Donald Trump appears to have secured David Solomon’s job for the foreseeable future.
The Goldman Sachs CEO has had, let’s say, a rocky relationship with the rank-and-file inside the big investment bank, and just a few months ago, looked to be on thin ice.
MDs and senior executives thought he was dictatorial and could be a jerk at a company where CEOs normally stroked the egos of top brass. Junior bankers believed his back-to-work edicts and perk-containment strategies wreaked of insensitivity, and leaks were flying out of its normally buttoned-down corporate culture every day.
But with the changing regulatory climate under Trump, Solly is said to be secure these days.
The Donald’s tariffs threats, moves to deregulate everything from oil drilling to crypto, have created a significant degree of market volatility, the perfect environment for Goldman’s top-flight trading desk to extrapolate huge profits.
Even more, dealmaking – or underwriting stock sales, IPOs and advising on mergers and acquisitions — is expected to grow significantly under Trump, at least compared to the virtual M&A shutdown under Joe Biden.
Solly himself recently said during a Reuters conference that dealmaking in 2025 will surpass its average over the past 10 years.
One former Goldman managing director told me: “Solly is fine; just look at the stock price. No one cares anymore that he could be a jerk.”
Goldman’s share price is up around 65% over the past year, topping the nearly 50% of archrival JPMorgan and the less than 25% that S&P 500 has posted.
The resurgence comes after Solly banished many of his haters. He cut his losses after the monumental flop at retail banking, stopped moonlighting as DJ D-Sol – which was viewed as unbecoming of a corporate titan by his predecessor Lloyd Blankfein – and focused on Goldman’s core business of dealmaking and trading.
All good but Solly can also thank Donald Trump for the assist.
A Goldman Sachs spokesman had no comment.
