Our History in Moments

In 2000, Goldman Sachs opens an office in Salt Lake City, Utah. The office is initially staffed to provide service and technology support for the firm’s newly launched online platform for private wealth clients, GS.com. In the ensuing decades, the office grows and diversifies to become one of the firm’s largest and strategically important locations and one of the largest private employers in Salt Lake City.

Goldman Sachs acts as book running manager of the initial public offering for software company Microsoft Corporation. Generating US$61 million for Microsoft, it is dubbed by many analysts “the IPO of the year” in 1986.

In 2019, Goldman Sachs expands hiring targets aimed at increasing the diversity profile of its people, recognizing the many benefits of a more inclusive workplace.

In 2011, the largest earthquake in recorded history to hit the country strikes off the coast of Japan, unleashing a tsunami that cripples a nuclear power plant, displaces nearly half a million people, and causes widespread devastation.

On February 4, 2000, Britain’s Vodafone AirTouch PLC acquires Mannesmann AG in a historic deal that will reshape the mobile telecom marketplace.

Fischer Black and Robert Litterman revolutionize portfolio management in 1990 with the creation of the Black-Litterman Global Asset Allocation Model – quickly adopted for optimal portfolio allocation across international equity, fixed income and currency markets.

In 1986, Goldman Sachs advises Standard Chartered Bank when it is the target of a hostile bid from Lloyds Bank.

The firm opens an office in Zurich in 1974, its second in Europe.

A model of sustainability, the Bengaluru campus features clean energy sources and outdoor parkland.

Hundreds of ideas are submitted within the firm in the first year of the program designed to spark new initiatives worthy of investment and further development.

Hurricane Sandy floods the streets of New York City in October 2012, disrupting markets and damaging surrounding communities. Goldman Sachs responds with US$10 million in support of recovery efforts and the work of more than 1,200 of its people through the firm’s Community TeamWorks initiative.

In 1993, Goldman Sachs opens its first onsite child care center at the company’s New York headquarters, providing crucial support for working parents.

Goldman Sachs opens a Frankfurt office in 1990, strengthening its commitment to Germany and Europe.

After the retirement of Lloyd Blankfein in 2018, David Solomon is appointed CEO and chairman of Goldman Sachs.

After the departure of Hank Paulson in 2006, Lloyd Blankfein is named Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, beginning a tenure marked by historic challenge and innovation.

In 2014, Goldman Sachs makes a wealth of proprietary insights and analytics available to its institutional clients with the launch of Marquee. With the ability to integrate directly with clients’ own technology platforms via APIs, Marquee offers access to the firm’s market insights, analytics tools, execution capabilities, and data and developer services.

In 2010, Goldman Sachs initiates a comprehensive review of business principles and practices via the newly-formed Business Standards Committee.

At the height of the global financial crisis, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invests US$5 billion in Goldman Sachs, further strengthening the firm’s capitalization and liquidity in turbulent times.

On September 11, 2001, coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States using hijacked planes hit New York’s World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon building and a remote field in Pennsylvania. While global markets are disrupted and temporarily shut down, the attacks trigger worldwide outpouring of support, an international quest for justice and a pledge to rebuild Lower Manhattan.

As the firm transitions from a partnership to a publicly-held company in 1999, Hank Paulson is named Chairman and CEO.

Stephen Friedman and Robert Rubin are named co-senior partners of Goldman Sachs after the retirement of John L. Weinberg in 1990.

Among the new partners named in 1986 are Jeanette Loeb, the firm’s first woman partner; Garland Wood, the firm’s first black partner, and Fischer Black, a pioneer in quantitative risk management.

Sustainability is a key driver of how Goldman Sachs engages with clients and the industry more broadly. By 2019, the firm’s commitment to sustainability is closely integrated across the firm’s activities – whether through raising capital to support sustainable business models, offering powerful environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment solutions, or effectively managing the environmental and social risks of its own operations.

Innovative financing solutions developed by the Urban Investment Group since 2001 help fuel growth in underserved communities.

Expanding its global footprint, the firm opens an office in Tokyo, Japan in 1974, its first in Asia.

In 2007, Goldman Sachs serves as lead manager of ICICI Bank Limited’s US$4.9 billion equity offering, the largest in history by an Indian issuer.

In December 2005, the firm becomes the largest shareholder in Sanyo Electric Credit, the finance unit of the Japanese conglomerate Sanyo. One month later, the firm invests in Sanyo Electric.

Despite turbulence in Asian markets, China issues US$1 billion in a 1998 sovereign bond offering.

Building on its own leadership in market making and clearing, Goldman Sachs acquires Spear, Leeds & Kellogg in 2000 to become one of the leading market makers of equities and options in the US marketplace.

