DaBaby

Lloyd Craig Blankfein was born into a low-income Jewish family in the Bronx, New York City, on September 20, 1954. He was raised in the Linden Houses, a public housing project in Brooklyn. Blankfein attended public schools in New York City, graduating as valedictorian from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1971. He then pursued higher education at Harvard University, earning an A.B. in history in 1975 and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1978. His early career included working for law firms Proskauer Rose and Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine. In 1982, he joined J. Aron & Co. as a precious metals salesman in its London office, a firm that had been acquired by Goldman Sachs in 1981.

Blankfein’s career at Goldman Sachs progressed steadily. He was named partner in 1988. He managed or co-managed the company’s currency and commodities divisions from 1994 to 1997. In 2004, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer, serving in this role until June 2006. He became chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs in July 2006, after Henry Paulson was nominated as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

During his tenure as CEO, Blankfein navigated Goldman Sachs through the 2008 financial crisis. His approach, which involved taking advantage of low interest rates and reduced competition, led to significant trading profits. This period brought both praise and criticism, and he testified before Congress regarding the firm’s actions during the crisis. He was recognized as the Financial Times Person of the Year in 2009 and was twice named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine. He stepped down as CEO at the end of 2018 and became Senior Chairman in 2019. Blankfein has also been involved in philanthropy and has expressed views on political and social issues.