Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon ‘bragged about getting oral sex’
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon boasted about his sexual prowess to a group of male colleagues, according to bombshell lawsuit that led to a secret $12 million settlement with a female partner.
The head of Wall Street’s most prestigious investment bank
bragged to the underlings that he was the only one among the group to have
received oral sex the previous night, according to a complaint revealed Tuesday
by Bloomberg News.
Solomon’s alleged boast, which occurred sometime shortly
after he took over the firm in 2018, was part of the lawsuit filed by the
former Goldman partner who accused the investment bank of fostering a sexist
culture.
Bloomberg reported that at least three executives either
heard Solomon’s alleged remark at the time or heard about it. The alleged
incident stood out because it was considered so out of character for the
60-year-old chief executive, they told the publication.
The alleged remark by Solomon was not the central focus of
the lawsuit, which claimed Goldman paid women less than men for doing the same
jobs and that the company tolerated crude and vulgar remarks from senior
officials.
However, Goldman ended up agreeing to pay the female
executive “well over” $12 million as part of a secret settlement two years ago
that has only now surfaced, Bloomberg reported. It is likely the largest payout
of its kind, according to the outlet.
According to Bloomberg, none of the executives who heard
about Solomon’s alleged sexual boast were aware that it was cited in the
complaint filed by the departed partner.
“Bloomberg’s reporting contains factual errors, and we
dispute this story,” said Kathy Ruemmler, General Counsel at
Goldman. “Anyone who works with David knows his respect for women, and his
long record of creating an inclusive and supportive environment for women.”
The lawsuit also alleged that other top managers, including
former head of investment research Steven Strongin, made dismissive remarks
about women.
According to Bloomberg, Goldman was eager to settle due to
the bank’s efforts to tout its efforts to improve diversity among its senior
echelons.
The partner, who never went public with her allegations, has
since gone on to work for another company. Her identity was not revealed by
Bloomberg.
News of the settlement is the latest black eye for Goldman,
which has been accused of fostering a hostile workplace culture for women.
In September, unsealed legal documents showed that scores of
women who worked at Goldman more than a decade ago described how they were
allegedly subjected to discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault at
the hands of male managers.
The unsealed documents were part of a class-action lawsuit
that was filed against the bank by some 1,400 plaintiffs who allege lewd and
criminal behavior by senior bankers at the firm.
The documents list at least 75 reported instances of sexual
misconduct by male managers as well as seven criminal complaints alleging
serious felonies including rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.
Earlier this year, former Goldman banker Jamie Fiore Higgins
released a memoir alleging that the investment bank’s Manhattan headquarters
was so rife with misogyny that a colleague kept a spreadsheet ranking female
recruits on their “f–kability,” declaring: “I want tit size and a– shape.”
Higgins, 46, of Somerset County, New Jersey, writes that she
was told by a male colleague that she was promoted “because of her vagina” and
that she was the target of “moo” sounds from co-workers who mocked her weight
after she gave birth to her fourth child.
On another occasion, she alleges, she was violently pinned
to a wall by a male colleague who “wrapped [his hand] around my jaw” and
threatened her while she was suspended in midair.
Higgins is the author of “Bully Market: My Story of Money
and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs,” which is currently Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller in
the “Financial Services Industry” category.
The investment bank provided a statement to The Post that
read: “Had Ms. Higgins raised these allegations with our human resources
department at the time we would have investigated them thoroughly and addressed
them seriously.”
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