Henry Goldman

Who was Henry Goldman?

Henry Goldman was an American banker, son of Marcus Goldman. He was instrumental in the making of the financial conglomerate Goldman Sachs in the early twentieth century. An innovative banker, he helped list retail companies like Sears and Woolworth, despite the firms' shortage of assets. In 1911, when the firm joined with Lehman Brothers in refinancing and incorporating Studebaker, Henry served with great dedication on the automaker's executive committee.

Goldman broke with his main partner Samuel Sachs and the bank during World War I. In 1915, as tensions rose in Europe, Goldman publicly voiced support for the Germans and refused to allow Goldman Sachs to participate in a $150 million Anglo-French bond issue arranged by J. P. Morgan. The rest of Goldman's colleagues supported the Allies. In 1917, after America entered the war, Goldman resigned as a partner from Goldman Sachs in recognition of the negative effects of this irreconcilable difference of opinion.

Goldman remained a strong supporter of Germany until 1933, when, during a yearly trip to Berlin, he witnessed firsthand the increasingly brutal and institutionalized anti-Semitism that prevailed in the country.