Goldman Sachs $GS is a U.S. investment bank and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. It is among the largest and most influential financial institutions in the world, with core businesses in investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management.
The firm was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman, a German immigrant who began by buying and selling commercial paper — short-term debt issued by businesses — from a basement office in Manhattan. His son-in-law Samuel Sachs joined the partnership in 1882, giving the firm its lasting name. Goldman Sachs went public in 1999 after operating as a private partnership for more than a century, one of the last major Wall Street firms to do so.
Goldman Sachs operates across three primary business segments. Its Global Banking & Markets division advises corporations and governments on mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises, and runs one of the world's largest securities trading operations, handling equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities. Its Asset & Wealth Management division oversees investments for institutions, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and high-net-worth individuals, including through private markets platforms that give wealthy clients access to stakes in private companies. The firm has also taken on large-scale mandates such as managing retirement assets for major U.S. corporations.
The firm is a primary dealer in U.S. government securities, meaning it is authorized to trade directly with the Federal Reserve. It serves clients in more than 40 countries and employs tens of thousands of people globally.The firm is widely regarded as a bellwether for Wall Street activity, particularly in investment banking and trading volumes.