Lloyd Blankfein

Lloyd Craig Blankfein was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a low-income Jewish family on September 20, 1954.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/lloyd-blankfein-the-prince-of-casino-capitalism-1953015.html |work=The Independent |title=Lloyd Blankfein: The prince of casino capitalism |date=April 24, 2010 |access-date=April 4, 2011 |location=London |first=James |last=Moore}} His father, Seymour Blankfein, was a clerk with the U.S. Postal Service branch in Manhattan and his mother was a receptionist.Gapper, John [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/479ac4ba-eb32-11de-bc99-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1 "Master of risk who did God's work for Goldman Sachs but won it little love"] Financial Times. Retrieved December 25, 2009. He was raised in the Linden Houses, a housing project in the East New York section of Brooklyn.{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Jacobson |title=The Land That Time and Money Forgot |url=http://nymag.com/news/features/housing-projects-2012-9/ |work=New York |date=September 9, 2012 |access-date=September 11, 2012}} He received primary and secondary education in New York City's public schools graduating valedictorian at Thomas Jefferson High School in 1971. He went on to attend Harvard College where he lived in Winthrop House and graduated with an A.B. in history in 1975.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-01-22/lloyd-blankfein-was-a-history-major-dot-just-sayin |work=Bloomberg|first=Peter|last=Coy |title=Lloyd Blankfein Was a History Major. Just Sayin' |date=January 22, 2014 |access-date=May 26, 2015}}{{cite web|title=The World's Most Powerful People: #26 Lloyd Blankfein|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/lloyd-blankfein/|website=Forbes|access-date=October 18, 2016}} After graduating college, he attended Harvard Law School where he received a J.D. degree in 1978.

Blankfein first worked for the law firms Proskauer Rose and then Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-23/blankfein-offers-billionaire-nba-owners-advice-as-stern-exits.html|title=Blankfein Offers Billionaire NBA Owners Advice as Stern Exits|work=Bloomberg|first=Scott|last=Soshnick|date=October 24, 2013|access-date=February 7, 2023}} In 1982, he joined the commodities trading firm J. Aron & Co. as a precious metals salesman in its London office, after J. Aron was acquired by the investment bank, Goldman Sachs.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/05/goldman-sachs-201105|title=Goldman's Alpha War|last=Cohan|first=William D.|work=The Hive|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en}}

File:HenryKissinger-WorldEconomicForum-Davos-20080124.jpg at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 2008]]

Blankfein joined J. Aron & Co. in 1982, after it had been acquired by Goldman Sachs in 1981.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/history/moments/1981-jaron.html|title=Goldman Sachs | Commemorates 150 Year History - Goldman Sachs Adds Strength in Commodities and Foreign Exchange with J. Aron Acquisition}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/30/business/goldman-sachs-buys-big-commodity-dealer.html|title = Goldman, Sachs Buys Big Commodity Dealer|newspaper = The New York Times|date = October 30, 1981|last1 = Maidenberg|first1 = H. J.}} When then chairman Stephen Friedman{{Cite web|date=April 4, 2013|title=Former Goldman head Stephen Friedman retires from board|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-board/former-goldman-head-stephen-friedman-retires-from-board-idUSBRE93315P20130404|access-date=June 10, 2020|website=Reuters}} appointed Henry Paulson as his successor, Blankfein was soon tasked with managing or co-managing the company's currency and commodities divisions from 1994 to 1997.{{cite web|url=http://www.goldmansachs.com/who-we-are/leadership/executive-officers/lloyd-c-blankfein.html|title=Lloyd C. Blankfein Chairman and Chief Executive Officer|website=Goldman Sachs|access-date=July 21, 2015}} After Paulson consolidated control of Goldman, he identified Blankfein as his heir apparent, despite Blankfein ranking third in the corporate hierarchy behind two co-presidents.{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2011/04/21/where-blankfein-came-from/|title=Where Blankfein came from|work=Fortune|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en}} In 2004, Blankfein was promoted to president and chief operating officer, a position he served in until June 2006. As president, he oversaw the 2000s commodities boom and positioned Goldman to take advantage of rising commodity prices.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-15/imagine-wall-street-without-jamie-dimon-and-lloyd-blankfein|title=Wall Street's Succession Moment Marks End of the Lloyd & Jamie Show|date=March 15, 2018|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en}} On May 30, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Paulson to serve as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury which prompted Paulson to establish a succession plan. Shortly after Paulson was sworn in, Blankfein was asked to serve as chairman and chief executive officer in July 2006.

