Robert Edward Rubin (born August 29, 1938) is an American retired banking executive, lawyer, and former government official. He served as the 70th United States secretary of the treasury during the Clinton administration. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs, eventually serving as a member of the board and co-chairman from 1990 to 1992.

Rubin is credited as a force behind Clinton-era economic prosperity, including the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act and Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Critics of Rubin have since argued that the bank-friendly policies he supported contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. As of 2025, Rubin is active in several organizations, including as a co-founder of the Hamilton Project, as co-chair emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, and as a senior counselor at Centerview Partners.

Rubin was born on August 29, 1938, in New York City to Jewish parents Sylvia (née Seiderman) and Alexander Rubin. He moved to Miami Beach, Florida, at an early age and graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. In 1960, Rubin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in economics from Harvard College. He then attended Harvard Law School for three days before leaving to travel the world. He later attended the London School of Economics and received an LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1964.

Rubin was an attorney at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York City from 1964 to 1966 before joining Goldman Sachs in 1966 as an associate in the risk arbitrage department. He later served as co-chief operating officer, and became co-senior partner and co-chairman in 1990.

Rubin served as New York finance chairman for the Walter Mondale presidential campaign in 1984 and headed the host committee for the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York. He served on the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Market Oversight and Financial Services Advisory Committee, and advisory panels for New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and Mayor David Dinkins.

From January 25, 1993, to January 10, 1995, Rubin served in the White House as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. In that capacity, he directed the National Economic Council, which Bill Clinton created after winning the presidency. The National Economic Council, or NEC, enabled the White House to coordinate closely the workings of the Cabinet departments and agencies on policies ranging from budget and tax to international trade and alleviating poverty. The NEC coordinated policy recommendations going into the President's office, and monitored implementation of the decisions that came out. Robert S. Strauss credited Rubin with making the system work. In 1994, Strauss said, "He's surely the only man or woman in America that I know who could make the NEC succeed ... Anyone else would have been a disruptive force, and the council wouldn't have worked."

Rubin encouraged Clinton to focus on deficit reduction and he was "one of the chief architects" of Clinton's 1993 Deficit Reduction Act plan. Supporters said the Act helped create the late 1990s budget surplus and strong economic growth, while opponents noted it raised taxes. As officials deliberated the deficit reduction plan, Rubin advocated for tax increases on those in the upper-income tax bracket. The Baltimore Sun said that the budget deal "was critical" and "convinced nervous bond traders that the new Democratic president was serious about the deficit, lowering long-term interest rates, spurring economic growth and, ultimately, helping to balance the budget."

Clinton nominated Rubin as Treasury secretary in December 1994. On January 10, 1995, Rubin was sworn in as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury after the U.S. Senate confirmed him in a 99–0 vote. Rubin's tenure with the Clinton administration, especially as the head of Treasury, was marked by economic prosperity in the U.S. Rubin is credited as one of the main individuals behind U.S. economic growth, creating near full-employment and bullish stock markets while avoiding inflation. From the time he joined the White House until he announced his resignation from Treasury in 1999, U.S. unemployment fell from 6.9 percent to 4.3 percent; the U.S. budget went from a $255 billion deficit to a $70 billion surplus, and inflation fell. Rubin was succeeded in early July 1999 as Treasury secretary by his deputy, Lawrence Summers.