Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon bragged about his sexual prowess to a group of male colleagues, according to a blowout lawsuit that led to a secret $12 million settlement with a female partner.
The boss of Wall Street’s most prestigious investment bank bragged to underlings that he was the only one of the group to have received oral sex the night before, according to a complaint revealed Tuesday by Bloomberg News.
Solomon’s alleged bragging, which occurred shortly after taking over the firm in 2018, was part of a lawsuit brought by the former Goldman partner who accused the investment bank of fostering a sexist culture.
Bloomberg reported that at least three executives either heard of Solomon’s alleged remark at the time or had heard of it. The alleged incident stood out because it was considered so irrelevant to the 60-year-old chief executive, they told the publication.
Solomon’s alleged remark was not the focus of the lawsuit, which claimed that Goldman paid women less than men to do the same work and that the company tolerated rude and vulgar remarks from senior officials.
However, Goldman ended up agreeing to pay the executive “far more” than $12 million in a secret settlement two years ago that has only just surfaced, Bloomberg reported. This is probably the largest payout of its kind, according to the outlet.
According to Bloomberg, none of the executives who heard of Solomon’s alleged sexual bragging knew she was cited in the lawsuit filed by the deceased partner.
“Bloomberg’s reporting contains factual errors, and we dispute that story,” said Kathy Ruemmler, general counsel at Goldman. “Anyone who works with David knows his respect for women and his long track record of creating an inclusive and supportive environment for women.”
The lawsuit also alleged that other senior executives, including former head of investment research Steven Strongin, made disparaging 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 ranks.
The partner, who has never made her allegations public, has since worked for another company. His identity was not revealed by Bloomberg.
News of the settlement is the latest black eye for Goldman, which has been accused of fostering a workplace culture hostile to women.
In September, unsealed legal documents showed dozens of women who worked at Goldman more than a decade ago described how they allegedly faced discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault from male managers. .
The unsealed documents were part of a class action lawsuit brought 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 cases of sexual misconduct by male executives as well as seven criminal complaints alleging serious crimes, including rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.
Earlier this year, former Goldman banker Jamie Fiore Higgins published a memoir alleging the investment bank’s Manhattan headquarters was so rife with misogyny that a colleague held up a spreadsheet categorizing the female recruits on their “f-kability”, stating, “I want breast size and a shape.”
Higgins, 46, of Somerset County, New Jersey, writes that a male colleague told her she had been promoted “because of her vagina” and was the target of “mooing” from colleagues who made fun of her weight after she gave birth to her fourth child.
On another occasion, she claims, she was violently slammed against a wall by a male colleague who “wrapped [his hand] around my jaw” and threatened her as she was suspended in the air.
Higgins is the author of “Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs,” which is currently Amazon’s #1 bestseller in the “Financial Services Industry” category.
The investment bank provided a statement to The Post which read: ‘Had Ms Higgins raised these allegations with our human resources department at the time, we would have investigated them thoroughly and dealt with them seriously.’
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