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| quote=To begin with an obvious point, much of ([2008 financial crisis|2007–08]]) has been deeply humbling for my industry. We held ourselves up as the experts, and the loss of public confidence from failing to live up to the expectations that we created will take years to rebuild. Worse, decisions on compensation and other actions taken and not taken, particularly at banks that rapidly lost a lot of shareholder value, look self-serving and greedy in hindsight.

| source = — Blankfein (in 2009) on the loss of confidence in the financial industry.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/dimon-blankfein-mack-notable-quotes-wall-street-titans/story?id=9534695|title=Choice Banker Quotes: 'Tell Tim Geithner to Get F**ked'|date=2010-01-12|publisher=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2018-03-16}}

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During the 2008 financial crisis, many financial institutions that had dealings in subprime mortgages received a high level of public attention. Goldman Sachs served as a market maker that dealt with financial products that held subprime mortgages. During late 2008, the crisis led the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and the U.S. Treasury to increase public spending in private banks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/18/goldman-sachs-blankfein-sorry|title=Goldman Sachs boss says sorry over financial crisis|last=Wearden |first=Graeme|date=November 18, 2009|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=March 16, 2018}} In 2009, he was named Financial Times Person of the Year. His citation noted that "his bank stuck to its strengths, unashamedly [took] advantage of the low interest rates and diminished competition resulting from the crisis to make big trading profits."[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/25/goldman-sachs-ceo-lloyd-b_n_403689.html "Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein Named Financial Times Person Of The Year"]. The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 25, 2009.

On January 13, 2010, Blankfein voluntarily testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that he considered Goldman Sachs's role as primarily market maker, not a creator of the product (i.e., subprime mortgage–related securities).{{cite news |last=Kenney |first=Caitlin |title=Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Day One|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/01/financial_crisis_inquiry_commi.html|publisher=NPR|date=January 13, 2010}} Blankfein testified once more before Congress in April 2010 at a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He said that Goldman Sachs had no moral or legal obligation to inform their clients they were betting against the products they were selling to them because it was not acting in a fiduciary role.{{Cite news |author=Quinn, James |title=Goldman boss Lloyd Blankfein denies moral obligation towards clients |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7642325/Goldman-boss-Lloyd-Blankfein-denies-moral-obligation-towards-clients.html |work= The Daily Telegraph |date=April 28, 2010 |access-date=April 29, 2010 |location=London}} Senator Carl Levin accused Blankfein of misleading Congress; however, no perjury charges were brought against Blankfein.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-08-22/blankfein-hires-lawyer-weingarten-for-justice-investigation.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913042226/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-08-22/blankfein-hires-lawyer-weingarten-for-justice-investigation.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2011|title=Blankfein Hires Lawyer Weingarten for Justice Investigation|date=August 22, 2011|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=February 9, 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-14/goldman-sachs-misled-congress-after-duping-clients-over-cdos-levin-says.html|title=Goldman Sachs Misled Congress After Duping Clients Over CDOs, Levin Says|last=Schmidt|first=Robert|date=April 14, 2011|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=February 9, 2013}} Nevertheless, as a precaution Blankfein hired Reid Weingarten, a high-profile defense lawyer who represented former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers and former Enron accounting officer Richard Causey.Witkowski, Wallace,[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-sachs-says-blankfein-hires-weingarten-wsj-2011-08-22 "Goldman Sachs says Blankfein hires Weingarten: WSJ"], MarketWatch, August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011. Two months later, after the publicity of the testimony increased his public status, he was listed as #43 on Forbes Magazine's List of The World's Most Powerful People in November 2011.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/20/powerful-people_2010.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107165815/http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/20/powerful-people_2010.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2011|title=The World's Most Powerful People 2011 – Forbes|work=Forbes|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en}}