In 2005, Goldman Sachs invests in Osaka theme park, selling its stake to Comcast NBCUniversal ten years later.

In 2019, Goldman Sachs prepares to take occupancy of Plumtree Court. The firm’s new European headquarters brings three London offices together under one roof, with a focus on creating a space that fosters productivity and connectivity and achieving a BREEAM rating of Excellent for its sustainability.

Goldman Sachs makes its mark in London with takeover defense of Thomas Tilling in 1983.

In November 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbs to 1,000 units for the first time in its history, a milestone 76 years in the making.

Goldman Sachs helps facilitate Japanese retailer Ito-Yokado’s participation in the Yankee bond market in 1977.

Goldman Sachs becomes one of the first international securities companies permitted to open a banking subsidiary in Japan in 1991.

In 1991, the firm becomes a member of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, signifying its commitment to the German marketplace.

Capital flight forces a depreciation of the Mexican peso in late 1994, creating a liquidity crisis that threatens global financial markets and unleashes a banking crisis and severe recession in Mexico during 1995.

The launch of GS Financial Workbench^SM in 1995 marks the firm’s first significant effort to share some of its internal technologies, including tools, data, and analytics, with institutional clients.

In 1930, Sidney Weinberg becomes senior partner, presiding over the firm’s recovery from the 1929 financial crash and more than three decades of growth and innovation.

Goldman Sachs launches 10,000 Small Businesses UK in 2010, seeking to boost lagging productivity by energizing small business growth and creating jobs in the United Kingdom.

Goldman Sachs is the sole agent of a private placement of JPY600 billion (US$5.35 billion) for Toshiba Corporation in 2017, raising capital Toshiba needs to avoid being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange at a time when a public listing would be challenging for the beleaguered tech company.

John Weinberg and John Whitehead are named co-heads of Goldman Sachs in 1976, presiding over some of the firm’s most significant initiatives and growth during their joint tenure of nearly eight years.

In 1922, the Goldman Sachs partnership transitions to a new entity, Goldman, Sachs & Co., a joint stock association. By 1927, the firm would reconstitute itself as a partnership.

As lead advisors to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), Goldman Sachs helps to launch in 2006 a US$1 billion bond to protect children against disease by improving health systems and increasing access to immunization.

In early 1994, Goldman Sachs opens its first office in China. Officially opened in February, the firm’s Beijing office marks the beginning of a permanent presence in mainland China. In November, the firm opens a second office, in Shanghai.

After US markets plunge on October 19, 1987, equity markets around the world decline, underscoring the interdependence of global financial markets.

In 1984, John L. Weinberg, son of Sidney Weinberg, is named sole senior partner following the retirement of co-senior partner John Whitehead.

Goldman Sachs acts as a joint global coordinator and joint book runner for the three-pronged initial public offering of Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank, and Japan Post Insurance in the largest IPO of 2015, totaling nearly US$12 billion.

To bring Japanese commercial paper to a skeptical US market in 1971, Goldman Sachs arranges a US bank letter of credit to back up the offering from Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a centuries-old Japanese trading company.

A century after its founding, Goldman Sachs enjoys a strong presence in block trading, corporate financing, security arbitrage, trading and underwriting of federal agencies securities, and municipal finance.

As part of financial reforms instituted during the Great Depression in the United States, the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933 mandates the separation of commercial and investment banking, and the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 improve disclosure practices in the offering of securities to investors.

In 1991, Goldman Sachs brings its London-based staff under a single roof in a new office building on Fleet Street in London that incorporates functional, collaborative work spaces and the latest technology. Peterborough Court will serve as the firm’s European headquarters for nearly three decades.

The “roaring twenties” end with the stock market crash of October 1929.

In 2007, Goldman Sachs launches GS SUSTAIN, a global, long-term investment research strategy designed to generate sustainable alpha by integrating analysis of financial strength, strategic positioning, and environmental, social and governance performance.

In 2013, Goldman Sachs joins other business leaders and advocates in signing a friend of the court brief supporting marriage equality.

In 1910, Walter Sachs becomes a partner of the firm founded by his grandfather Marcus Goldman, where he works alongside his father and brothers.

In 1982, Goldman Sachs establishes a board of international advisors with wide ranging experience in government, diplomacy and multinational business.

Goldman Sachs turns 75 in 1944 as World War II continues to engulf much of the globe and world leaders convene to plan for post-war governance, economic reconstruction, and financial stability.

Goldman Sachs opens an office in Hong Kong in 1983, recognizing the role of the port territory as a vital financial bridge for the entire Asian region.

Goldman Sachs turns 50 in 1919, the year the Treaty of Versailles is signed ending World War I and the world sees the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight.

