Henry Merritt "Hank" Paulson, Jr. (born March 28, 1946) served as the 74th
United States Treasury SecretaryThe United States Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, concerned with finance and monetary matters, and, until 2003, some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United States is analogous to the...
. He previously served as the Chairman and
Chief Executive OfficerA chief executive officer or chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers or administrators in charge of total management...
of
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
. In 2008,
TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
named Paulson as a runner-up for its Person of the Year 2008, saying, with reference to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008: "if there is a face to this financial debacle, it is now his."
Early life and family
He was born in
Palm Beach, FloridaThe Town of Palm Beach is an affluent incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
, to Marianna (née Gallauer) and Henry Merritt Paulson, a wholesale jeweler. He was raised in
Barrington Hills, IllinoisBarrington Hills is an affluent village, located about northwest of Chicago, Illinois, that straddles approximately in Cook, Kane, Lake, and McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 3,915 at the 2000 census...
, as a
Christian ScientistThe Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which offered a unique interpretation of Christian faith. Christian Science teaches that the reality of God denies the reality of...
. Paulson attained the rank of
Eagle ScoutEagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . Those who attain this rank are called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in the
Boy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions...
.
A star athlete at
Barrington High SchoolBarrington High School is a public four-year high school located in Barrington, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Barrington Community Unit School District 220.-History:...
, Paulson was a champion wrestler and stand-out football player, graduating in 1964. Paulson received his
B.A.Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
in English from
Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Incorporated as "Trustees of Dartmouth College," it is a member of the Ivy League and one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution...
in 1968; at Dartmouth he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and
Sigma Alpha EpsilonSigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Founded at the University of Alabama in 1856, it is the only fraternity founded in the Antebellum South still in operation...
and he was an All-
IvyThe Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The term is most commonly used to refer to those eight schools considered as a group...
, All-East, and honorable mention All American as an offensive lineman.
He met his wife Wendy during his senior year. The couple has two adult children,
Henry Merritt Paulson IIIHenry Merritt Paulson III is the majority owner of Shortstop, LLC which owns the Portland Beavers, a minor-league baseball team, and the Portland Timbers, a USL First Division soccer team. Both teams are based in Portland, Oregon...
, more commonly known as Merritt Paulson, and Amanda Clark Paulson. The Paulsons became grandparents in June 2007. They maintain homes in Washington, DC, and
Barrington Hills, IllinoisBarrington Hills is an affluent village, located about northwest of Chicago, Illinois, that straddles approximately in Cook, Kane, Lake, and McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 3,915 at the 2000 census...
.
Paulson received his
Master of Business AdministrationThe Master of Business Administration is a master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
degree from
Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School is a graduate business school in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers a full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, as well as many . The School owns Harvard Business School Publishing, which publishes business books, online management tools for corporate learning, case...
in 1970.
Early career
Paulson was Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at
The PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself....
from 1970 to 1972. He then worked for the administration of
U.S. PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
, serving as assistant to
John EhrlichmanJohn Daniel Ehrlichman was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. He was a key figure in events leading to the Watergate first break-in and the ensuing Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury...
from 1972 to 1973, during the events of the
Watergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal in the United States in the 1970s. Named for the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., effects of the scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, President of the United States, on August 9, 1974...
for which Ehrlichman was convicted, and sentenced to prison.
Goldman Sachs
He joined
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
in 1974, working in the firm's
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
office under James P. Gorter. He became a partner in 1982. From 1983 until 1988, Paulson led the Investment Banking group for the Midwest Region, and became managing partner of the Chicago office in 1988. From 1990 to November 1994, he was co-head of Investment Banking, then, Chief Operating Officer from December 1994 to June 1998; eventually succeeding
Jon CorzineJon Stevens Corzine is the Governor of New Jersey and a former United States Senator. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year Senate term before being elected Governor in 2005. He is a candidate for re-election in 2009....
(now
Governor of New JerseyThe Governor of New Jersey is the chief executive of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The current holder of that office is Jon Corzine, who re-assumed executive powers on May 7, 2007 from acting Gov. Richard Codey, after recuperating from an automobile accident on April 12, 2007...
) as its chief executive. His compensation package, according to reports, was US $37 million in 2005, and US $16.4 million projected for 2006. His net worth has been estimated at over US $700 million.
Paulson has personally built close relations with
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
during his career. In July 2008 it was reported by
The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh in June 1855 as the Daily Telegraph and Courier...
that: "Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has intimate relations with the Chinese elite, dating from his days at Goldman Sachs when he visited the country more than 70 times."
