As a $60 billion a year investment bank engaged in market making and asset management for equities, fixed income, commodity and derivative securities for large institutional clients, Goldman Sachs, having been founded in 1869, is arguably the world’s most recognizable name on Wall Street. Known for attracting some of the best financial talent, it is both respected and feared, in some cases being accused of “ripping their clients off” in the relentless pursuit of profits. Defenders of firms like Goldman Sachs make a big deal about how they’re instrumental in the efficient allocation of (financial) capital, but one could argue the concentration of highly intelligent and motivated individuals operating what amounts to a glorified casino is a gross misallocation of human capital, robbing other critical sectors of talent that would otherwise have gone to engineering real solutions, not financial ones.
Myth of the 20th Century – Episode 239 – The Rise of Goldman Sachs
— References —
- The Fountainhead, Rand (1943)
- Atlas Shrugged, Rand (1957)
- Bullitt, Yates (1968)
- Vanishing Point, Sarafian (1971)
- Money of the Mind: Borrowing and Lending in America from the Civil War to Michael Milken, Grant (1992)
- From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression — and they’re about to do it again, Taibbi (2009) – https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405
- Debt: The First 5,000 Years, Graeber (2011)
- Opinion: Why I Left Goldman Sachs, Smith (2012) – https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html
- Why I Left Goldman Sachs: a Wall Street Story, Smith (2012)
- What Happened to Goldman Sachs: an Insider’s Story of Organization Drift and Its Unintended Consequences, Mandis (2013)
- Henry Ford – Life, Work and Legacy, Myth of the 20th Century (2017) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/henry-ford-life-work-and-legacy/
- Tiananmen – The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Myth of the 20th Century (2022) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2022/02/25/tiananmen-the-gate-of-heavenly-peace/
- Goldman Sachs Reportedly In Talks With FTX For Bitcoin, Crypto Derivatives, Amick (2022) – https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/goldman-sachs-and-ftx-in-talks-for-bitcoin-crypto-derivatives
Myth of the 20th Century 
OYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY GEVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT
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SHUT THIS PODCAST DOWN NOWWWWWWW
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“The planners pretend that their plans are scientific and that there cannot be disagreement with regard to them among well-intentioned and decent people. However, there is no such thing as a scientific ought. Science is competent to establish what is. It can never dictate what ought to be and what ends people should aim at. It is a fact that men disagree in their value judgments. It is insolent to arrogate to oneself the right to overrule the plans of other people and to force them to submit to the plan of the planner. Whose plan should be executed? The plan of the CIO or those of any other group? The plan of Trotsky or that of Stalin? The plan of Hitler or that of Strasser?”
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What are you saying at 2:22:00? I’m unfamiliar with the word, and I have no idea how I might spell it to learn more.
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mogged
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Thank you for the recommendation on Vanishing Point.
Turns out there is a remake from 1997, starring Viggo Mortensen and a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.
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Reblogged this on muunyayo .
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Best one so far, leaves me wondering how many good sections you leave out because its “not relevant” to the topic.
Japanese Investment bank was something that can be a model for what nick is saying, right people in charge pushing innovation in the right direction, I would say Capitalism has sheer luck since most ppl who even get resources are connected and how many ppl with great minds are left out bcs of their immidiate surroundings, family etc… Some talent has to work at McDz bcs it has no other way to get out of the waggie life and some talented people aren’t apt for that fight but might do wonders otherwise, so is Capitalism the best of the worst? No. Its a system that will not outlast any other one, maybe even a quasi Communist one, inherently unstable and soul crushing with the most ruthless psychopaths being the ones who can get to the top
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Oy vey
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Seriously, I’d pay $15 a month to listen to Nick ramble about whatever he feels like. He could set up a podcast that’s just him lecturing on whatever topics and tangents come to mind. Three hours of that is better than any other podcast out there in my opinion. I just love listening to this guy.
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