America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 627 A Photograph as a Counterattack

The stock market will be closed on December 28th.

But on Wall Street, a piece of news caused a huge uproar within the major giants.

The trigger was simple, and had nothing to do with the financial industry: two pictures of an island published on the front page of several mainstream newspapers.

However, the way these two photos are presented is quite bizarre.

Without any title or background description, the picture, in which the sea and the horizon merge into one, shows no trace of human activity and is eerily quiet.

But these two photos, which aroused dissatisfaction among ordinary readers and even led to complaints to the newspaper, sent chills down Paulson's spine.

Inside the office, he stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, clutching the newspaper with photos of the island in his hand.

Outside the window, Manhattan's skyscrapers stood side by side, and the winter sun shone warmly on the glass curtain wall, but his face remained devoid of warmth.

Instead, there was a chill that penetrated to the bone, even carrying a hint of barely concealed fear.

As the CEO of Goldman Sachs, this role gave him a much deeper understanding of the world than the average person.

The more he learned, the more profoundly he understood how much unknown darkness and filth lay hidden behind the glamorous facade of high society.

The fairness and justice that ordinary people regard as the ultimate principles are nothing but two pale and powerless words in the face of absolute power and capital, which is laughable and heartbreaking.

The path to upward mobility is never a smooth and honorable one; rather, it is more like a journey from civilized society to a dark and criminal realm.

A group of rulers who completely disregard the law and trample on the rules.

While committing heinous crimes themselves, they also create a cage for those who are oppressed and plundered, to restrain their behavior.

"What does this mean?" Paulson's secretary stood by the desk, her brow furrowed as she stared at the newspaper in his hand, utterly bewildered.

Such a strange thing must have a deeper reason behind it.

This matter is not difficult to investigate; it was Ernst Asset Management that bought the space in these newspapers and published these two photos.

But what is the intention?

He sensed something strange about everything.

"Santoya Island... what kind of place is that?"

He had never heard of the island's name before and found it somewhat puzzling.

Completely unaware that Henry Paulson, who had just sat back down in his chair, was growing paler because of the name, with fine beads of cold sweat on his forehead, and his body trembled, or rather, shook.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his panic and unease, and said, "You can go out first, let me have some peace and quiet."

The other party had some doubts, but dared not ask any more questions. They could only nod and turn to walk towards the office door.

Just as he was about to open the door, the office door was pushed open from the outside.

A group of tall bodyguards in black suits walked in first and quickly lined up in two rows on either side of the door, forming a tight human wall.

Immediately afterwards, an elderly man with gray hair and a slightly hunched posture slowly appeared at the door, supported by two servants.

The old man held a beautifully carved walking stick, with a large sapphire set at the top, the kind that you definitely can't find on the market.

The secretary instinctively wanted to reprimand these uninvited intruders, but when he saw the old man's face, his eyes widened instantly.

Paulson, who was sitting in his seat, suddenly stood up from his chair the moment he saw the old man, his body involuntarily straightening, his face filled with awe and fear.

He quickly walked around the desk to greet the old man at the door, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

"You may all leave now." The old man's voice was aged and hoarse, yet carried a sense of authority.

Upon hearing the old man's order, the bodyguards, servants, and secretary who had just reached the door in the office did not dare to hesitate in the slightest and left the office one by one, gently closing the door behind them.

Paulson walked over to the old man, helped him, and sat him down in the rest area.

After the other person was seated, Paulson personally made them a cup of coffee, gently placed it down, and said with utmost respect, "What brings you here?"

Despite his full head of white hair, the old man was in excellent spirits. He picked up his coffee cup, took a small sip, then put the cup down and looked calmly at Paulson, saying each word clearly, "If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known when Goldman Sachs went bankrupt."

"It's only been a year, and some people already don't respect me. Are they so eager to seize power?" The old man's eyes suddenly sharpened, like two daggers piercing Paulson's heart.

Paulson gave a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly. "You know, this isn't something I can decide. I can't go against the decisions of those partners."

At Goldman Sachs, the board of directors is not the highest authority; the partnership system is the core of maintaining the company's operation.

