This bank is Goldman Sachs.
It was founded in New York in 1869 by Marcus Goldman, a German immigrant. Later, his son-in-law Samuel Sachs joined the business.
The bank was a pioneer in the commercial paper business. It purchased promissory notes of local merchants and sold them to banks. For merchants, it was a good alternative to hard-to-get and expensive bank credit. In the early 20th century, Goldman Sachs introduced another important financial innovation. When investing, it started to assess a company’s value based on its earning power. Earlier, companies were evaluated solely on the basis of their physical assets.
Goldman Sachs came into prominence after Sidney J. Weinberg (“Mr Wall Street”) became a senior partner in 1930. He remained in this role until his death in 1969.
Now, Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s most prominent banks, offering a wide variety of financial services. In 2020, it was ranked 62nd on the Fortune 500 list of the largest US corporations.
