Why I Left Goldman Sachs

A Wall Street Story

By: Greg Smith

Narrated by: Greg Smith

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

An insightful and devastating account of how Wall Street lost its way from an insider who experienced the culture of Goldman Sachs first-hand.

On March 14, 2012, more than 3 million people read Greg Smith's bombshell op-ed in the New York Times titled "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs." The column immediately went viral, became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, and drew passionate responses from former Fed chairman Paul Volcker, legendary General Electric CEO Jack Welch, and New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. Mostly, though, it hit a nerve among the general public who question the role of Wall Street in society - and the callous "take-the-money-and-run" mentality that brought the world economy to its knees a few short years ago. Smith now picks up where his op-ed left off.

His story begins in the summer of 2000, when an idealistic 21-year-old arrives as an intern at Goldman Sachs and learns about the firm's Business Principle number one: Our clients' interests always come first. This remains Smith's mantra as he rises from intern to analyst to sales trader, with clients controlling assets of more than a trillion dollars. From the shenanigans of his summer internship during the technology bubble to Las Vegas hot tubs and the excesses of the real estate boom; from the career lifeline he received from an NFL Hall of Famer during the bear market to the day Warren Buffett came to save Goldman Sachs from extinction - Smith will take the listener on his personal journey through the firm, and bring us inside the world's most powerful bank.

Smith describes in pause-resisting detail how the most storied investment bank on Wall Street went from taking iconic companies like Ford, Sears, and Microsoft public to becoming a "vampire squid" that referred to its clients as "muppets" and paid the government a record half-billion dollars to settle SEC charges. He shows the evolution of Wall Street into an industry riddled with conflicts of interest and a profit-at-all-costs mentality: a perfectly rigged game at the expense of the economy and the society at large.

After conversations with nine Goldman Sachs partners over a 12-month period proved fruitless, Smith came to believe that the only way the system would ever change was for an insider to finally speak out publicly. He walked away from his career and took matters into his own hands. This is his story.

©2012 Greg Smith (P)2012 Hachette Audio

it's a insider view

buy it. you will read it to the end. information that you can only find because he had informed on his time as a insider trading banker. telling how it has developed into a money grab for the bank and how they no longer care about people businesses or countries. only there commissions matter

Engaging Story; Raises Highly Important Issues

Although often cited in the press as an “indictment” of Goldman Sachs, this book is not a mere diatribe against Goldman. It is just as much Greg Smith’s story of what he treasured about Goldman. He mentions many people he met at Goldman whom he greatly admired. He also notes with pride that Goldman was savvy enough to withstand the 2008 financial meltdown by being one of the few Wall Street firms with the good judgment to turn away from the alluring fool’s gold of subprime mortgage securities. He provides a very well written inside account of his 12-year career at Goldman, rising from intern through the ranks of the equities group as a well regarded trader and salesman.

What Greg Smith portrays is a firm that shifted priorities during his tenure from a place that went the extra mile for its clients (“advising my clients to do what I believe is right for them, even if it means less money for the firm,” as he put it in his NY Times op ed piece) to one that focused primarily on an employee’s “GC’s”—his or her “gross credits” based on net profits realized by the firm on its trades with those clients. The conflict of interest in such cases is obvious. He cites examples from his final year in the GS London office in which the focus on “profits” led certain Goldman employees to take advantage of their clients when it was clear the client had made a mistake or did not understand the essentials of a complex securities trade. To be fair, he cites only a few such examples and emphasizes in an “afterword” that no one should doubt there are thousands of honest and hard-working people who populate the Wall Street firms.

To some degree, what I believe Greg Smith experienced at Goldman reflected a trend we have seen over the past 20 years in other institutions once highly regarded for their professional standards but who have become much more “bottom line” oriented as they have adapted to more competitive business conditions and focused their resources on the most productive sectors of their business. Consider, as an extreme example, Arthur Andersen, once the gold standard of accounting firms, since disgraced in the Enron scandal. I personally witnessed this trend myself over 20-some years practicing in a so-called “Big Law” firm.

I think Greg Smith is absolutely right that for the sake of a professional firm’s culture, reputation and long-time survival, it has to get the balance between professional standards and business priorities right. In his opinion, GS had fallen below an acceptable professional standard by the time he left the firm. Others within Goldman will no doubt disagree with him in good faith. In any case, the book provides a couple of apt warnings. First, for those considering a career in a top Wall Street firm, be prepared for constant pressure to produce profits in a way that may run counter to the best interests of your clients, even if perfectly legal. You should decide whether you are up to handling that pressure and maintaining your personal ethical standards. Second, if you are doing business with Goldman Sachs (or any Wall Street firm), be sure you know well the person you are dealing with before you place your trust in him or her. You cannot simply assume they will be looking out for your best interests.

great overall listen

I really liked Greg's ability to see the good and bad in wall street. Greg keeps you engaged and enthralled with the ups and downs of his career.

A Must Read For Investors

This book tackles issues never really addressed in the public eye. It is very interesting and builds up to where the world of finance is going today.

Awesome Book!

I listen to many books and this was one of the BEST books I’ve read with regard to the financial word. Great story and why can’t there be an Amazon in the Financial world to alleviate the SCUM in the markets?

Interesting insider view of the Vampire Squid (GS)

3.5 of 5 stars.

Greg Smith has written an honest insider view of Goldman Sachs covering his employment at the renowned investment bank which overlapped the financial crises of 2008. This timeframe is key as it gives the author a pre-crises and post-crises perspective where he tracks the cultural changes within the firm that led to his decision to leave.

On the downside, this book was a bit too autobiographical and self-indulgently long. While the writer had to be careful about names and specifics, there were enough details in his story to document GS’ shift from a culture of integrity (according to Smith at least) to a money-first, customer-adversarial environment.

The author does a good job narrating his material.

Couldn’t stop listening!!

Loved this book, will recommend to colleagues and friends who enjoy hearing and learning about the topic of finance and that “world”

good inside WS story.

very insightful book for those who have never been involved with Goldman Sachs. I change my opinion about them.

my thoughts on this book

it's alittle slow at first.. but by the end I'm left wanting more. it's almost inside information

Very scary for the individual investor!

If you could sum up Why I Left Goldman Sachs in three words, what would they be?

A true wake up call. This industry needs serious reform.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Greg does an amazing job of describing what the big investment firms are all about. There is such a serious conflict of interest but their lobbyist are so strong that you wonder if the "boys club" can be taken down.

What three words best describe Greg Smith’s voice?

Great narrator

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Corruption in the financial industry