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The Judgment of Solomon

Just when it seemed as though David Solomon was in the middle of an August reprieve, the embattled Goldman C.E.O. has found himself once again in the crosshairs, via back-to-back fusillades in the media last week. “Still standing,” quipped Tony Fratto, Goldman head of communications, to me in a weekend text.

The New York mag piece was a reflection of how bad things have gotten between David Solomon and the press.
The New York mag piece was a reflection of how bad things have gotten between David Solomon and the press. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune
William D. Cohan
August 16, 2023

By now, of course, most of you are likely well aware of the latest media headache to hit Goldman Sachs, in the form of twin articles last Friday in the Times and New York magazine—the latest entrants in the oeuvre about David Solomon’s precarious position atop the firm. The Times article was mostly a rehash of the slings and arrows that Solomon has faced for months now—sniping about his abrasive personality, the DJ-ing, the private jet trips, the stumbles in consumer banking, the rough second quarter, etcetera. Except for the story’s lede: that was new and revelatory.