Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

Henry M. ("Hank") Paulson, Jr., born March 28, 1946, is an American businessman, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, a large investment bank. He was nominated by President Bush to serve as the American Treasury Secretary, succeeding John Snow. If confirmed, he would be the the first Wall Street figure to hold the post during the Bush administration.

Early life

A devout Christian Scientist, he was raised on a farm in Barrington, Illinois. Paulson received his A.B. in English literature from Dartmouth College in 1968 (where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and All Ivy, All East, and honorable mention All American for football ). He received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1970, where he met his wife Wendy. The Paulsons have two adult children, Merritt and Amanda. They maintain homes in New York City and Barrington, Illinois.

Career highlights

Paulson was Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon from 1970 to 1972. He was a member of the White House Domestic Council, serving as Staff Assistant to the President from 1972 to 197.

He joined Goldman Sachs in 1974, working in the firm's Chicago office. He became a partner in 1982. From 1983 until 1988, Paulson led the Investment Banking group for the Midwest Region, and became Managing partner of the Chicago Office in 1988. From 1990 to November 1994, he was Co-Head of Investment Banking, then, Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998; evenutally succeeding Jon Corzine (now Governor of New Jersey) as its chief execitive. His compensation package, according to reports, was $37 million in 2005.

Civic activities

Paulson is an avid nature lover. He has been a member of the Nature Conservancy for decades and is the organization's Board chairman and co-chair of its Asia-Pacific Council. In that capacity Paulson has worked with China's President Jiang Zemin to preserve the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan province. Paulson is also on the Board of Directors of the Peregrine Fund. Paulson was also the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University in Beijing. He donated $100 million in Goldman stock to a family foundation dedicated to conservation and environmental education. At Dartmouth, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Essentially all of Paulson's political monetary contributions have been to Republican candidates and PACs, aside from a $500 donation by Paulson to pro-choice EMILY's List in 1998.

Treasury Secretary

On May 30, 2006, Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned. Mr. Paulson will replace Snow as head of the Treasury Department. This continues the tradition of service in government by Goldman Sachs chairmen. Jon Corzine, Stephen Friedman, and Robert Rubin, all predecessors of Mr. Paulson at Goldman Sachs, left the company to serve in government: Corzine as a U.S. Senator (now Governor of New Jersey), Friedman as chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC), and Rubin as both chairman of the NEC and Treasury secretary.

Links:

Henry M. Paulson
Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Webcast June 5, 2002
NPR

Goldman Sach's Site

Goldman Sach's Our Story

Paulson Jr, Henry M on Executive Pay

Goldman Sachs Group Inc

Remarks by President Bush in Nominating Henry
Paulson as Treasury Secretary