Goldman Sachs facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Headquarters in New York City
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: GS DJIA component S&P 100 component S&P 500 component
ISIN	ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US38141G1040 US38141G1040]
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1869; 156 years ago (1869)
Founders	Marcus Goldman Samuel Sachs
Headquarters	200 West Street, New York City, New York , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	David M. Solomon (chairman and CEO)
Products	Investment banking Global markets Asset management Wealth management Direct bank
Revenue	US$53.5 billion (2024)
Operating income	US$18.4 billion (2024)
Net income	US$14.3 billion (2024)
AUM	US$3.14 trillion (2024)
Total assets	US$1.68 trillion (2024)
Total equity	US$122 billion (2024)
Number of employees	46,500 (2024)
Divisions	Global Banking & Markets Asset & Wealth Management
Subsidiaries	Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Capital ratio	Tier 1 15.0% (2022; Basel III Advanced)
Rating	Standard & Poor's: BBB+ Moody's: A2 Fitch Ratings: A

Major Goldman Sachs offices

30 Hudson Street in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.

222 Main, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a big American company that helps people and businesses with their money. It's like a financial helper for large companies and wealthy individuals.

Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs has its main office in New York City. It also has offices in many other important financial cities around the world. It is one of the largest investment banks globally.

Goldman Sachs offers many services. These include helping companies combine with others (called mergers and acquisitions), helping new companies sell their shares for the first time (initial public offering), and managing money for clients. They also help people manage their wealth and even own a bank called Goldman Sachs Bank USA.

History

How Goldman Sachs Started

Second Goldman Sachs logo (1999–2020)

Third Goldman Sachs logo (2020–2024)

Goldman Sachs was started in 1869 by Marcus Goldman in New York City. His son-in-law, Samuel Sachs, joined the company in 1882. Later, Marcus'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 get money by selling special papers called commercial paper. In 1896, they joined the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which is a big marketplace for buying and selling company shares. By 1898, the company had $1.6 million. They opened offices in other cities like Boston and Chicago.

In 1906, Goldman Sachs helped a big store called Sears, Roebuck and Company sell its shares to the public for the first time. This was a major step for the company. They also helped other famous companies like F. W. Woolworth Company do the same. Goldman Sachs was good at figuring out how much companies were worth, even if they didn't have many physical assets.

In 1912, Henry S. Bowers became the first person outside the founding family to become a partner and share in the company's profits. In 1917, Henry Goldman left the company. The Sachs family then had full control for a while.

In 1928, the company started a special fund called the Goldman Sachs Trading Corp.Ad. However, this fund faced big problems during the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a time when the stock market crashed.

Changes and Growth (1930–1980)

In 1930, during the Great Depression, Sidney Weinberg took over as the main leader. He changed Goldman's focus from trading to helping companies with their finances. This helped improve the company's reputation.

Under Weinberg, Goldman Sachs helped Ford Motor Company sell its shares in 1956, which was a huge deal. They also started new departments for research and for helping cities and states with their money.

In the 1950s, Gus Levy joined the company. He was very good at trading large amounts of shares at once, which is called block trading. In 1969, Gus Levy became the Senior Partner. 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 faced another challenge when a large railroad company, Penn Central Transportation Company, went bankrupt. Goldman Sachs had helped them with their financial papers. This event led to new rules about how companies get credit ratings today.

Goldman Sachs opened its first international office in London in 1970. They also started a division to help wealthy individuals manage their money. In 1974, they came up with the "white knight" idea, where they helped a company avoid being taken over by another company it didn't want to join.

In 1976, John Weinberg and John C. Whitehead became co-leaders. They set up 14 important rules for how the company should do business.

Expanding Globally (1981–2000)

In 1981, Goldman Sachs bought J. Aron & Company, a company that traded things like coffee and gold. This brought Lloyd Blankfein, who later became a CEO, to Goldman Sachs.

In 1983, the company moved to a new main office at 85 Broad Street. They also helped with the public sale of the company that owned Rockefeller Center, a famous group of buildings in New York City. As countries like the Soviet Union changed, Goldman Sachs helped governments sell off parts of their businesses to private owners.

In 1986, Goldman Sachs started Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which manages many of its investment funds. In the 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.

During the 1980s, Goldman Sachs was a leader in using technology, being the first bank to share its research electronically.

Robert Rubin and Stephen Friedman became co-leaders in 1990. They wanted to make the company more global. In 1990, the company started using paperless trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1994, Goldman Sachs opened its first office in China. That same year, Jon Corzine became the CEO.

In 1999, after many years of discussion, Goldman Sachs became a public company. This meant that parts of the company could be bought and sold by anyone on the stock market. After this, Henry Paulson became the new chairman and CEO.

The New Millennium (2000–2007)

In 2000, Goldman Sachs bought Spear, Leeds, & Kellogg, a large trading firm, for $6.3 billion. They also helped the World Bank with its first internet bond offering.

