time. For example, in 1906, they helped Sears, Roebuck and Company, a big store, become a public company. They also helped companies like General Cigar Company and F. W. Woolworth Company. Goldman Sachs was good at figuring out how much companies were worth, even if they didn't own many physical things.
In 1912, Henry S. Bowers became the first person who wasn't part of the founding family to become a partner in the company. This meant he could share in the company's profits.
In 1917, Henry Goldman left the company. The Sachs family then had full control for a while. Later, in 1919 and 1922, the company bought big parts of other companies like Merck & Co. and General Foods.
In 1928, Goldman Sachs started a special fund called the Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. This fund faced big problems during the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a time when the stock market fell sharply.
Changes in the Mid-1900s
After the stock market crash, in 1930, Sidney Weinberg took over as the main leader. He changed Goldman Sachs to focus more on helping companies with their finances, rather than just trading shares. This helped improve the company's image.
Under Weinberg, Goldman Sachs helped Ford Motor Company sell its shares in 1956, which was a huge deal at the time. The company also started new departments for research and for helping cities with their money.
In the 1950s, Gus Levy joined the company. He was very good at trading shares in large amounts. In 1969, Levy became the main leader. He believed in being "long-term greedy," meaning it was okay to have small losses now if it meant making a lot of money in the future.
In 1970, the company opened its first international office in London. It also started a division to help wealthy individuals manage their money. In 1976, John Weinberg and John C. Whitehead became co-leaders, and they set up 14 important rules for how the business should operate.
From the 1980s to 2000
In 1981, Goldman Sachs bought J. Aron & Company, a company that traded goods like coffee and gold. This helped Goldman Sachs grow its trading business.
In 1983, the company moved its main office to a new building in New York City. In 1986, Goldman Sachs started Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which handles many of its investment funds. That same year, they helped Microsoft sell its shares to the public and advised General Electric on buying RCA. They also joined the stock exchanges in London and Tokyo.
In the 1990s, Robert Rubin and Stephen Friedman became co-leaders. They wanted to make the company more global. In 1994, Goldman Sachs opened its first office in China.
After many years of discussion, Goldman Sachs became a public company in May 1999. This meant that ordinary people could buy shares in the company. After this, Henry Paulson became the new leader.
Early 2000s
In 2000, Goldman Sachs bought Spear, Leeds, & Kellogg, a large company that specialized in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2003, Goldman Sachs bought The Ayco Company, which offered financial advice. Also in 2003, researchers at Goldman Sachs came up with the idea of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) as rising economic powers.
In 2006, Henry Paulson left to work for the U.S. government, and Lloyd Blankfein became the new chairman and CEO.
The Financial Crisis (2007–2008)
During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Goldman Sachs faced challenges. The company had invested in mortgage-related investments, which lost a lot of value. However, some traders at Goldman Sachs had predicted this and made money by betting against these investments.
In 2008, the U.S. government provided help to many financial companies, including Goldman Sachs, through a program called the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Goldman Sachs received $10 billion from this program. They paid this money back with interest in 2009.
To become more stable, Goldman Sachs decided to change from being just an investment bank to also being a traditional bank holding company. This change was approved in September 2008.
In 2009, Goldman Sachs announced that its top executives would receive their year-end bonuses in company shares that they couldn't sell for five years. This was a way to show responsibility after the financial crisis.
Recent Years (2010s to Present)
In 2011, Goldman Sachs closed down its largest hedge fund, Global Alpha Fund. This fund used computer models to make investments and had been very successful.
In 2013, Goldman Sachs helped Apple Inc. raise $17 billion by selling bonds, which was the largest deal of its kind at the time.
In 2014, Goldman Sachs bought a part of DONG Energy (now Ørsted A/S), a large electric company in Denmark. This sale caused some public protests in Denmark because people were worried about a big bank owning part of their national energy company.
In 2016, Goldman Sachs launched a new online bank called GS Bank and started offering personal loans under the name Marcus by Goldman Sachs. They also bought a company called Honest Dollar, which helps small businesses set up retirement plans.
In 2019, Apple partnered with Goldman Sachs to launch the Apple Card, which was Goldman Sachs's first credit card.
Also in 2019, Goldman Sachs promised to invest and help finance $750 billion in projects that help fight climate change. They also said they would stop financing oil exploration in the Arctic.
In 2020, Goldman Sachs faced a large fine related to problems with a fund from Malaysia called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The company agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle these charges.
Since July 2020, Goldman Sachs has required that companies they help go public must have at least one diverse person on their board of directors, focusing on women.
In 2021, Goldman Sachs bought NN Investment Partners, a company that manages a lot of money. In 2022, they also bought GreenSky, a company that helps people get loans for home improvements.
In March 2022, Goldman Sachs announced it was closing its business in Russia because of new rules and sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In September 2022, Goldman Sachs announced that it would be reducing its number of employees.
More recently, in 2024, Goldman Sachs expanded its reach into the energy business in Texas through a company called Rhythm Energy. The company is also growing its business in India.
How Goldman Sachs is Managed
Leaders and Directors
Goldman Sachs is led by a group of people called the board of directors. These directors help guide the company. The current Chairman and CEO is David M. Solomon. Other important leaders include the President and Chief Operating Officer, John E. Waldron.
Past Chairmen and CEOs
Here is a list of the people who have led Goldman Sachs over the years:
- Marcus Goldman (1869–1894)
- Samuel Sachs (1894–1928)
- Waddill Catchings (1928–1930)
- Sidney Weinberg (1930–1969)
- Gus Levy (1969–1976)
- John C. Whitehead and John L. Weinberg (1976–1985)
- John L. Weinberg (1985–1990)
- Robert Rubin (1990–1992)
- Stephen Friedman (1992–1994)
- Jon Corzine (1994–1998)
- Henry Paulson (1999–2006)
- Lloyd Blankfein (2006–2018); Senior chairman (2019–present)
- David M. Solomon (2018–present)
Who Owns Goldman Sachs
Many different groups and companies own shares in Goldman Sachs. Here are the 10 largest shareholders as of December 2023:
- The Vanguard Group (8.77%)
- BlackRock (7.07%)
- State Street Corporation (6.02%)
- Geode Capital Management (1.91%)
- Capital World Investors (1.85%)
- Morgan Stanley (1.82%)
- Fisher Asset Management (1.69%)
- Dodge & Cox (1.68%)
- MFS Investment Management (1.60%)
- T. Rowe Price (1.52%)
Political Contributions
Goldman Sachs and its employees sometimes give money to political campaigns and groups. For example, in the 2022 United States elections, they gave $3.3 million to various candidates and political parties.
See also
In Spanish: Goldman Sachs para niños
- List of former employees of Goldman Sachs
- Goldman Sachs Foundation - philanthropic initiatives of the company