On March 14, 2012, Greg Smith, a former Goldman executive, wrote a widely circulated op-ed for The New York Times titled "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs", in which he heavily criticized the firm's top leadership and Blankfein in particular for sidelining the interests of the client.{{cite news|author=Smith, Greg |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?pagewanted=all |title=Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs|work=The New York Times|date=March 14, 2012}} Smith claimed that employees were promoted for unloading less profitable products on clients, for trading products that maximized Goldman Sachs' profits, not their clients, and trading illiquid, opaque products. Smith's op-ed was criticized by many, particularly because he worked at Goldman for 12 years before deciding to quit because of moral objections.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/business/why-i-left-book-about-goldman-falls-short.html|title='Why I Left Goldman Sachs,' by Greg Smith, Falls Short|last=Stewart|first=James B.|date=October 19, 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

File:Lionel Barber, Raghuram Rajan and Lloyd Blankfein.jpg and Raghuram Rajan, at the FT and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award ceremony in 2010.]]

In February 2018, to counter low sales and trading profits, Blankfein instituted new hiring priorities. He instructed human resource managers at the firm to focus on employment candidates who were "strategists" or "strats," i.e., highly quantitative and technologically proficient.{{Cite news|url=https://news.efinancialcareers.com/us-en/308251/strats-hiring-at-goldman-sachs/|title=Lloyd Blankfein just confirmed Goldman Sachs' hiring priorities for 2018|date=February 13, 2018|work=eFinancialCareers|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US}}

On March 15, 2018, Blankfein issued an internal memo advocating for complete gender parity among its workforce. He stated: "At Goldman Sachs we pay women and men in similar roles with similar performance equally. However, the real issue for our firm and many corporations is the under-representation of women and diverse professionals both in magnitude and levels of seniority. We have made some progress, but we have significant work to do, and we, as leaders of our firm, are committed to doing this critical work."{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-15/goldman-says-it-aims-to-eventually-have-a-50-female-workforce|title=Goldman Says It Aims to Eventually Have a 50% Female Workforce|date=March 15, 2018|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.goldmansachs.com/media-relations/press-releases/current/announcement-march-2018.html|title=Goldman Sachs {{!}} Press Releases - Email to Goldman Sachs Employees from Lloyd Blankfein and David Solomon|website=Goldman Sachs|date=March 15, 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=March 16, 2018}}

Blankfein's compensation at Goldman Sachs has been at the center of controversy and interest to financial reporters and the general public. He was paid a base salary of $600,000 with a total compensation package of $54.4 million in 2006 as the highest-paid executive on Wall Street.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/business/20wall.html|title=Goldman Chairman Gets a Bonus of $53.4 Million|last=Anderson|first=Jenny|date=December 20, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} His bonus reflected the performance of Goldman Sachs, which reported record net earnings of $9.5 billion. The compensation included a cash bonus of $27.3 million, with the rest paid in stock and options. A year later, he received total compensation of $53.9 million, which included a base salary of $600,000, a cash bonus of $26.9 million, stocks granted of $15.5 million and options granted of $10.4 million.[http://www.equilar.com/CEO_Compensation/GOLDMAN_SACHS_GROUP_INC_Lloyd_C._Blankfein.php CEO Compensation for Lloyd C. Blankfein] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224155832/http://www.equilar.com/CEO_Compensation/GOLDMAN_SACHS_GROUP_INC_Lloyd_C._Blankfein.php|date=February 24, 2009}}, Equilar.com On April 7, 2009, he recommended guidelines to overhaul executive compensation. According to The New York Times, he said that lessons from the 2008 financial crisis included the need to "apply basic standards to how we compensate people in our industry".{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/business/08goldman.html|title=Goldman Chief Proposes Revamping Wall St. Pay|date=April 7, 2009|newspaper=New York Times}} He received US$23 million in salary and bonuses in 2015, which was slightly down from the US$24 million he earned in 2014 from Goldman Sachs.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-blankfein-pay-idUSKCN0V02F8|title=Goldman awards CEO Blankfein $23 million in pay for 2015|last1=Oran|first1=Olivia|date=January 22, 2016|work=Reuters|access-date=January 23, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/03/wall-street-executives-2008-jamie-dimon-cancer|title=Wall Street Executives from the Financial Crisis of 2008: Where Are They Now?|last1=Cohan|first1=William D.|date=April 2015|work=Vanity Fair|access-date=March 29, 2015}} According to the Financial Times, Blankfein earned an estimated $22.3 million in 2016.{{Cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/03/17/investing/lloyd-blankfein-goldman-sachs-pay-cut/index.html|title=Lloyd Blankfein takes pay cut at Goldman Sachs|last=Egan|first=Matt|work=CNNMoney|access-date=March 16, 2018}}