The Black-Derman-Toy model for pricing fixed income derivatives is developed at Goldman Sachs in 1986 and used extensively in-house prior to its publication several years later.

In 1904, the New York City subway system opens at City Hall, launching a new era in mass transit in one of the world’s largest cities.

Just over a century after Goldman Sachs began dealing in commercial paper, the firm leads a commercial paper issuance for state-owned electric utility Électricité de France in 1974, the first ever in the United States on behalf of a foreign government entity.

In post-unification Germany, Daimler-Benz looks to the international investment community for funding with its historic 1993 listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Goldman Sachs announces a US$500 million initiative in 2009 to help small businesses create jobs and drive economic growth through greater access to education, financial capital and business support services.

As Mexico pursues a program of economic liberalization and modernization, Goldman Sachs serves as advisor and global coordinator in the 1990 privatization of the country’s telephone service provider, Teléfonos de Mexico.

Goldman Sachs serves as joint global coordinator of the first Japan Tobacco global equity offering in 1996, becoming the first non-Japanese company to underwrite shares for Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

In 1988, Goldman Sachs advises UK confectioner Rowntree when it is the target of the largest takeover battle in British corporate history.

Goldman Sachs partners with Kleinwort, Sons & Co. of London in 1897, beginning a joint undertaking in international finance.

When Penn Central, the largest railroad in the country, declares bankruptcy in 1970, liquidity vanishes in the commercial paper market, roiling the market and threatening the very existence of Goldman Sachs, the market leader with nearly 300 other commercial paper-issuing clients.

In 1967, Gus Levy executes a record-breaking block trade of over one million shares of Alcan Aluminum worth more than US$26.5 million.

Goldman Sachs is retained as US advisor in the privatization of the UK government’s remaining interest in British Petroleum Company PLC, the largest sale ever by HM Treasury. When it coincides with the 1987 "Black Monday” stock market crash, Goldman Sachs absorbs the largest loss the firm has ever taken.

In 1983, Goldman Sachs opens its newly constructed headquarters building at 85 Broad Street in New York City’s financial district.

In 1949, Sidney Weinberg gives a speech on the responsibilities of corporate directors before the Harvard Business School Club in Cleveland. His model for corporate directorship will be widely cited and emulated for decades.

The Management Committee is created in 1965 as a senior governing body responsible for key strategy, policy and management matters across all of Goldman Sachs’ businesses.

In 1985, Goldman Sachs is selected as one of the first six non-Japanese firms to join the Tokyo Stock Exchange, allowing the firm to compete on equal footing in the Pacific Basin with some of Japan's largest banks.

Leading an investment group in partnership with David Rockefeller, Goldman Sachs purchases Rockefeller Center in 1995, paving the way for the firm’s growing involvement in real estate investment.

The firm’s strategic outreach to shareholders helps Mittal Steel secure the EUR26.9 billion acquisition of European steel giant Arcelor in 2006.

2012 marks Goldman Sachs’ first annual Builders + Innovators Summit, a gathering of a select group of up-and-coming US entrepreneurs and seasoned business leaders designed to foster dialogue, idea sharing, and economic progress.

Harry Sachs (Samuel Sachs' brother) becomes partner in 1894 and the firm's first stock exchange member two years later.

After being turned down by other underwriters, Frank Woolworth seeks out Goldman Sachs in 1912 to help finance his company’s rapid expansion, forging a decades-long relationship between the companies.

In 2017, Goldman Sachs advises Amazon.com on the US$13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods as the grocery chain becomes part of the world’s largest online retailer. The firm also provides bridge funding for the acquisition.

Goldman Sachs opens offices in Boston and Chicago in 1900, thus becoming a national company.

In 1970, Goldman Sachs opens its first international office on Goldsmith Street in London.

In 1986, Goldman Sachs advises the UK government and British Gas on selling shares in the United States of what is, at the time, the largest-ever privatization in the United Kingdom, at £5.6 billion.

Marcus Goldman’s youngest son, Henry Goldman, joins the family business in 1885.

The Goldman Sachs Foundation and the International Finance Corporation create the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility in 2014 to provide much-needed financing to female entrepreneurs around the globe.

Goldman Sachs leads the Conrail IPO in 1987, the largest ever public offering in the United States and an important chapter in the history of American railroads.

In 1996, Goldman Sachs serves as joint global coordinator on the US$13 billion privatization of Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe’s largest telecommunications service provider. It is the largest equity offering to date.

Closed in 1950 after the Communist revolution, the Shanghai Stock Exchange restarts operations in December 1990, cementing the growth and development of capital markets in China.

In 1929, Goldman Sachs announces it will build a new 20-story headquarters at 30 Pine Street, the first-ever construction project by the firm.

