Episode overview

How the Ex-Goldman CEO actually invests his own money

My First Million · 16 June 2026 · 4 Egleze moments

What happened in this episode?

In this episode, host Sam Parr interviews Lloyd Blankfein, former Goldman Sachs CEO and current senior chairman, for an intimate conversation about wealth, investing, anxiety, and the American Dream. Blankfein, who led Goldman through the 2008 financial crisis, disclosed that he actively day trades on his iPad multiple times daily, maintaining a 98% allocation to risky assets with up to 90% in individual stocks concentrated in tech, energy, and financial services. He revealed he has significantly outperformed the market and described trading as background noise comparable to music. The conversation took vulnerable turns as Blankfein admitted he literally cannot say the word 'rich' due to psychological scars from growing up in public housing in East New York, Brooklyn, where his father worked at the post office and the family experienced poverty. He recounted having only $11 after freshman year expenses at Harvard in 1971 and receiving a $500 check from financial aid with such dignity it shaped his decades of giving. Blankfein shared insider stories including Warren Buffett's casual $5 billion investment in Goldman during the crisis committed over the phone while heading to Dairy Queen, and identified Elon Musk as the only true genius he has met after decades around global elites. The discussion ranged from parenting wealthy children, to the psychological cost of CEO life, to American history and immigration, with Blankfein defending capitalism and critiquing revisionist history that discredits flawed but consequential figures like the Founding Fathers and Robert Moses. Throughout, Blankfein demonstrated both thick-skinned resilience and surprising emotional candor about insecurity, ambivalence about inherited wealth, and permanent feelings of being the kid from the projects.

What are the key points?

Blankfein actively day trades multiple times daily on iPad and phone, keeping 98% in risky assets with 75-90% in individual stocks, significantly outperforming the market.
Warren Buffett committed $5 billion to Goldman during 2008 crisis over the phone without due diligence, calling it trivial compared to hurricane insurance losses.
Blankfein identified Elon Musk as potentially the only genuine genius he has met, unlike other billionaires whose thinking he can comprehend.
Blankfein disclosed he psychologically cannot say the word rich despite decades of wealth due to trauma from growing up in public housing.
After buying books and one sweater at Harvard in 1971, Blankfein had only $11 left and received a dignity-preserving $500 financial aid check that shaped his giving philosophy.
Blankfein admitted feeling ambivalent about giving wealth to his children, envying those who earned their success while planning to create the privileged people he dislikes.
He defended studying history and flawed consequential figures like the Founding Fathers and Robert Moses, arguing achievements should not be erased by moral failures judged by modern standards.

Which topics are covered?

AI & Tech Money

How is this page sourced?

Programme: My First Million
Published: 16 June 2026
Original episode: Open the original source ↗

Egleze verifies the speaker, source and timestamp for each linked moment. Unless a moment is explicitly marked independently verified, statements remain attributed claims by the named speaker rather than established facts.

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4 moments from this episode

Source-linked · editorially selected

AI & Tech

Blankfein Says Elon Musk Is Only True Genius He Has Met

at 3:28 · Attributed speaker claim

Most of the people I meet, I can't— I'm not saying I can do what they do, but I could see how they can do what they do. Very few people have I met in my life where I can't even see the world through their eyes, or I can't even see how they do what they do. Elon Musk may be a guy like that where I don't know how.

After decades meeting world leaders and the ultra-wealthy, Lloyd Blankfein identified Elon Musk as potentially the only genuine genius he has encountered, distinguishing him from figures like Jeff Bezos whom Blankfein says he can understand. He explained that while he underwrote much of Musk's ventures at Goldman Sachs, Musk's thinking remains incomprehensible to him. This assessment from someone with intimate access to global elites carries significant weight in evaluating Musk's capabilities.

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Money

Warren Buffett Committed Five Billion to Goldman Over Phone While Taking Grandkid to Dairy Queen

at 12:00 · Attributed speaker claim

He said, you know, Lloyd, I know you well enough to know that you worry enough for the both of us. He said, look, Berkshire, $5 billion. It's not even, it's, you know, again, Berkshire's an insurance company. He said, $5 billion, if it all goes bad, that's not even a bad hurricane on the East Coast.

Lloyd Blankfein recounted Warren Buffett's casual $5 billion preferred stock investment in Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis, executed without due diligence or written contracts while Buffett was en route to Dairy Queen with his grandchild. Buffett dismissed the amount as trivial compared to hurricane insurance payouts and refused Blankfein's attempts to disclose risks, demonstrating extreme confidence in both Goldman's fundamentals and his own judgment. The investment was pivotal not for the capital but for restoring market confidence in Goldman when similar institutions were failing.

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Money

Blankfein Trades Daily on iPad Despite Running Goldman Sachs for Decades

at 18:21 · Attributed speaker claim

I'm not sure what I did because I put in orders. Knowing that you were gonna tie me up and I wasn't gonna be able to look at stuff, I told people what to do. I buy and sell a lot of stuff. I don't want to talk about specific things because people listen to these things on different days.

Lloyd Blankfein, former Goldman Sachs CEO, revealed he actively day trades multiple times daily using only an iPad and phone, managing a portfolio that is 98% risky assets with 75-90% in individual stocks rather than ETFs. He described trading as background noise comparable to listening to music and admitted it takes discipline not to check his screen during conversations. Unlike typical retirement portfolios, Blankfein's approach reflects decades of professional trading experience applied to personal wealth management.

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Money

Former Goldman CEO Had Only Eleven Dollars After Freshman Year Expenses at Harvard

at 32:36 · Attributed speaker claim

I bought a sweater to put over a tennis shirt. And then after I bought, and, and, and at one point I had, I remember this, I had $11 left over. This would've been like 1971 or 2. I was on financial aid, like full financial aid, but full financial aid doesn't cover, you know, going to movies or things like that.

Lloyd Blankfein revealed that after buying books and a single sweater at Harvard in 1971-72, he was left with only $11 for discretionary spending. He visited the financial aid office requesting $500 additional support and was immediately given a check without scrutiny, an act of institutional generosity he credits with shaping his decades of philanthropic giving focused on financial aid. The experience of receiving aid with dignity, rather than shame, became a template for his approach to giving.

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