In 1869, a German Jewish immigrant named Marcus Goldman moved to New York City with his family and opened a one-room basement office next to a coal chute at 30 Pine Street in Lower Manhattan.
During a period of tight and expensive bank credit, Goldman offered the local merchants an alternative. He would began buying customers' promissory notes from jewelers to resell to banks for a profit.
The company made a name for itself pioneering the use of commercial paper for entrepreneurs and was invited to join the New York Stock Exchange in 1906.
With the addition of his son-in-law, Samuel Sachs, in 1882, and his son, Henry Goldman, in 1885, Marcus Goldman’s enterprise became a partnership prompted the name change to Golden Sachs & Co.
In 1887, Goldman Sachs formed a relationship with the British merchant bank Kleinwort Sons and began offering US-UK foreign exchange and currency services. Having established a presence in the northeast, the firm expanded its operations to Chicago and St. Louis to serve such clients as Sears, Roebuck and Co.
In the early 20th century, Goldman was a player in establishing the initial public offering market. It managed one of the largest IPOs to date, that of Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1906.
Although World War I slowed down financial activity until 1919, its aftermath brought strong economic expansion. Many of Goldman’s clients, namely H.J. Heinz, Pillsbury, and General Foods, returned to the company for additional financing, and Goldman continued to grow into the 1920s.
In 1930, Sidney J. Weinberg was named senior partner. Weinberg, considered the father of the modern-day Goldman Sachs, would serve as senior partner for nearly 40 years.
The early history of Goldman Sachs Group