Partner is the highest professional rank within Goldman Sachs, selected every two years. The selection criteria are extremely stringent, requiring candidates to possess not only outstanding business skills and extensive industry experience, but also a wide network of contacts and excellent leadership abilities.

Most importantly, they can participate in the company's major decisions at the same time. If they unite, they can completely sideline Paulson, the CEO.

Few people know that partners are also divided into levels.

Goldman Sachs has four levels: junior partner, general partner, senior partner, and senior partner. The highest level is senior partner, which consists of only one or two people and represents the true power holders at Goldman Sachs.

However, when Goldman Sachs went public, in order to highlight the uniformity and scarcity of its partners, all of them were simply called partners, though some also called themselves senior partners.

The name doesn't matter; they are all the same in terms of level.

However, there is one exception: the current head of the Weinberg family, the powerful family behind Goldman Sachs, who is the old man in front of me.

He is the only partner at Goldman Sachs, and there has only been one since Goldman Sachs was founded.

Goldman Sachs has a century-long history, with the ruling family changing hands three times.

It was originally founded by the Goldman family, but due to their pro-German stance during World War I, they had disagreements with their then-partners, the Sachs family, and withdrew from Goldman Sachs.

In 1935, Samuel Sachs retired, leaving no successor and coinciding with the Great Depression, Goldman Sachs was on the verge of crisis.

He then handed over Goldman Sachs to his then-partner, Sidney Weinberg, who is the father of the man in front of him.

Under his leadership, Goldman Sachs not only weathered the Great Depression crisis but also promoted business diversification and spearheaded Ford's IPO, solidifying its position as a leading investment bank.

It wasn't until John Weinberg took over that Goldman Sachs established itself as the largest investment bank on Wall Street, closely linked to the US government.

With half a century of rule, the Weinberg family has become Goldman Sachs' largest shareholder simply by acquiring shares.

Not to mention the Weinberg family's cronies planted in various important departments of Goldman Sachs.

In particular, the close cooperative relationship established between the Weinberg family and the US government, and the famous Goldman Sachs revolving door phenomenon, were all created by him.

He has relinquished power, but that doesn't mean his influence at Goldman Sachs has diminished.

"I'm getting old, and I just want to spend my later years in peace and quiet. I don't want to end up disgraced." John Weinberg looked at Paulson, his eyes showing a hint of weariness, but his tone was unusually firm as he spoke each word clearly.

"Similarly, our old friends from that era are no longer able to withstand any more upheaval," he added.

"This is saving us, and it's saving you too." John Weinberg's gaze deepened.

Paulson stood silently to the side, his throat bobbing as he swallowed, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He understood what John Weinberg meant, but his inner struggle and contradictions prevented him from making a decision easily.

John Weinberger glanced at him, as if reading his mind, and continued, "I know what you're worried about."

"You don't want to back down, not because Goldman Sachs has no tradition of compromise, but because you're afraid that if you compromise, you'll lose the position you've always dreamed of."

John Weinberger's words struck Paulson squarely to the core.

Paulson's unwillingness to yield and to bow down to Continental Telecom stemmed from his thirst for power.

Compromise often means showing weakness, and showing weakness can become a handle for opponents to attack.

Especially now, in this predicament where he's caught between a rock and a hard place, if he backs down, he'll become a laughingstock in the upper class.

It's a joke that it's impossible to become the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.

If he cannot reach that position, enter the revolving door, and accumulate unprecedented political resources and social status for his family, his family will be stuck at the current social class and unable to climb any higher.

"If this time it really is Elephant who sits in that position, I can give you a guarantee that Goldman Sachs will fully support you."

Upon hearing this, Paulson's eyes instantly lit up with a bright light, and the gloom on his face vanished, replaced by an undisguised joy.

John Weinberg stood up, his tone gentle yet commanding.

"The Weinberg family relinquished control of Goldman Sachs, ushering in an era of public shareholding and professional management, but this does not mean that just anyone can take charge of Goldman Sachs."

"Let's end this as soon as possible. Continuing to make trouble won't be good for anyone."