In 2004, at the request of the major Wall Street investment houses—including
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
, then headed by Paulson—the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission agreed unanimously to release the major investment houses from the
net capital ruleThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made a change to its net capital rule in 2004 that is widely believed to have permitted Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley to increase their leverage....
, the requirement that their brokerages hold reserve capital that limited their leverage and risk exposure. The complaint put forth by the investment banks was of increasingly onerous regulatory requirements—in this case, not U.S. regulator oversight, but
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
regulationRegulation is "controlling human or societal behaviour by rules or restrictions." Regulation can take many forms: legal restrictions promulgated by a government authority, self-regulation, social regulation , co-regulation and market regulation. One can consider regulation as actions of conduct...
of the foreign operations of US investment groups. In the immediate lead-up to the decision, EU regulators also acceded to US pressure, and agreed not to scrutinize foreign firms' reserve holdings if the SEC agreed to do so instead. The 1999
Gramm-Leach-Bliley ActThe Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act , also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is an act of the 106th United States Congress which repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, opening up the market among banking companies, securities companies and insurance companies...
, however, put the parent
holding companyA holding company is a company that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself, rather its only purpose is owning shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow the...
of each of the big American brokerages beyond SEC oversight. In order for the agreement to go ahead, the investment banks lobbied for a decision that would allow "voluntary" inspection of their parent and
subsidiaryA subsidiary, in business matters, is an entity that is controlled by a separate entity. The controlled entity is called a company, corporation, or limited liability company and in some cases can be a government or state-owned enterprise, and the controlling entity is called its parent...
holdings by the SEC.
During this repeal of the net capital rule, SEC Chairman
William H. DonaldsonWilliam Henry Donaldson was the 27th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , serving from February 2003 to June 2005...
agreed to the establishment of a risk management office that would monitor signs of future problems. This office was eventually dismantled by Chairman Christopher Cox, after discussions with Paulson. According to the New York Times, "While other financial regulatory agencies criticized a blueprint by Treasury Secretary Mr. Paulson proposing to reduce their stature — and that of the S.E.C. — Mr. Cox did not challenge the plan, leaving it to three former Democratic and Republican commission chairmen to complain that the blueprint would neuter the agency."
In late September 2008, Chairman Cox and the other Commissioners agreed to end the 2004 program of voluntary regulation.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Paulson was nominated on May 30, 2006, by
U.S. PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
to succeed
John SnowJohn William Snow served as the 73rd United States Secretary of the Treasury under U.S. President George W. Bush. He replaced Secretary Paul O'Neill on February 3, 2003 and was succeeded by Henry Paulson on July 3, 2006, in a move that had been anticipated...
as the Treasury Secretary. On June 28, 2006, he was confirmed by the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
to serve in the position. Paulson was officially sworn in at a ceremony held at the Treasury Department on the morning of July 10, 2006.
Each of Paulson's three immediate predecessors as CEO of
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
—
Jon CorzineJon Stevens Corzine is the Governor of New Jersey and a former United States Senator. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year Senate term before being elected Governor in 2005. He is a candidate for re-election in 2009....
,
Stephen FriedmanStephen Friedman is the current Chairman of the United States President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. He was nominated on October 27, 2005 to replace Brent Scowcroft in the position.-Life and career:...
, and
Robert RubinRobert Edward Rubin served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury during both the first and second Clinton administrations. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs...
— left the company to serve in government: Corzine as a U.S. Senator (later
Governor of New JerseyThe Governor of New Jersey is the chief executive of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The current holder of that office is Jon Corzine, who re-assumed executive powers on May 7, 2007 from acting Gov. Richard Codey, after recuperating from an automobile accident on April 12, 2007...
), Friedman as chairman of the
National Economic CouncilThe National Economic Council is a United States government agency in the Executive Office of the President. The Director of the NEC is also titled the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy....
(later chairman of the
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory BoardThe President's Intelligence Advisory Board is an advisor to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. According to its self-description, it "...provides advice to the President concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence collection, of analysis and estimates, of...
) under President George W. Bush, and Rubin as both chairman of the NEC and later Treasury Secretary under President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
.
Paulson identified the wide gap between the richest and poorest Americans as an issue on his list of the country's four major long-term economic issues to be addressed, highlighting the issue in one of his first public appearances as Secretary of Treasury.