On March 9, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Blankfein would step down from leading Goldman Sachs by the end of the year.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lloyd-blankfein-prepares-to-exit-goldman-sachs-as-soon-as-years-end-1520613681|title=Lloyd Blankfein Prepares to Exit Goldman Sachs as Soon as Year's End|last1=Hoffman|first1=Liz|last2=Lublin|first2=Joann S.|date=March 9, 2018|publisher=Wall Street Journal|access-date=March 9, 2018}} Later that day, Blankfein tweeted "It's the @WSJ's announcement...not mine. I feel like Huck Finn listening to his own eulogy."{{Cite tweet|number=972214555991576577|user=lloydblankfein|title=It's the @WSJ's announcement...not mine. I feel like Huck Finn listening to his own eulogy.|author=Lloyd Blankfein|date=March 9, 2018}} On March 12, Goldman announced that Harvey Schwartz, the company's co-chief operating officer and president would be resigning, leaving David Solomon as the second-in-command. Hours after the announcement, media outlets–both domestic and international–informally designated Solomon as Blankfein's heir apparent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gamble-that-put-david-solomon-on-top-at-goldman-sachs-1521123442|title=The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs|last=Hoffman|first=Liz|date=March 15, 2018|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/03/15/meet-dj-d-sol-the-electronic-music-artist-who-might-soon-lead-goldman-sachs/|title=Meet DJ D-Sol: the electronic music artist who might soon lead Goldman Sachs|last=Siegel|first=Rachel|date=March 15, 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} It was announced in July 2018 that Solomon would become CEO on October 1, 2018 and chairman by the end of 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-17/david-solomon-will-become-goldman-sachs-ceo-on-october-1|title=Goldman Sachs Ushers In New Era as Solomon Takes CEO Reins|date=July 17, 2018|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|access-date=June 12, 2021}}

Blankfein has self-identified as "a registered Democrat, and a Rockefeller Republican ... conservative on fiscal issues and more liberal on social issues".{{cite interview |last=Blankfein |first=Lloyd |interviewer=Gary Kaminsky |url=http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000086357 |work=Squawk on the Street |title=Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein on Internal Review |publisher=CNBC |location=New York |date=April 25, 2012 |access-date=April 3, 2014}} Blankfein donated $4,600 to Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton in 2007, and to the Senate re-election campaigns for the Republicans Rob Portman and Roy Blunt in 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Lloyd_Blankfein.php |title=NEWSMEAT ▷ Lloyd Blankfein's Federal Campaign Contribution Report |publisher=Newsmeat.com |date=August 5, 2010 |access-date=October 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205092210/http://newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Lloyd_Blankfein.php |archive-date=February 5, 2010 }} On July 18, 2012 after meeting with Barack Obama's chief of staff, Jack Lew, he was asked whether he had any aspiration to go into government like predecessors Hank Paulson and Robert Rubin. "I have aspirations to be desired," he replied.{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-18/goldman-ceo-blankfein-said-to-meet-with-obama-adviser-lew|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720012148/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-18/goldman-ceo-blankfein-said-to-meet-with-obama-adviser-lew|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 20, 2012|title=Goldman CEO Blankfein Said to Meet With Obama Adviser Lew|date=July 18, 2012|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=February 9, 2013}}

During the 2016 presidential election, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders named Blankfein as an example of corporate greed in January 2016. Blankfein responded that Sanders' campaign had "the potential to be a dangerous moment."Eliza Collins (February 3, 2016) [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/lloyd-blankfein-bernie-sanders-218689 Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein: Sanders candidacy a 'dangerous moment'] Politico Blankfein endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, citing her willingness to be bipartisan, in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Faux, Z. [https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-10-22/goldman-ceo-blankfein-supportive-of-clinton-for-pragmatism Bloomberg] October 22, 2016.

