![<h1>Lloyd Blankfein</h1>
<strong>Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs</strong>
When I was put in charge of sales and trading at Goldman's commodities unit [in 1984], it was a big deal for me. My first month on the job, things started going badly in the P&L. When I went in to my boss for help, he asked, "What do you think we should do here?" I wanted to sound totally in control, so I went right into this Chuck Yeager voice -- you know, The Right Stuff. I used my most fake-confident voice, and I gave it my best shot. He said, "Okay, that's a good idea." It was smart of him to ask my opinion instead of telling me what to do. He knew that if my plan worked, I'd feel more confident. If it didn't work, the pressure on me would ease because he had endorsed my idea. Just as I was walking out of his office, he said, "Oh, just one more thing. Why don't you walk to the men's room and throw cold water on your face? You're looking green." So I learned two things: First, it's good to solicit your people's opinions before you give them yours. And second, your people will be very influenced by how you carry yourself under stress.
<em>--2009</em>](https://fortune.com/img-assets/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/120910095733-lloyd-blankfein.jpg?format=webp&w=1440&q=75)
Who knew that running one of the world’s most powerful investment banks could be so profitable?
Despite the fact that increased regulation has helped to crimp profits on Wall Street in recent years, shares in Goldman Sachs (GS) have doubled in the past three years, gaining enough that the bank’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein has now officially joined the ranks of the billionaire class — he now has a net worth of $1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg News.
Blankfein may, however, be the last investment bank executive to get this rich for some time, as Goldman was the last of the major investment banks to go public. Since Blankfein, the son of a New York postal worker, was a partner at the firm before it went public in 1999, he owns a sizable share of the company, which has more than quadrupled in value since the firm’s IPO.
Blankfein has undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University. He rose through Goldman’s trading business to clinch the top job at the bank in 2006.