Paulson conceded that chances were slim for agreeing on a method to reform
Social SecuritySocial Security in the United States currently refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program....
financing, but said he would keep trying to find bipartisan support for it.
He also helped to create the
Hope Now AllianceThe Hope Now Alliance is a cooperative effort between the US government, counselors, investors, and lenders to help homeowners who may not be able to pay their mortgages. Created in 2007 in response to the subprime mortgage crisis, the alliance claims to have helped over 1 million homeowners avoid...
to help struggling homeowners during the
subprime mortgage crisisThe subprime mortgage crisis is an ongoing real estate and financial crisis triggered by a dramatic rise in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the United States, with major adverse consequences for banks and financial markets around the globe...
.
Paulson was known to have persuaded President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
to allow him to spearhead U.S.-China relations and initiated and led the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, a forum and mechanism under which the two countries addressed global areas of immediate and long-term strategic and economic interest.
Notable statements
In Spring 2007, Secretary Paulson told an audience at the
Shanghai Futures ExchangeThe Shanghai Futures Exchange was formed from the amalgamation of the Shanghai Metal Exchange, Shanghai Foodstuffs Commodity Exchange, and the Shanghai Commodity Exchange in December 1999...
that "An open, competitive, and liberalized financial market can effectively allocate scarce resources in a manner that promotes stability and prosperity far better than governmental intervention."
In August 2007, Secretary Paulson explained that U.S. subprime mortgage fallout remained largely contained due to the strongest global economy in decades.
On July 20, 2008, after the failure of
Indymac BankOneWest Bank is a bank with locations throughout Southern California. It was created on March 19, 2009, from the remains of the former IndyMac Bank, which was seized by the FDIC in July 2008....
, Paulson reassured the public by saying, “it's a safe banking system, a sound banking system. Our regulators are on top of it. This is a very manageable situation.”
On August 10, 2008, Secretary Paulson told NBC’s Meet the Press that he had no plans to inject any capital into Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. On September 7, 2008, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went into conservatorship.
U.S. government economic bailout of 2008
Paulson was the designated leader of the Bush Administration's efforts in 2008 to nationalize the cost of bad loans made by financial institutions.
Through unprecedented intervention by the U.S. Treasury, Paulson led government efforts which he said were aimed at avoiding a severe economic slowdown. He pushed through the
conservatorshipConservatorship is a legal concept in the United States of America, where an entity or organization is subjected to the legal control of an external entity or organization, known as a conservator. Conservatorship is established either by court order or via a statutory or regulatory authority...
of government agency mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Working with Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben BernankeBen Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, the former chair of the department of Economics at Princeton University and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States Federal Reserve. Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan on February 1, 2006...
, he influenced the decision to create a credit facility (bridge loan &
warrantsIn finance, a warrant is a security that entitles the holder to buy stock of the company that issued it at a specified price, which is usually higher than the stock price at time of issue....
) of US$85 billion to
American International GroupAmerican International Group, Inc. is an American insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters are located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London; continental Europe operations are based in La Défense, Paris,...
so it would avoid filing bankruptcy.
In late September 2008, Paulson, along with Bernanke, led the effort to help financial firms by agreeing to use US$700 billion dollars to purchase bad debt they had incurred. He faced criticism from economists for initially refusing to consider injecting large amounts of cash into financial institutions directly by purchasing stock, an option which other countries in similar circumstances had pursued. This was the option favored by Bernanke, and the one that was eventually followed.
On September 19, 2008, Paulson called for the U.S. government to use hundreds of billions of Treasury dollars to help financial firms clean up nonperforming mortgages threatening the liquidity of those firms. Because of his leadership and public appearances on this issue, the press labeled these measures the "Paulson financial rescue plan" or simply the Paulson Plan.
With the passage of H.R. 1424, Paulson became the manager of the United States Emergency Economic Stabilization fund.
As Treasury Secretary, he also sat on the newly established Financial Stability Oversight Board that oversees the
Troubled Assets Relief ProgramThe Troubled Asset Relief Program is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector...
.
Documents obtained by government watchdog group
Judicial WatchJudicial Watch is an organization which describes itself as "a conservative, non-partisan American educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law." According to its mission statement, Judicial Watch "advocates high standards of...
reveal that in an October 13, 2008, meeting with executives from 9 major American banks, Paulson told bankers that they would be forced to accept government bailout money, whether they wanted it or not. One of the documents, a talking points memo, gave bankers the ultimatum: "If a capital infusion is not appealing, you should be aware that your regulator will require it in any circumstance."
