Money And Power - How Goldman Sachs Came To Rule The World

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When, in late 2008, the dust finally started to settle on one of the worst financial crises in history, only one Wall Street institution still stood virtually unassailed - Goldman Sachs. Why did Goldman survive, and even flourish, when so many of its peers were collapsing around them? Were the Goldman professionals simply the 'smartest guys in the room', the elite of the elite? Or was there more at work than simply the magic of 'The Goldman Way'?

In Money and Power William D Cohan peers behind the curtain to give us the inside story of why Goldman is so profitable, and so powerful. His behind-the-scenes account shows how, buttressed by the most aggressive and sophisticated PR machine in the financial industry, Goldman Sachs has continually projected an image of being superior to its competitors - smarter, more collegial, more ethical, more client-focused. But Cohan also reveals another way of viewing Goldman - as a secretive money-making machine that has walked an uneasy line between conflict-of-interest and legitimate deal-making for decades; a firm that has assiduously cultivated power and exerted its influence over government (to the extent that Sidney Weinberg, who ran the firm for nearly forty years, advised presidents from Roosevelt to Kennedy and was nicknamed 'The Politician'); a company kept in line by former CIA operatives and private investigators; a workplace rife with brutal power struggles.

William Cohan is the first author to chronicle and to interview the leaders of Goldman Sachs since the 2008 crash, and has gained unprecedented access to the firm's inner circle. Every living former chief executive of Goldman Sachs has spoken to him, as well as its current chairman and CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. Money and Power is the most penetrating study yet of these larger-than-life characters and their secretive world: the definitive account of an institution whose public claims of virtue look very much like ruthlessness when exposed to the light of day.

What will you learn from this book

Goldman Sachs' Rise: The book traces the history of Goldman Sachs, detailing its evolution from a small partnership to becoming one of the most powerful and influential investment banks globally.
Financial Innovations: Goldman Sachs has been a pioneer in developing various financial instruments and strategies, such as risk management techniques, derivatives, and proprietary trading.
Culture and Leadership: It explores the internal culture and leadership within Goldman Sachs, examining the firm's values, practices, and the role of its leaders in shaping the organization.
Role in Global Finance: The book delves into Goldman Sachs' significant role in global finance, its involvement in key financial events, and its relationships with governments and other financial institutions.
Influence on Wall Street: Goldman Sachs' impact on Wall Street and its position as a major player in mergers and acquisitions, underwriting, and trading activities are highlighted.
Crisis and Controversies: The book discusses Goldman Sachs' involvement in various controversies, including its actions during the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 and its aftermath.
Political Connections: Examining the firm's ties with political figures and the influence it wields in policy-making circles, shedding light on the revolving door between Wall Street and government.
Corporate Governance and Ethics: Discussions about corporate governance, ethical considerations, and criticisms related to conflicts of interest and the firm's business practices.
Impact on Markets: Goldman Sachs' influence on financial markets, its strategies for profit generation, and its impact on market trends and volatility.
Lessons Learned: The book offers insights into lessons learned from Goldman Sachs' history, both positive aspects that contributed to its success and the challenges it faced or caused along the way.

Language	English
ISBN-10	0767928261
ISBN-13	978-0767928267
No of pages	658
Font Size	Medium
Book Publisher	Penguin Allen Lane
Published Date	12 Apr 2011

About Author

Author : William D. Cohan

2 Books

William David Cohan (born February 20, 1960) is an American business writer. He has written three books about business and economics and is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Prior to becoming a journalist, he worked on Wall Street for seventeen years. He spent six years at Lazard Frères in New York, then Merrill Lynch & Co., and later became a managing director at JP Morgan Chase. He also worked for two years at GE Capital. Cohan is a graduate of Duke University, Columbia University School of Journalism, and Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Cohan was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on February 20, 1960. His father was an accountant and his mother worked in administration.

In 1991 he married editor Deborah Gail Futter in a Jewish ceremony.

In 2007, he published The Last Tycoons The Secret History of Lazard Frères Co., about Lazard Frères. It won the 2007 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

His book House of Cards A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street, describing the last days of Bear Stearns & Co., was published in March 2009. The book has received excellent reviews and was described as a "masterfully reported account" by Tim Rutten in The Los Angeles Times. It remained on the New York Times Bestseller list for several months.

In an op-ed article in the New York Times, Cohan said in March 2009 that Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz and Lehman CEO Dick Fuld had engaged in a "tsunami of excuses" when they were responsible for their firms' collapse. In another op-ed written with Sandy B. Lewis in June 2009 he said that the current economic crisis is not over yet, and that "many of the fixes that the Obama administration has proposed will do little to address them and may make them worse."

His 2011 book, Money and Power How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World, examines the historical role and influence of Goldman Sachs.

His new book, The Price of Silence The Duke Lacrosse Scandal the Power of the Elite and the Corruption of Our Great Universities, about the story of the Duke lacrosse case, was published in 2014 by Scribner.