Goldman Sachs And “The Club”: Masters Of The Universe

Blankfein. Steel. Thain. Paulson. Kashkari.

Right Soup readers know that I spent my first working decades in the viper pit of Wall Street; my formative years were at the recently slain (some say by Goldman Sachs) Goliath Bear Stearns. Anyone who has spent any time at all in my former profession knows what “Goldman Sachs Envy” is: a mix of resentment and admiration for the firm’s seemingly endless list of triumphs. Even at Bear Stearns, we had it. Goldman sealed bigger deals, blanketed its execs with more money, and placed its powerful alums in the highest levels of government.

Bush’s Treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, is a former Goldman C.E.O., and his replacement at Treasury, Tim Geithner, was mentored by Goldman alumni. Mario Draghi, who is leading the crisis response for the E.U., is a former Goldman vice chairman. Merrill Lynch C.E.O. John Thain was once Goldman’s co-president, and Wachovia head Robert Steel was a vice chairman. Ed Liddy, the new C.E.O. of A.I.G., was Goldman’s vice chairman. World Bank president Robert Zoellick was a managing director. Young Neel Kashkari, the 35-year-old who oversees the $700 billion TARP Program, served at Goldman as a vice president.

Martin Armstrong knows first hand the power of Goldman and a few other members of what he calls “The Club.” Armstrong was the founder of Princeton Economics, an esteemed economic forecasting firm which used his proprietary models to very accurately predict future trends and events. Governments around the world used his data. He refused, however, to take any money from them…knowing that to do so, would mean the end of his independence. This stance ultimately resulted in his downfall and imprisonment for 8 years…without trial. He was held in contempt of court for refusing to give up his proprietary code.

He’s still in prison today. A few days ago, Martin wrote a short “tell-all” from prison, on an old-fashioned typewriter, illustrated by hand. It’s a revelation that should chill you to the bone, and may have you questioning much you currently believe about our government and those around the globe. Goldman Sachs is not just about controlling markets, it’s about controlling global politics.

Martin’s piece has typos that you would expect if you had only a typewriter to use to write. He’s already suffered an assassination attempt while in prison. Who knows what may occur after this look behind the curtain at what he calls “The Club” is digested?

This is an explosive piece. There are a few financial terms and processes that may be foreign to you; hit me up in the comments if you’d like me to explain or clarify them. Fasten your seatbelts… this is one rocky read.

No need to leave the site to read Martin’s piece; wait a few seconds for the document below to load, you can then scroll and read it, go to fullscreen, zoom and search if you like.