• Why I Left Goldman Sachs

  • A Wall Street Story
  • By: Greg Smith
  • Narrated by: Greg Smith
  • Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (645 ratings)

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Why I Left Goldman Sachs  By  cover art

Why I Left Goldman Sachs

By: Greg Smith
Narrated by: Greg Smith
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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

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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.


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Couldn't set aside

Would you consider the audio edition of Why I Left Goldman Sachs to be better than the print version?

Yes, because the author read it and his emotion came through.

What did you like best about this story?

The fascinating inside look at modern Wall Street.

What about Greg Smith’s performance did you like?

His steadiness.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His mixed emotions at leaving work he had loved. Also, his experience of 9/11.

Any additional comments?

I think Mr. Smith has achieved his purpose of exposing how greed has overtaken Wall Street traders. It will be interesting to see if there are meaningful management and regulatory changes as a result.

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11 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Opportunistically Speaking

I'll start with I love an accent and had zero trouble listening to this book. I'm always happier when a writer can narrate their own book, because it brings authenticity. I also appreciate when a writer is in over their head and calls in a pro. Not the case, Greg Smith can read his own book.

I really enjoyed this book initially. South African boy does good, wins scholarship to Stanford, procures Wall Street Internship and amazing career ensues. Greg gave enough insight and definition to his (complicated) work, so a novice could follow along and not get bored or overwhelmed with jargon. I felt like I learned things and even found myself making the hand gestures to buy and sell, like I was standing on 'the floor' (people driving by just thought I was nuts).

My problem is Greg comes across as a lily-white, do-gooder surrounded by blood-sucking heathens. It just doesn't feel genuine when you elevate yourself at the expense of others. He was the only good guy in a sea of scum... right (said sarcastically). He writes openly about his peer's weaknesses, his superior's faults and personality quirks even about hanging out with strippers in a hot tub in Vegas with his GS bretheren (whatever happened to what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?). He burnt people to write this book all the while he is portraying himself as saint. He totally covered his own a## and made a premeditated exit from GS, while simultaneously ripping the rug out from the company that took VERY good care of him for 10 years. It feels kind of gross and disingenuous. I ended up not liking this guy.

Listen, I LOVE a juicy tell-all and I still respect people I've admired if I learned they've done something outside of my moral boundaries. I just think this guy saw an opportunity... that is it precisely... Greg Smith comes of as an opportunistic jerk and by the end of this book I stopped caring about what he had to say.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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close up view of a dozen years on Wall Street

Best thing about this book is that it was written and narrated by the person that lived through a tumultuous period on Wall Street. Sounded authentic to me.

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Sort of irrelevant...

...and oddly tone-deaf, though with a little bit of useful inside info.

The Big Short does a much better job of matter-of-factly skewering GS, and we didn't have to hear about how much anybody's birthday dinner cost.

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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

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An amazing story everyone should hear

Everyone should listen to this story to fully understand the impact bankers have on our society and our economy. They've done a fantastic job of making sure they hold all of the aces.

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Mixed bag

Although it has some interesting stuff, it raised some questions as well. The author was refused a promotion before he resigned, which puts his moral concerns about the business in a different light. In order to prevent the elites from getting richer and the poor getting poorer, he suggests more regulation of the financial markets by the powers that be/elites.

That should make you stop and think. According to him, to get rid of too big to fail institutions, we need congress (those people that can not control their spending and borrow from their printing presses) control and regulate the financials. He also seem to have some hope that 115 regulatory bodies of the financial markets is not enough and 116 is going to make a difference. You can read the book about Madoff (Harry Markopolis) to see why regulation does not work (revolving door). The only thing that works is taking the way the gun on the head of the tax slave. Without the ability to dump losses on the tax slaves through the government power structure,

Given he asks for more power for the few, to fight the problems of too much power for the few, I rate this book as a solicitation for a job as a regulator, to become part of the few and stick it to GS, who passed him over for promotion. He also must have smelled that there exists a market for railing against the big banks.

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Great book

I enjoyed this book and it held my interest throughout. It's a real inside look at finance. I agree with Greg. Whatever happened to corporate responsibility? It seems like Goldman Sachs thinks it doesn't apply to them. This book tells an interesting story from college through vice presidency for Greg! Nice work.

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I Wish I Could Like Him

Would you try another book from Greg Smith and/or Greg Smith?

Not a chance

What aspect of Greg Smith’s performance would you have changed?

He has a very annoying accent but I guess that is not his fault.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It is an interesting story and all points of view are valid- he is a credible insider to a world that is unfairly reviled by mainstream society.

Any additional comments?

I am not an investment banker, but I do know some, have worked with some and considered becoming one when I left Oxford. Let us be under no illusions, investment banking is not exactly a client focussed game, nor does it give a lot back to society but it is far from the evil that society (especially Brits) seem to suggest these days.

Greg Smith is obviously very smart, probably credible and he has definitely been close to the centre of one the greatest/ largest investment bank in the world during some pretty major events. However, boy does this guy love himself. Some of the quotes and passages are just cringe worthy- apparently he never put a foot wrong, or if he did it was only once and he learnt from his mistakes. He was the 'go to guy' for just about everything and the greats within the bank showed him enormous respect. I'm just not sure I believe all of that. He just doesn't come across as very likeable.

Not coming across as very likeable would be fine if the book were a well written, well argued insight into the real workings of Goldman Sachs. Sadly, it isn't. The book is basically a life story, rarely exciting, occasionally interesting but mostly just one low level guy's story of working in an investment bank. Most of the book seems to state the obvious- would you have guessed that the recruitment process is tough and stressful for a job that pays 250k a year to 22 year olds or that once you get said job you would be expected to work long hours or pass exams first time?

This book could have been so much more, an academic, well reasoned argument about why Goldman Sachs is bad/ evil/ changed from good to bad. What you get is mostly a whinge from a low level guy who didn't make it. He is clearly in love with the bank and fell out of love when it didn't give him exactly what he wanted.

He maybe right- I just don't know but after sitting through 10 hours of the book, I'm not sure I care. Greg may have a wonderful future ahead of him, he may even be a great guy but he certainly doesn't have a future in writing.

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