NYT: Paulson's heir apparent at Goldman, Sachs is a Democrat

[DeepModem Mom]

May. 31, 2006
Goldman’s Heir Apparent

With Hank Paulson headed to Washington to become the next Treasury Secretary, the heavy buzz on Wall Street is that Goldman Sachs president Lloyd Blankfein will land the job as the next leader of the storied securities firm.

Though many analysts said they expect a fairly smooth transition, it is also clear that Mr. Blankfein is hardly a clone of Mr. Paulson, who has led the firm since 1999, when it converted from a private partnership to a public company.

As Wednesday’s coverage in The New York Times points out, Mr. Paulson came up through the ranks as an investment banker, while Mr. Blankfein has his roots in the more rough-and-tumble area of sales and trading. Mr. Paulson was brought up in a small town in rural Barrington, Ill., and received a business degree; Mr. Blankfein was raised in a housing project in New York and educated as a lawyer. (They both got their graduate degrees from Harvard, as it happens.)

A look at their political contributions reveals another stark contrast between the two Goldman executives. While Mr. Paulson is a Republican, his likely successor is a major supporter of Democratic causes. In March, Mr. Blankfein donated $25,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to data provided by PoliticalMoneyLine.com. He also contributed to John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004....

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=3612

[Captain Hilts]

1. Weren't the Goldman/Sachs guys among the few allowed to fly after 9/11?nt

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Not that I know of, but I could be uninformed. nt

[Ravy]

3. I have a good feeling that his heir apparent for Treasury Secretary

will be a Democrat, too. Fingers crossed.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. I hope you are right!!! nt

[madinmaryland]

5. By the way, Paulson's predecessor at Goldman is now

Governor of New Jersey, and was a US Senator from 2001-2005.

John Corzine

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Another Dem. nt