The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs [Mass Market Paperback]

Charles D. Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2009

The inside story of one of the world?s most powerful financial Institutions

Now with a new foreword and final chapter, The Partnership chronicles the most important periods in Goldman Sachs?s history and the individuals who built one of the world?s largest investment banks. Charles D. Ellis, who worked as a strategy consultant to Goldman Sachs for more than thirty years, reveals the secrets behind the firm?s continued success through many life-threatening changes. Disgraced and nearly destroyed in 1929, Goldman Sachs limped along as a break-even operation through the Depression and WWII. But with only one special service and one improbable banker, it began the stage-by-stage rise that took the firm to global leadership, even in the face of the world-wide credit crisis.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this history of investment bank Goldman Sachs, Ellis (Winning the Loser's Game) covers the same ground as Lisa Endlich's Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success—with notable stylistic differences. From Marcus Goldman's purchase of his first commercial paper in 1869 to the firm's current success, Ellis's account is lively and engaging where Endlich's is accurate but dry. Ellis sheds light on events through dialogue and detailed descriptions of people's thoughts and feelings, embellishments that the author terms recreations in his epilogue. The effect of infusing such narrative techniques into the history of Goldman Sachs is entertaining, but it pushes the envelope of nonfiction, especially since the author appears to have interviewed only former partners of the firm. More damagingly, Ellis fails to report much about actual business, and attempts to do so—such as a chapter on Rockefeller Center financing—require lengthy digressions and are incomprehensible due to the complexities of the transactions. Without links to business, boardroom conflicts take on the air of petty squabbles. More a composite memoir of senior Goldman partners than a traditional history, this book will satisfy readers curious about the philosophies and personalities of the firm. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ellis, the author of 14 books and managing partner of Greenwich Associates, a strategy-consulting firm, here provides a history of Goldman Sachs, which is arguably the most profitable and powerful investment bank in the world today. The firm began in 1885 as the partnership of two intermarrying families, but there was a rift early on; to this day, the two families are not on speaking terms. Nevertheless, through the expertise of the many partners through the years, the firm has pioneered virtually every area of finance: early in the twentieth century, they underwrote the initial stock offerings of companies such as Sears and Ford; they dominated institutional block trading in the 1970s, bonds and leveraged buyouts in the 1980s, and global finance in the 1990s. The book also chronicles the tough times the company has weathered, including the Great Depression, various market meltdowns, and insider trading scandals. Ellis touches on the mortgage crisis, which Goldman Sachs recognized early on and deftly avoided (unlike rivals such as Bear Stearns). Ellis has done a thorough job of researching the prestigious organization, providing a look at the many personalities that have made the famous name into what it is today. --David Siegfried --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Upd Rev edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143116126
• ISBN-13: 978-0143116127
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #565,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, poorly edited, July 5, 2009

By 

D. Glickstein - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (Hardcover)

Fascinating book, but the fact that it weighs in at nearly 700 pages shows that the editor was absent or lax. There's incredible repetition. For example, in one long paragraph, we learn that Goldman Sachs believed that "recruiting was the most important thing we could ever do." Moreover, "Recruiting people of exceptional talent...is vital to the success of any professional firm." We get the point, and don't need it belabored for eight sentences in the same paragraph. Examples like that abound.

The lousy editing is also seen when Ellis introduces characters in passing, without giving a sense of where they come from, or what their titles are. It would have been nice to have had a simple list of the senior partners or managing partners throughout the years.

It also would have been nice to have a glossary. Ellis is good at explaining that obscure financial instruments are complex--yet apparently they're so complex that even he doesn't understand them, because he sure doesn't explain them.

All of which leads to a question: Did any editor actually read the manuscript?

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A History Of A Survivor, October 11, 2008

By 

C. Hutton "book maven" (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (Hardcover)

In his massive history of Goldman Sachs (over 700+ pages), Mr. Ellis gives a glowing and comprehensive history of the the investment bank. He writes as the insider he is (a former consultant to the firm) and is not as critical of Goldman Sachs as he could be. Founded nearly 150 years ago, he traces the firm's roots and growth, its downturns (the Depressions and the 1970's) and it re-intervention of itself repeatedly. The financial carnage of the past month is not covered obviously, but Goldman Sachs new survival has its origin in its 2007 decision to get out of the mortage business before the current crisis.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The right focus and discipline, October 16, 2008

By 

Allan S. Roth "dare_to_be_dull" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (Hardcover)

Why does Goldman Sachs still have a $40 billion market capitalization while Lehman and Bear Stearns have become extinct? Charles Ellis answers that question and more in his latest book, The Partnership, as well as giving the reader an insider's view of what gave Goldman Sachs such an advantage. Like McKinsey & Company in consulting, Goldman Sachs walks the talk in hiring the right people and creating a culture that rewards long-term success.

This book takes an honest look at some of Goldman Sachs' missteps along the way, such as Long Term Capital Management, but also the considerable focus and discipline demonstrated in avoiding the easy short-term buck that seems to consistently blow up in our faces. Need I say more than AAA rated insured sub-prime derivative instruments?

It remains to be seen what the impact of the current financial crisis will be on Goldman Sachs. Regardless, this book shows why the death of investment banking may be a bit premature.

Charlie Ellis writes in his usual substantive yet engaging style. If you're looking for a great read with some very useful takeaways, I highly recommend reading this book.