When Money Was In Fashion: Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs, and the Founding of Wall Street

by June Breton Fisher

This epic biography tells the story of the rise of Wall Street and the growth of Goldman Sachs from a small commercial paper company to the international banking business we know today. At its heart is the story of Henry Goldman, a man who spoke out passionately for his beliefs, understood the importance of the bottom line, and was known to chuckle, draw on his cigar, and remind his young protégés, "Just keep in mind . . . Money is always in fashion." Though you will rarely find a mention of him in the official history of Goldman Sachs, it was Henry who established many of the practices of modern investment banking. He devised the plan that made Sears, Roebuck Co. the first publicly owned retail operation in the world, helped convince Woodrow Wilson to pass the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, and became a power player in the world of Wall Street finance at a time when Jews were considered outsiders. The book traces Henry Goldman's hard-fought and often frustrating career with Goldman Sachs, a company founded by his father Marcus and fraught with professional rivalries. The tensions between the Goldman and Sachs families extended outside of the boardroom and into the larger world as the United States went to war. Henry's steadfast support for Germany during World War I would tarnish his reputation and drive him from the firm. But his involvement with finance would continue throughout his life, as would close friendships with luminaries like Albert Einstein, whom he would later join in outspoken denunciation of Hitler's atrocities against European Jews. Here, June Breton Fisher, Henry Goldman's granddaughter, tells his whole story for the first time―a story that has shaped contemporary finance and continues to resonate with us today.

Genres: Business, Biography, Finance, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2010

Reviews

[Ocean G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting book, and I'm glad I picked it up. Written by Henry Goldman's granddaughter, it talks of the family history in immigrating to the United States, as well as the beginning of Goldman Sachs, and its progression and growth with Henry at the helm, to is downturn and public sale.

This is what you would expect from a family memoir, made up pretty much exclusively of family recollections. It would have been nice to have a historian co-write another edition, maybe filling in the gaps and rectifying any mistakes or other issues.

But all in all an enlightening and pleasant read.

https://amzn.to/3xiDolt

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

June Breton Fisher the granddaughter of Henry Goldman, who founded Goldman Sachs, provides an intimate look into the life of her grandfather and the way in which he invented Wall Street. This book contains many fascinating accounts of the early days of Wall Street, the trials of an immigrant, the lifestyle of the new rich class in the post Gilded Age world and a look at how America's financial potential was shaped. There are few books that offer such a close view to how the company was formed and a look at the man who did it. The book is very easy to read and provides an almost diary overview of the life of Henry Goldman showing all of the talents he had in the creation of a new way to make money. Not the ponzi schemes or scandals of today's Wall Street but a way to develop assessments of a companies' financial health such as a P/E ratio. The biggest complaint about this book comes in two areas. The first that there are long tangents that have very little to do with the actual topic itself and get deep into World War II history with no real relevant tie in other than the participants being German like Henry Goldman. The second is the lack of sources that are readily identifiable. A bibliography of further readings would be very helpful and crystallize an interesting narrative. Overall for those who want a personal look at how Wall Street's rise came about this is a great place to start.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing family history of Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs colossus straddles the financial world today, but it started as a family business. June Breton Fisher, great-granddaughter of founder Marcus Goldman, draws on information from relatives and her own memories to portray the little-known story of the firm’s founding. Two teenage boys met in a synagogue in Bavaria and throughout marriages, births, deaths, conflict and scandal, they gave life to Goldman Sachs. Whatever you may think of the bank, you’ll find its forebears, particularly Henry Goldman, to be intriguing, innovative and very human. getAbstract recommends this loving memoir for its slice-of-life narrative, though astute readers will need to sort through its scattered inconsistencies and errors. And, it lacks a badly needed family tree. You might quibble over the title – after all, when hasn’t money been in fashion? – but Henry’s quote actually was, “Money will always be in fashion.” How right he was.

To learn more about this book, read the following online summary: http://www.getabstract.com/summary/13...

[Tress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by the granddaughter of Henry Goldman, one of the original founders of Goldman Sachs. It was a very short and fast read, only 267 pages but a good deal of new historical information packed in. Interesting how the histories of the Goldman and Sachs families overlapped in 19th century Germany and then how the two families intermarried and intertwined professionally in America before their great falling out during World War I. I have never been much of a student of WWI but I learned enough, reading this, about it's roots and especially about the demands for reparations made on Germany after the war to understand how things got so much worse afterward.

The subject of fine art collecting has appeared repeatedly in my reading of the past few years and here it was again. Obviously it is a form of currency as well as a true passion for a certain echelon of society. Not entirely relatable, but intriguing.

[Akhil Mehta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is invaluable in understanding the basic mettle with which great men (or women) are built. Henry's story is inspirational to say the least, and little snippets of advice he gave to his family is scattered throughout.

Those little snippets alone are many times more than what the book cost. The narration gets a bit clumsy quite often, but the content alone is brilliant.

I will probably read this book again.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly easy read about one of the "founding families" of Wall Street. I enjoy the rare glimpse into Henry Goldman and his family. I would have loved the addition of a family tree to keep straight the inter-weavings with the Sachs family.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enlightening history of Goldman-Sachs. Comments from Henry Goldman's letter to his brother Julius regarding events in Germany prior to WWII (p 150-152)are in such contrast to what has happened recently in Egypt. The power of modern technology.