In 2003, Goldman Sachs bought The Ayco Company, which offered financial advice. In October 2003, Goldman Sachs researchers introduced the BRIC idea, pointing out that Brazil, Russia, India, and China were becoming strong economic powers.

In May 2006, Henry Paulson left to become the United States Secretary of the Treasury, and Lloyd Blankfein became the new chairman and CEO.

The 2008 Financial Crisis

Goldman Sachs was involved in the subprime mortgage crisis that led to the 2008 financial crisis. They received a $10 billion investment from the U.S. government to help stabilize the financial system. This money was repaid with interest in 2009.

During the crisis, Goldman Sachs made money by predicting that some risky housing loans would fail. They did this by making a "bet" against these loans. This helped them avoid big losses that other companies faced.

In September 2008, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last two big investment banks, decided to become traditional banks. This changed how they operated. The company also received a $5 billion investment from Berkshire Hathaway, a company led by Warren Buffett.

In 2008, Goldman Sachs started a program called "Returnship" to help people, especially women, get back into the workforce after taking a break.

Recent Years (2013–Present)

In 2013, Goldman Sachs helped Apple Inc. with a huge bond offering, which was the largest of its kind at the time. They also bought a large loan portfolio from an Australian bank.

In 2014, Goldman Sachs bought a part of DONG Energy (now Ørsted A/S), a big electric company in Denmark. This deal caused some public protests because people were worried about Goldman's role in the 2008 financial crisis. Goldman Sachs later sold its share in the company.

In 2015, Goldman Sachs bought the online banking platform from General Electric's GE Capital Bank.

Logo of Marcus by Goldman Sachs

In 2016, Goldman Sachs launched GS Bank and started offering personal loans under the name Marcus by Goldman Sachs. They also bought Honest Dollar, a company that helps small businesses with retirement savings.

Example of physical Apple Card, issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA

In 2019, Apple Inc. partnered with Goldman Sachs to launch the Apple Card, a new credit card. This was Goldman's first credit card offering.

In December 2019, the company promised to invest and finance $750 billion in projects that help the environment and stop funding oil exploration in the Arctic.

In 2020, Goldman Sachs faced a large fine related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, where they were involved with Malaysia's government investment fund. They agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle the charges.

Also in 2020, Goldman Sachs announced that they would only help companies go public if they had at least one diverse board member, focusing on women, in the U.S. and Europe. However, in February 2025, Goldman Sachs announced they would no longer require this for companies they help go public.

In 2021, Goldman Sachs bought NN Investment Partners, a company that manages a lot of money. In 2022, they bought GreenSky, a company that helps with home improvement loans.

In March 2022, Goldman Sachs announced it was closing its business in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They also bought NextCapital Group, a company that provides digital retirement advice.

In June 2022, Goldman Sachs offered its first financial product linked to Ether (ETH), a type of digital currency.

In September 2022, Goldman Sachs announced they would be reducing their number of employees after a report showed a decrease in earnings.

In February 2024, it was reported that Goldman Sachs was expanding into the energy business in Texas through a company called Rhythm Energy.

The company is also growing its business in India, investing in a healthcare company called Medi Assist Healthcare in January 2024.

In January 2025, Goldman CEO David Solomon mentioned that the credit card partnership with Apple might end before its contract runs out in 2030.

Financial Performance

Note: Financial data in billions of US dollars and employee data in thousands. The data is sourced from the company's SEC Form 10-K from 2000 to 2023.

Who Owns Goldman Sachs?

The biggest owners of Goldman Sachs are large investment groups and banks. As of August 2024, the top 10 shareholders included:

• The Vanguard Group (8.96%)
• BlackRock (7.33%)
• State Street Corporation (6.15%)
• Morgan Stanley (2.26%)
• Capital World Investors (2.08%)
• Geode Capital Management (2.94%)
• Bank of America (1.94%)
• Fisher Asset Management (1.86%)
• Dodge & Cox (1.72%)
• T. Rowe Price (1.60%)

Leadership

Chairmen and CEOs

Here is a list of the main leaders of Goldman Sachs over the years:

1. Marcus Goldman (1869–1894)
2. Samuel Sachs (1894–1928)
3. Waddill Catchings (1928–1930)
4. Sidney Weinberg (1930–1969)
5. Gus Levy (1969–1976)
6. John C. Whitehead and John L. Weinberg (1976–1985)
7. John L. Weinberg (1985–1990)
8. Robert Rubin (1990–1992)
9. Stephen Friedman (1992–1994)
10. Jon Corzine (1994–1998)
11. Henry Paulson (1999–2006)
12. Lloyd Blankfein (2006–2018); Senior chairman (2019–present)
13. David M. Solomon (2018–present)

See also

In Spanish: Goldman Sachs para niños

• List of former employees of Goldman Sachs
• Goldman Sachs Foundation - philanthropic initiatives of the company