He is a supporter of gay marriage and has been a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for LGBTQ civil rights.{{cite news |last=Craig |first=Susanne |date=February 5, 2012 |title=Blankfein to Speak Out for Same-Sex Marriage |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/blankfein-to-speak-out-for-same-sex-marriage/?_r=0|newspaper=New York Times |access-date=October 30, 2013}}

In April 2022, Blankfein argued that revoking Disney's special status, enshrined in the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, due to the company objecting to Governor Ron DeSantis' view on Florida House Bill 1557 represents a form of government retaliation for "exercising free speech." He also said it is a "bad look for a conservative."{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=Ted|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/florida-disney-dont-say-gay-law-ron-desantis-1235006637/|title=Florida Senate Passes Bill To Strip Disney Of Special District After Company's Opposition To 'Don't Say Gay' Law|website=Deadline|date=April 20, 2022|access-date=April 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421173938/https://deadline.com/2022/04/florida-disney-dont-say-gay-law-ron-desantis-1235006637/|archive-date=April 21, 2022|url-status=live}}

At the start of 2012, an international inquiry into the average of interest rates of London known as the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), found that there was systemic manipulation by various bulge bracket banks for profit.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19203103|title=Libor 'cannot continue unchanged'|date=August 10, 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-GB}} The ensuing July 2012 Libor scandal prompted Blankfein to note that the general distrust of the financial world was worsened: "There was this huge hole to dig out of in terms of getting trust back and now it's just that much deeper."{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-18/goldman-sachs-s-blankfein-says-libor-scandal-undermines-trust|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607142200/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-18/goldman-sachs-s-blankfein-says-libor-scandal-undermines-trust|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 7, 2013|title=Goldman Sach's Blankfein Says Libor Scandal Undermines Trust|date=July 18, 2012|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=February 9, 2013}}

On June 1, 2017, Blankfein posted his first ever tweet, despite joining Twitter in 2011. He condemned President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Accord, saying "Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world. #ParisAgreement".{{cite tweet |author=Lloyd Blankfein |user=lloydblankfein |number=870389673193082880 |date=June 1, 2017 |title=Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world. #ParisAgreement |access-date=November 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171127002908/https://twitter.com/lloydblankfein/status/870389673193082880 |archive-date=November 27, 2017}}

During the coronavirus pandemic, Blankfein consistently and repeatedly called for loosening coronavirus response measures and reopening the economy. In March 2020, he said “extreme measures to flatten the virus ‘curve’” were sensible “for a time” but that they could crush the economy. He said, “Within a very few weeks let those with a lower risk to the disease return to work.”{{Cite web|date=2020-03-25|title=Some billionaires want people to go back to work. Workers aren't so sure|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-25/billionaires-want-workers-coronavirus|access-date=2020-06-30|website=Los Angeles Times|first1=Max|last1=Abelson|first2=Donald|last2=Moore|language=en-US}} In May 2020, amid reopenings of the economy, Blankfein said that the U.S. would have to suffer through a spike in coronavirus cases because the U.S. could not provide additional coronavirus-related stimulus.{{Cite news|date=2020|title=Blankfein Says U.S. Will Have to Suffer Through Spike in Viruses|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-18/blankfein-says-u-s-will-have-to-suffer-through-spike-in-viruses|access-date=2020-06-30|newspaper=Bloomberg.com}} At the time, he wrote, "Is the public health benefit from broad lockdowns at this point worth such extreme damage to livelihoods?"{{Cite web|title=Billionaire Goldman Sachs exec says it's time to end coronavirus lockdown|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lloyd-blankfein-back-to-work-coronavirus-lockdown/|access-date=2020-06-30|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=May 22, 2020 |language=en-US}} CBS News described Blankfein as "a leading spokesperson" for the "reopen the economy" movement.

Blankfein opposes a wealth tax on billionaires. In 2019, while criticizing Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax, he alluded to her claimed Native American heritage, saying "Maybe tribalism is just in her DNA." Under her wealth tax proposal, Blankfein would have owed more than $30 million per year in taxes on his estimated $1.1 billion wealth.

Blankfein who earned $24 million from Goldman Sachs in 2018 criticized the notion that CEOs are overpaid. In 2019, he said he felt a "lack of appreciation" in society for Wall Streeters.

