The men with money to burn (Goldman Sachs)

The Telegraph ^ | Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 14/12/2006 | Jasper Gerard

[alnitak]

OK, I admit to being slightly jealous :-)

Not sure I could have stomached the working hours though.

One correction: The article reads as if Goldman Sachs is a UK company only based in London, but it's actually an American company with headquarters in Manhattan.

[goldstategop]

Yep. Christmas bonuses for jobs well done! By the way, Jon Corzine once worked for them.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[proud_yank]

Such wealth costs. We have been introduced to the phenomenon of the "extreme worker": those for whom office is home, who keep a wardrobe behind their desk and who, when occasionally bumping into a spouse, murmur a "I recognise your face from somewhere". Well, Goldmanites are at the extreme end of extreme.

When a female friend dumped her Goldman boyfriend, he couldn't take it in. "Why?" he kept asking. "Because," she replied. "I see more of Aunt Hilda than you. And she has been dead five years." Typically my friend was asleep when lover boy got home and would still be asleep when he left for work.

Another Goldman widow books hourly slots. "I've lost count of the number of times I've been stood up in restaurants." Divorce rates are high. "Goldman guys are always travelling," says a rival. "The poor wife is left at home while he is probably getting a bit of extra entertainment."

And while you might earn oodles, you will also spend it. One who has escaped says: "Now I live in the country I am amazed how little I spend. Working for Goldman you have so little time you end up paying people to run and live your life for you."

Personally, I would not label this as 'successful'.

Consolation, I guess, for those whose Christmas bonus barely stretches beyond a mince pie.

Work harder.

[durasell]

Better to work for one of those laid back hedge funds...

[JerseyHighlander]

Entry level workers at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan have the 8 hour rule.

You can do anything you want for 8 hours a day, Goldman expects you in the office for the other 16. Grounds for termination if you miss more than an hour a week for 3 weeks of your first 14 weeks. Few actually get their 8 hours away anyway.

Move up the ladder and the hours start to actually get intense.

[SkyPilot]

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his very soul?

Luke 9:25

_{VICTORY CIGAR: Goldman windfall wafts over
to tobacconist Ike Karipides yesterday.}

[SkyPilot]

Yep. Christmas bonuses for jobs well done! By the way, Jon Corzine once worked for them.

Ah yes, the financial "genius" who cannot seem to figure out that out of control teacher and worker pensions, corrupt Unions, and a law that allows state employees to receive double in yearly COLA raises is bankrupting the people of New Jersey.

The highest Property Taxes in the Nation.

We're Number One!

[dakine]

Sounds like a tough job...I'd rather work at Wal-Mart....

[proud_yank]

I can only imagine.

However, having just gone through many interviews myself, I would certainly say that their interview tips is spot on. I did pretty good for myself, but I wish I would have read these before I started!

[aligncare]

Sorry, but you ended your post with a contradiction.

[proud_yank]

How so?

[aligncare]

Well...you can't on the one hand characterize the intense work ethic at Goldman's that yields such monetary rewards as not your idea of 'success', and then say 'work harder' to someone who gets less at work...you can't have it both ways.

[Jimmy Valentine]

"I wear the chains I forged in life, Ebeneezer."

[kittymyrib]

Can't you just smell the odor of class-warfare in this article? Who cares how the rich spend their money during their brief time on earth. They will all die and will take nothing with them. That's why Jesus urged the really wise people to "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Million-dollar bonuses won't mean a thing when we stand before the judgement seat of God.

[proud_yank]

I don't see why not, and I did not label a small bonus as unsuccessful.

I don't consider losing family members to be 'successful' at all. I do not have much pity for those who receive little at work and complain about it (I did take the last sentence of the article as typical 'rich vs. poor' whining, esp. considering the source).

If you want more, work harder and achieve it.

[proud_yank]

Well put.

[wgflyer]

"Million-dollar bonuses won't mean a thing when we stand before the judgment seat of God."

True. But then that's their problem. What really scares me is that they'll die and leave all that money to a liberal spouse or child who will then feel guilty for having it, marry a senator and become devoted to assuaging that guilt by raising my taxes and forcing me to drive a car that eats carrot juice.

[wgflyer]

"Million-dollar bonuses won't mean a thing when we stand before the judgment seat of God."

True. But then that's their problem. What really scares me is that they'll die and leave all that money to a liberal spouse or child who will then feel guilty for having it, marry a senator and become devoted to assuaging that guilt by raising my taxes and forcing me to drive a car that eats carrot juice.

[aligncare]

Yes. Agreed. I'm not willing to be away from my family so much that relationships suffer--although I believe society has already gone down the wrong road with both parents working (and in many cases, commuting 3 hours). Both my wife and I are away 12 and 13 hours a day...it's sad. Thank god for weekends.

But if there are those who desire material wealth and are willing to give up family and friends to achieve it...well, I won't judge them.

[Sam_Damon]

"But if there are those who desire material wealth and are willing to give up family and friends to achieve it...well, I won't judge them."

Perhaps you won't judge them, but Someone will. Read and heed:

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his very soul?

Luke 9:25