Even in retirement, former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein sounds less like a penitent banker than an irreverent trader between deals. Reflecting on his own working-class upbringing, he notes that “people from my neighbourhood didn’t have doctors to sign letters attesting to their obscure disabilities, such as bone spurs”. No great diplomat, Blankfein and Goldman became a lightning rod for criticism during the 2008-09 global financial crisis, when an outraged public failed to see the humour after Blankfein quipped that the bank was “doing God’s work”. Blankfein remains unapologetic, remarking that the 9/11 terrorist attacks brought “the rare crisis that no one blamed on us”. Bloomberg’s Matt Levine, himself a Goldman alumnus, relished the candour: no ritual contrition, just missed profit.

Source: The Irish Times March 09, 2026 17:09 UTC