Sol’s on record: GS ahead of DJ
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon finally addressed the long-running controversy over his DJ’ing hobby, insisting that spinning records won’t become a distraction as he looks to shore up sagging profits at the Wall Street giant.
“If my doing it publicly in any way is distracting to Goldman Sachs, my No. 1 focus is Goldman Sachs,” the 61-year-old banking boss told the Financial Times at the Global Banking Summit in London this week.
“My daughter got married a month-and-a-half ago, I DJ’ed at her wedding. It’s still a hobby, it’s a passion,” he added.
Solomon’s comments came a year after his discjockey alter ego, DJ D-Sol, hung up his headphones at high-profile events after attracting unwanted media attention.
During the first nine months of 2023, Goldman’s profits plunged more than 30%, weighed down by the bank’s $3 billion loss on its consumerbanking ventures over the past three years, as well as a $506 million write-down on GreenSky. Earnings in the latest quarter plunged 36%, an improvement over the second quarter’s 58% drop.
Until recently, Solomon had been spinning records at dance clubs frequently since 2015, three years before he was named top dog at Goldman.
He began landing higher-profile DJ gigs as of 2019 after scoring a spot in the lineup at Tomorrowland, the European dance-music festival known for its undulating throngs of naked, sweaty, drug-fueled revelers — a move that upset Goldman’s board.
Representatives for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Goldman has lost more than 100 employees to rival Wall Street banks who have raided its stable of AI talent in the past year as investment giants compete for the top minds in a rapidly developing field that is expected to change the face of finance, according to a report.
Goldman’s rivals such as JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have lured away the highly coveted workers, according to data compiled by the consultancy firm Evident.
Bank of America, which had a net outflow of 55 staffers, and Wells Fargo, which saw its headcount fall by 130, have also been targeted by competitors, figures cited by Bloomberg News show.