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Sidney Weinberg
Sidney James Weinberg (October 12, 1891 – July 23, 1969) was a long-time leader of the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, nicknamed “Mr. Wall Street” by The New York Times and "director's director" by Fortune magazine. In a rags-to-riches story, he rose from a janitor's assistant, making $3/week, to CEO.
Weinberg's background contrasted sharply with that of the traditional Ivy League Wall Streeter. Weinberg was one of eleven children of a Jewish immigrant wholesale liquor dealer. His family were active members of Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes in Brooklyn, joining when the synagogue was on Boerum Place, and remaining with it when it moved to Cobble Hill. Sidney's mother, Sophie, was sisterhood president from 1912 to 1913, his father, Pincus, served as president from 1919 to 1921, and the children all attended the Sunday school and Talmud Torah. Sidney married Helen W. Livingston there in 1920. Sidney's name does not appear in any synagogue documents after World War I, indicating less active membership in his adult life.
Weinberg dropped out of junior high school at P.S. 13, but got a letter of recommendation from one of his teachers to enter the job market. Sidney joined the workforce at the age of ten "selling newspapers at the Manhattan-Brooklyn ferry terminal, shucking oysters, and carrying feathers for a milliner." At one point, Sidney found jobs as a runner at three different brokerage houses. The conflicts of interest cost him all three positions.
Weinberg started with Goldman Sachs as a janitor's assistant at $3/week, where his responsibilities included brushing the firm's partners’ hats and wiping the mud from their overshoes. The grandson of the firm's founder, Paul J. Sachs, liked Weinberg, and promoted him to the mailroom, which Weinberg reorganized. To improve Weinberg's penmanship, Sachs sent him to Browne's Business College in Brooklyn.
Weinberg did a stint in the U.S. Navy in World War I, and afterwards became a securities trader. Goldman Sachs bought Weinberg a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1925.
Weinberg became a Goldman Sachs partner in 1927 and helped run the investment trusts, including Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. He co-ran the division with Waddill Catchings, who shriveled the market value of Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. from $500 million to less than $10 million. At this point, Weinberg took over the division, becoming a senior partner in 1930. He became head of the firm in 1930, saving it from bankruptcy, and held that position until his death in 1969.
Weinberg befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 while working as a member of the Democratic Party's National Campaign Finance Committee, and successfully raised more funds than any other member. Since many on Wall Street had opposed Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election, Weinberg stood out as a prime candidate for the new president's liaison to Wall Street. Indeed, in 1933, Roosevelt assigned Weinberg the task of organizing a group of corporate executives- called the Business Advisory and Planning Council – to serve as a bridge between the government and the private sector during the economic upheaval of the New Deal. Weinberg handpicked executives with whom he wanted to develop business relationships, and deliberately invited no other investment bankers to join the Council, putting himself in the perfect position to network. Roosevelt admired Weinberg's work greatly, nicknaming him “The Politician” and offering him numerous federal appointments, all of which Weinberg refused.
When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Weinberg played an active role in engaging America's private sector to overcome the nation's considerable financial, industrial, and organizational challenges. Weinberg repeatedly proclaimed, “government service is the highest form of citizenship,” and, “I’ll never take a job in government in peacetime, but I’ll take any job in time of war.” Following Weinberg's success recruiting corporate talent for the Business Advisory and Planning Council, President Roosevelt entrusted Weinberg with an even more important mandate: forming the Industry Advisory Committee under the War Production Board’s Chairman, Donald M. Nelson.
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Sidney Weinberg
Sidney James Weinberg (October 12, 1891 – July 23, 1969) was a long-time leader of the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, nicknamed “Mr. Wall Street” by The New York Times and "director's director" by Fortune magazine. In a rags-to-riches story, he rose from a janitor's assistant, making $3/week, to CEO.
Weinberg's background contrasted sharply with that of the traditional Ivy League Wall Streeter. Weinberg was one of eleven children of a Jewish immigrant wholesale liquor dealer. His family were active members of Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes in Brooklyn, joining when the synagogue was on Boerum Place, and remaining with it when it moved to Cobble Hill. Sidney's mother, Sophie, was sisterhood president from 1912 to 1913, his father, Pincus, served as president from 1919 to 1921, and the children all attended the Sunday school and Talmud Torah. Sidney married Helen W. Livingston there in 1920. Sidney's name does not appear in any synagogue documents after World War I, indicating less active membership in his adult life.
Weinberg dropped out of junior high school at P.S. 13, but got a letter of recommendation from one of his teachers to enter the job market. Sidney joined the workforce at the age of ten "selling newspapers at the Manhattan-Brooklyn ferry terminal, shucking oysters, and carrying feathers for a milliner." At one point, Sidney found jobs as a runner at three different brokerage houses. The conflicts of interest cost him all three positions.
Weinberg started with Goldman Sachs as a janitor's assistant at $3/week, where his responsibilities included brushing the firm's partners’ hats and wiping the mud from their overshoes. The grandson of the firm's founder, Paul J. Sachs, liked Weinberg, and promoted him to the mailroom, which Weinberg reorganized. To improve Weinberg's penmanship, Sachs sent him to Browne's Business College in Brooklyn.
Weinberg did a stint in the U.S. Navy in World War I, and afterwards became a securities trader. Goldman Sachs bought Weinberg a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1925.
Weinberg became a Goldman Sachs partner in 1927 and helped run the investment trusts, including Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. He co-ran the division with Waddill Catchings, who shriveled the market value of Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. from $500 million to less than $10 million. At this point, Weinberg took over the division, becoming a senior partner in 1930. He became head of the firm in 1930, saving it from bankruptcy, and held that position until his death in 1969.
Weinberg befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 while working as a member of the Democratic Party's National Campaign Finance Committee, and successfully raised more funds than any other member. Since many on Wall Street had opposed Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election, Weinberg stood out as a prime candidate for the new president's liaison to Wall Street. Indeed, in 1933, Roosevelt assigned Weinberg the task of organizing a group of corporate executives- called the Business Advisory and Planning Council – to serve as a bridge between the government and the private sector during the economic upheaval of the New Deal. Weinberg handpicked executives with whom he wanted to develop business relationships, and deliberately invited no other investment bankers to join the Council, putting himself in the perfect position to network. Roosevelt admired Weinberg's work greatly, nicknaming him “The Politician” and offering him numerous federal appointments, all of which Weinberg refused.
When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Weinberg played an active role in engaging America's private sector to overcome the nation's considerable financial, industrial, and organizational challenges. Weinberg repeatedly proclaimed, “government service is the highest form of citizenship,” and, “I’ll never take a job in government in peacetime, but I’ll take any job in time of war.” Following Weinberg's success recruiting corporate talent for the Business Advisory and Planning Council, President Roosevelt entrusted Weinberg with an even more important mandate: forming the Industry Advisory Committee under the War Production Board’s Chairman, Donald M. Nelson.
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