Historedia
AmericasEvent

Goldman Sachs founded in New York

When
1869
Where
New York City
Episodes
1

Marcus Goldman founded the firm in New York City in 1869, operating from a basement office. He relocated from Philadelphia to seek more profitable work, establishing a business distinct from established investment banks like Seligman & Co. Samuel Sachs joined later in 1882, confirming the partnership was not formed at the 1869 founding.

Episodes

  1. 1869 · New York City1869 Founding in New York

    Marcus Goldman established the firm in New York City in 1869, operating from a basement office next to a coal chute.

Background and detail

Background. Marcus Goldman, born in Bavaria in 1821, worked as a peddler and shopkeeper in Philadelphia before relocating to New York City in 1869. He sought more profitable work, establishing a business in a one-room basement office next to a coal chute. This initial setup preceded the formal partnership with Samuel Sachs, who joined in 1882.

Business Context. In 1869, firms such as Seligman & Co., with working capital of $6 million, were already modern-day investment bankers immersed in underwriting and trading railroad bonds. Samuel Sachs joined the firm in 1882, so the 1869 founding was not a partnership with Sachs.

People involved

Sources

  1. Goldman Sachs Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01
  2. Marcus Goldman Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-17

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.