Conflict of interest claims
It has been pointed out that Paulson's plan could potentially have some conflicts of interest, since Paulson was a former CEO of
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
, a firm that may benefit largely from the plan. However, there is no consensus on this claim. Questions remain about Paulson's interest, despite the fact that he had no direct financial interest in Goldman, since he had sold his entire stake in the firm prior to becoming Treasury Secretary, pursuant to ethics law.
The
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
benefit from AIG bailout was recently estimated as USD 12.9 billion and GS was the largest recipient of the public funds from AIG. Creating the collateralized debt obligation (CDO's) forming the basis of the current crisis was an active part of Goldman Sach's business during Paulson's tenure as CEO. An investigation into whether the creators of these debts had failed to disclose their underlying risk—likely in civil damage suits arising out of AIG's failure—would necessarily involve scrutiny of Paulson's own role. The fact that his sale of his Goldman Sach's interest was tax-deferred, netting him nearly $200 million in tax benefits, resulted in questions about his motives in joining the government.
Opponents argued that Paulson remained a Wall Street insider who maintained close friendships with higher-ups of the bailout beneficiaries. If passed into law, the proposed bill would give the United States Treasury Secretary unprecedented powers over the economic and financial life of the U.S. Section 8 of Paulson’s original plan stated: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are
non-reviewableJurisdiction stripping refers to the practice of defining the jurisdiction of the United States federal judiciary as to eliminate its ability to hear certain classes of claims, thereby making certain legislative or executive actions unreviewable by the judiciary.-Basis:Congress may define the...
and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." For this reason, many bloggers referred to Paulson as "King Henry." Some time after the passage of this bill, the press reported that the Treasury was now proposing to use these funds ($700 billion) in ways other than what was originally intended in the bill.
Career after public service
Since leaving his role as Treasury Secretary, Paulson has joined the
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International StudiesThe Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's most prestigious and leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
at
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
as a distinguished visiting fellow, and a fellow at the university's Bernard Schwartz Forum on Constructive Capitalism.
Civic activities
Paulson has been described as an avid nature lover. He has been a member of
The Nature ConservancyThe Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization working to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
for decades and was the organization's board chairman and co-chair of its
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
-
PacificThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
Council. In that capacity, Paulson worked with former
President of the People's Republic of ChinaThe President of the People's Republic of China , literally Chairman of the Chinese People's Republic, or abbreviated Guójiā Zhǔxí 国家主席, literally State Chairman) is the head of state of the People's Republic of China. The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Jiang ZeminJiang Zemin is the "core of the third generation" of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to...
to preserve the
Tiger Leaping GorgeTiger Leaping Gorge is a canyon on the Yangtze River – locally called the Golden Sands River – located 60 km north of Lijiang City, Yunnan in southwestern China...
in
YunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers . The capital of the province is Kunming...
province.
Paulson is also on the Board of Directors of the Peregrine Fund; was the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management of
Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua University , is a university in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name “Tsinghua Xuetang”. The school was renamed the "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was founded in 1925 and the name “National Tsinghua...
in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
; and, previously served as chairman of the influential trade group, the
Financial Services ForumThe Financial Services Forum is a non-partisan financial and economic policy organization comprising the CEOs of 17 of the largest and most diversified financial services institutions doing business in the United States...
.
Notable among the members of Bush's cabinet, Paulson has said he is a strong believer in the effect of human activity on
global warmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
and advocates immediate action to decrease this effect.
During his tenure as CEO of Goldman Sachs, Paulson oversaw the corporate donation of on the forested
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an side of
Tierra del FuegoTierra del Fuego or TF is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The southern point of the archipelago forms Cape Horn.- History :...
, bringing criticisms from Goldman shareholder groups. He further donated to conservancy causes US$100 million of assets from his wealth, and has pledged his entire fortune for the same purpose upon his death.
Further reading
- Fortune Magazine: Hank Paulson's secret life
- AP story: Paulson picks bird watching over golf (subscription required)
- Vanity Fair: Todd S. Purdum on Henry Paulson
- Stewart, James B.
James Bennett Stewart is an American lawyer, journalist, and author.A graduate of DePauw University and Harvard Law School, James B. Stewart is a member of the Bar of New York and Bloomberg Professor of Business and Economic Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism...
, "Eight Days: the battle to save the American financial system", The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications...
magazine, September 21, 2009.
External links