Money

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

My First Million · How the Ex-Goldman CEO actually invests his own money · June 16, 2026

My First Million

How the Ex-Goldman CEO actually invests his own money

"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.

About 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.

Key takeaways

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.