Streetwise

Lloyd Blankfein is scary smart about people, markets, and life generally. His 10,000 Small Businesses idea proved to be a huge winner, and I personally witnessed the time and effort he devoted to its success. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Lloyd acted decisively, and he tells the story of what happened with unique insights. – Warren BuffettLloyd Blankfein has always been a straight shooter, but his journey from public housing to the heights of Wall Street wasn’t a straight line. Streetwise is packed with important lessons about leadership, risk-taking, decision-making, and giving back. – Michael BloombergStreetwise is a disarmingly honest account, full of insights about the changes in the business of finance, as down-to-earth and sharp-witted as the man himself, a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the power dynamics within a giant investment bank. – Liaquat Ahamed, Winner of the Pulitzer PrizeHaving survived every financial crisis from 1987 to 2008, and all the lesser busts and panics in between, Lloyd Blankfein has written an autobiography that answers the question: How did Goldman Sachs do it? Under his leadership, Goldman did more than survive Wall Street’s biggest storms-it thrived despite them. Yet Streetwise is also a very personal story of American social mobility, describing with dry humor the challenges the author faced as he ascended from the housing projects of Brooklyn via Harvard to the heights of Wall Street. As “a worrier, not a warrior,” Blankfein came to personify the hallowed Goldman principle of “marking to market,” believing in today’s prices, not yesterday’s promises. Every serious student of financial history will have to read Streetwise. Those who appreciate the gritty realities of the American dream will enjoy it, too. – Niall Ferguson

Lloyd Craig Blankfein is an American investment banker who has served as senior chairman of Goldman Sachs since 2019, and chairman and chief executive from 2006 until the end of 2018. Before leading Goldman Sachs, he was the company’s president and chief operating officer (COO) from 2004 to 2006, serving under then-CEO Henry Paulson.

Born and raised in New York City, Blankfein attended Harvard University for his undergraduate and law school studies before briefly entering private law practice. After leading Goldman’s currency and commodities divisions from 1994 to 1997 he served as the president and chief operating officer from 2004 to his ascension to chief executive. Almost immediately after Blankfein assumed the head of the company, the financial crisis of 2007-08 hit the banking industry.

Blankfein was twice named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine and won the Financial Times Person of the Year award in 2009.