Yesterday Lloyd Blankfein came to my office to record My First Million. Lloyd used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
I’ve met loads of billionaires and powerful people through the podcast. But Lloyd was the first person I’ve done a podcast with, I think, who was 1) powerful because he ran powerful organization that he didn’t start 2) a big shot on a very global scale that’s beyond just business.
A few notes:
- Being poor early in life impacts you forever: His father worked for the post office. He grew up in the projects. He became “successful” in his 30s (young) but growing up poor impacts you for life.
- He has a cheap Netflix account: for example he still used the cheap Netflix subscription that has ads.
- He wore a Suit Supply jacket: And he was wearing a cheap(ish) Suit Supply sports jacket. He’s a multi-billionaire (I assume) and has a fancy life, but its funny to see minor ways where he’s still cheap due to his upbringing.
- He’s a day trader: Lloyd’s been retired for 10+ years. His passion and hobby now is day trading. He made a joke that he had to put in a bunch of orders right before we started because he’d normally spend that time trading. He said he can’t stop checking his phone because he loves it.
- Only ~25% of his net worth is in an index: And ~75% is him buying individual equities. He likes big tech. The big players + some of the secondary smaller ones. (He gave ball park numbers, so make sure you see my “~” sign).
- Climbing a power ladder vs. being a business owner: Most people I meet with are entrepreneurs. I prefer the term “small business owner” because even if a business is $10b+, most still act like small business owners in some ways. Lloyd wasn’t that. Goldman was already one of the best when he started there as an entry level guy. I prefer being an entrepreneur. Suits my personality. But there was for sure something intoxicating hearing about joining a storied, powerful institution and being the CEO and steward of it. Prestige isn’t something I typically think about – but I get why its cool.
- He was intoxicatingly relatable: This guy is a power player. Not just in business, but in the world. US presidents, Putin, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk…the most powerful people on earth – he works with and they influence one another. And yet, when he talked to a peon like me…he was locked in, kind, charming, and very, very relatable. I can see why he became CEO.
- He’s a history nerd: Like me. He said the number one thing to study, if you want to be a great investor, is history. History goes in cycles, so it helps to know what happened in the past. He’s passionate about the founding fathers, medieval era, and Robert Caro’s books.
- He didn’t have work life balance: And that didn’t bother him. He was high energy and seems like he enjoyed the grind. His career…he was go go go.
- He had thick skin: during the Occupy Wall Street and mortgage crisis era, Lloyd was enemy #1 as he represented big banks (which is sort of odd given you can’t even get a mortgage from Goldman). Protestors were outside his apartment building. I asked if it worried him. “No, that’s what doormen help with,” he joked. Numerous times, he gave me a sense of being quite tough skinned. I think he did a great job of internalizing that in order to achieve greatness, you’ll have a lot of critics and that’s just part of it.
- He walked home (2 miles): What are you doing now, I asked at the end of the episode. “I’m gonna walk home,” he said, “I’ve gotten nothing else going on.” Ballers…they’re just like us!
I liked meeting Lloyd Blankfein. Found him to be sharp, charming, and very likeable. Its very clear why he’s super successful. I hope to record with him again!