In 1969, Gus Levy becomes Goldman Sachs’ senior partner, launching an era marked by an expanded international focus and an increasing willingness by the firm to take on trading risk.

Community TeamWorks, the firm’s flagship volunteering initiative, is launched in 1997. The program gives employees a day off from work to participate in team-based projects with nonprofit organizations in the community.

After decades of impassioned debate, the partners of Goldman Sachs vote in 1998 to take the firm public the following year. The firm is among the last large financial institutions to do so.

In 1994, Jon Corzine is named senior partner of Goldman Sachs.

In 1986, Goldman Sachs accepts a US$500 million investment and limited partnership interest by Sumitomo Bank in order to meet capital requirements.

Closed shortly after Japan surrendered in 1945, the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumes operations in May 1949, contributing to the stabilization and growth of postwar Japan.

The formation of the Merchant Banking Division in 1998 reflects the firm’s expanding role in principal investing activities.

In 1924, Goldman Sachs participates in a US$20 million bond offering for Paris-Lyons Mediterranean Railroad Company amid postwar reconstruction in France.

In 1906, Sears, Roebuck and Co. was a burgeoning catalog business in need of capital to finance its robust growth. Goldman Sachs led an initial public offering for Sears that year, the success of which signaled the rise of the consumer/retail sector in the U.S. economy.

In 1882, Marcus Goldman takes on Samuel Sachs, the husband of his youngest daughter, as a junior partner.

In 1869, Marcus Goldman starts a small business buying and selling promissory notes in Lower Manhattan. His strong relationships and reputation as an honest broker form the foundation for a company that will grow to become one of the most influential financial institutions in the world.

The firm adopts the name Goldman, Sachs & Co. to reflect the addition of Ludwig Dreyfuss as partner in 1888.

Henry Goldman leads the firm’s first IPO in 1906, utilizing the innovative strategy of earnings, rather than solely assets, to attract long-term investment in United Cigar Manufacturers.

Sidney J. Weinberg, who would go on to become the firm’s longest-serving senior partner and a defining leader of Wall Street, begins work as a janitor’s assistant at Goldman Sachs in 1907.

Goldman Sachs leads the Ford Motor Company’s US$657 million IPO in 1956, the largest common stock offering to date in the United States. Sidney Weinberg, a long-time friend and informal advisor to the Ford family, becomes one of Ford Motor's first outside directors.

In one of the firm's most important industry innovations, John Whitehead submits a memo to Sidney Weinberg in 1956 outlining the establishment of Wall Street's first marketing arm for investment banking, later known as Investment Banking Services (IBS).

Published in 1973, the Black-Scholes Option Pricing model brings a new quantitative approach to pricing options, helping fuel the growth of derivative investing.

In 1981, Goldman Sachs acquires a client, J. Aron & Company, in a strategic move to extend the firm’s international presence in the commodity and foreign exchange markets.

In 1986, Goldman Sachs joins the International Stock Exchange in London and becomes a primary dealer in UK government securities, cementing the firm's position as a leading participant in the evolving global capital markets.

Goldman Sachs is the lead manager of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL)’s US$85 million 1994 offering of global depositary receipts — the first international offering for an Indian government-owned company.

In the summer of 1997, capital flight forces several East Asian countries to let their currencies float: the ensuing Asian Financial Crisis threatens the international financial system.

The Japanese portfolio team within the Global Investment Research Division publishes “Womenomics: Buy the Female Economy” in 1999, launching a multiyear series of reports that cement “Womenomics” as part of the Japanese vernacular and a pillar of the country’s efforts to revive economic growth.

In 2001, Goldman Sachs’ Global Investment Research Division publishes the report, "Build Better Global Economic BRICs," coining the acronym for the four countries that would reshape the world economy– Brazil, Russia, India and China.

In 2004, the firm entered into a landmark public-private partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society to establish the Karukinka Natural Park on the island of Tierra del Fuego, Chile.

On November 29, 2005, Goldman Sachs breaks ground for its new, state-of-the-art headquarters at 200 West Street, consolidating all of the firm’s New York City people in one building and once again demonstrating its commitment to Lower Manhattan.

Goldman Sachs launches 10,000 Women in 2008, a program dedicated to providing women in underserved communities around the world with a business and management education.

Goldman Sachs launches the Analyst Impact Fund in 2016, providing a creative, collaborative opportunity for the firm’s junior talent to compete with their peers for grants to benefit the nonprofit organizations of their choice.

In 2016, Goldman Sachs launches Marcus by Goldman Sachs, an online platform offering personal loans and savings accounts to retail clients.

In 1995, Goldman Sachs makes changes to its governance structure, including the formation of a new committee aimed at enhancing the strength and cohesion of one of the firm’s most valuable assets: the partnership.