Henry Goldman

Henry Goldman (September 21, 1857 – April 4, 1937) was an American heir, banker, philanthropist and art collector. A member of the Goldman–Sachs family, he was instrumental in the making of the financial conglomerate Goldman Sachs in the early twentieth century.

Henry Goldman
Born(1857-09-21)September 21, 1857
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 4, 1937(1937-04-04) (aged 79)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeSalem Fields Cemetery, Brooklyn
Alma materHarvard University (did not graduate)
OccupationBanker, philanthropist, art collector
Spouse(s)
Babette Kaufman Goldberg
​
​
(m. 1890)​
Children2 sons, 1 daughter
Parent(s)Marcus Goldman

Early life

Henry Goldman was born on September 21, 1857 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2] His father, Marcus Goldman, was a German-born banker.[3]

Goldman attended Harvard University but failed to graduate due to poor eyesight.[1][2] Others believe this story of "poor eyesight" was family lore, and that Goldman, as a second-generation German immigrant and a Jew, did not feel welcome at Harvard.[4]

Career

Goldman started his career at Goldman Sachs in 1884.[3]

Goldman helped list retail companies like Sears and Woolworth, despite the firms' shortage of assets. In 1911, when the firm joined with Lehman Brothers in refinancing and incorporating Studebaker, Henry served with great dedication on the automaker's executive committee.[5]:pp.26, 77

Goldman broke with his brother-in-law and main partner Samuel Sachs and the bank during World War I. In 1915, as tensions rose in Europe, Goldman publicly voiced support for the Germans and refused to allow Goldman Sachs to participate in a $150 million Anglo-French bond issue arranged by J. P. Morgan.[6] The rest of Goldman's colleagues supported the Allies. In 1917, after America entered the war, Goldman resigned as a partner from Goldman Sachs in recognition of the negative effects of this irreconcilable difference of opinion.[7]

Goldman retired from Goldman Sachs in 1917.[1][2]

Additionally, Goldman served on the Boards of Directors of the Lawyers Title and Trust Company, the Columbia Trust Company, the Commercial Investment Trust Corporation, and the Berlin-based Shrebreuger Technishe Hochschule.[3]

Philanthropy

Goldman remained a strong supporter of Germany until 1933, when, during a yearly trip to Berlin, he witnessed firsthand the increasingly brutal and institutionalized anti-Semitism that prevailed in the country.[8] Goldman never returned to Germany. Until his death in 1937, Goldman worked to help German Jewish intellectuals and child refugees immigrate to the U.S. to escape the Nazis.[9]

Goldman helped to fund the Stern–Gerlach experiment in quantum physics,[10] and purchased a yacht for Albert Einstein (which was later confiscated by the Nazis).[11][1] He also purchased a Stradivarius for Yehudi Menuhin.[1]

With six other New Yorkers, Goldman endowed a US$150,000 chair in German Art and Culture at his alma mater, Harvard University.[1][2]

Art collection

Goldman was a significant art collector. His collection focused on "Renaissance Italian, Dutch and Flemish paintings."[1][3] For example, he purchased Portrait of a Man Sitting by Frans Hals for US$175,000 in 1916.[1]

Personal life

Goldman married Babette Kaufman Goldberg.[3] They resided at 998 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.[1][3] They had two sons, Robert Goldman and Henry Goldman Jr., and a daughter, Florence Vogel.[3]

Death

Goldman died on April 4, 1937 in New York City.[1][2] He was 79 years old. He was buried at the Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[3]

References
  1. "Henry Goldman, Bank Head, Dies". The Reading Times. Reading, Pennsylvania. April 5, 1937. p. 7. Retrieved May 29, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Henry Goldman Dies; Was Noted Financier". The Gazette and Daily. York, Pennsylvania. April 5, 1937. p. 14. Retrieved May 29, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Henry Goldman Rites Tomorrow; Retired Banker". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. April 5, 1937. p. 13. Retrieved May 29, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Cook, Eli. "Henry Goldman: Immigrant Outsider as Empire Builder." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 3, edited by Giles R. Hoyt. German Historical Institute. Last modified May 27, 2015.
  5. Erskine A R History of the Studebaker Corporation, South Bend 1918 (free download at Google Books)
  6. Fisher, June Breton. When Money Was in Fashion: Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs and the Founding of Wall Street, 2010, pg. 102-103.
  7. Fisher, June Breton. When Money Was in Fashion: Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs and the Founding of Wall Street, 2010, pg. 110.
  8. Fisher, June Breton. When Money Was in Fashion: Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs and the Founding of Wall Street, 2010, pg. 150-152.
  9. Fisher, June Breton. When Money Was in Fashion: Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs and the Founding of Wall Street, 2010, pg. 156-157.
  10. The Stern Gerlach Experiment Jeremy Bernstein
  11. Charles D. Ellis, The Partnership, Penguin Press, 2008, p.15

Further reading
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