How Sydney Weinberg Got to the Top of Goldman Sachs - Javnyuy Joybert

How to get to the top

To be able to work with business leaders and CEOs to build businesses of the present and future, one thing I intentionally do is research about the greatest companies ever built.

What did they do?

What challenges did they face? How did they overcome them?

How come they are still in business today?

The company I have been researching recently is Goldman Sachs. For those who do not know, Goldman Sachs is one of the oldest financial institutions still functioning today since 1869.

It is a leading global financial institution serving corporations, other financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals. Its services span across investment banking, global markets, asset management, consumer and wealth management.

Goldman Sachs is considered a systemically important financial institution and is ranked 57th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

As an entrepreneur, while researching the history of this giant institution, someone stood out for me. His name is Sydney Weinberg.

Weinberg was forced to quit high school early because his family could not afford it to see him through school.

Here is where it gets interesting. Weinberg started as a janitor (cleaner) at Goldman Sachs. He did not allow his position as a cleaner or his lack of university education to stop him. While at Goldman Sachs, he hustled his way to the top of the company.

Weinberg rose from being a janitor's assistant, making $3/week, where his responsibilities included brushing the firm's partners’ hats and wiping the mud from their overshoes. The grandson of Goldman Sachs founder, Paul J. Sachs, liked Weinberg and promoted him to the mailroom, which Weinberg used as an opportunity to learn about the business.

Three key things took him to the top from just being a janitor:

1. Curiosity to learn and not be comfortable with being a janitor or in the mailroom.

2. Showed the willingness to work hard and go the extra mile.

3. Ability to network. It is recorded that this was his strongest strength that got him to the top. While as a janitor, he networked with top people in the firm. He had a tremendous capacity for connectivity with other relevant people.

It is recorded that with his ability to network and build relationships with people, he single-handedly brought the majority of the investment banking business to Goldman Sachs.

From janitor, Sidney James Weinberg became a long-time leader of Goldman Sachs, was nicknamed "Mr. Wall Street" by The New York Times and "director's director" by Fortune magazine.

I hope Sidney’s story inspires you to believe in yourself, your career and future possibilities.

Cheers

Dr. Javnyuy Joybert