From 2000 to 2009, Blankfein personally donated $11 million (4.58% of his total compensation) to charitable organizations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Head-of-Goldman-Sachs-Gave/210341|title=Head of Goldman Sachs Gave $11-Million in Past Decade|date=March 25, 2010|work=The Chronicle of Philanthropy|access-date=March 16, 2018}} His joint charity foundation, the Lloyd and Laura Blankfein Foundation, donated $620,000 to Harvard Law School, $500,000 to the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, $50,000 to Barnard College, $46,500 to the Robin Hood Foundation, and $10,000 to Carnegie Hall in fiscal year 2010.{{Cite news|url=https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/blankfein-foundation-gave-more-than-1.7-million-in-2009|title=Blankfein Foundation Gave More Than $1.7 Million in 2009|last=Center|first=Foundation|work=Philanthropy News Digest (PND)|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en}}

Blankfein serves on the board of directors of the Partnership for New York City,{{cite web|title=Board of Directors|url=http://pfnyc.org/board-of-directors/|website=Partnership for New York City|access-date=October 18, 2016}} and on the board of overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College.{{cite web|title=Board of Overseers|url=https://overseers.weill.cornell.edu/display/public/Members|website=Weill Cornell Medical College|access-date=October 18, 2016}}{{cite news|author=Rivard|title=All in the Family|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/12/12/cornells-medical-college-father-passes-board-chair-position-daughter|access-date=October 18, 2016|work=Inside Higher Ed|date=December 12, 2014}}

Blankfein is married to Laura Jacobs, an attorney and the daughter of Norman S. Jacobs, the editor-in-chief of the Foreign Policy Association publications.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E2DB1038F936A25756C0A965948260|title=Laura Jacobs Engaged To Lloyd C. Blankfein|date=May 15, 1983|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 11, 2010}} The couple have two sons and a daughter.Julia La Roche, [http://www.businessinsider.com/lloyd-blankfeins-kids-on-instagram-2012-7 Hey Look, Lloyd Blankfein's Kids Are On Instagram], Business Insider, July 27, 2012

On September 22, 2015, Blankfein was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/dealbook/goldman-ceo-lloyd-blankfein-has-lymphoma.html|title=Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs C.E.O., Has Lymphoma|last1=de la Merced|first1=Michael J.|date=September 22, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 18, 2016}} He received multiple rounds of treatment of chemotherapy and by October 2016 was in remission.{{cite news|last1=Belvedere|first1=Matthew J.|title=Goldman's Blankfein: US economy not off rails|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/03/goldmans-blankfein-feeling-great-after-600-hours-of-chemo.html|access-date=October 18, 2016|work=CNBC|date=February 3, 2016|quote=Bald and without his beard, the 61-year-old Blankfein also talked about battling cancer. He said he's feeling "pretty good" after undergoing "like 600 hours of chemo" over the last few months.}}{{cite news|title=How Goldman Sachs' CEO Beat Cancer|url=http://fortune.com/video/2016/10/18/goldman-sachs-ceo-beat-cancer/|access-date=October 18, 2016|work=Fortune|date=October 18, 2016}}

• List of employees of Goldman Sachs
• List of Harvard University people

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130618173120/http://www.goldmansachs.com/who-we-are/leadership/executive-officers/01-lloyd-c-blankfein.html Profile] at Goldman Sachs
• [http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1890111 Profile]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} at Bloomberg Businessweek
• {{C-SPAN|1023247}}
• {{Charlie Rose view|6895}}
• {{Guardian topic}}
• [http://www.ibtimes.com/topics/detail/308/lloyd-blankfein/ Lloyd Blankfein] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714202132/http://www.ibtimes.com/topics/detail/308/lloyd-blankfein/ |date=July 14, 2012 }} collected news and commentary at International Business Times
• {{NYTtopic|people/b/lloyd_c_blankfein}}
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/business/yourmoney/10lloyd.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Goldman Runs Risks, Reaps Rewards], The New York Times, June 10, 2007
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061006005224/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_04/b3867103_mz056.htm The Man Goldman Is Banking On] 2004 profile from BusinessWeek magazine
• [https://www.cfr.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/FY17%20Membership%20Roster.pdf Membership] at the Council on Foreign Relations

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