Another former Goldman Sachs executive is making a name for himself in Washington—but his story is unlike any any of his predecessors.
Gary Cohn, the former chief operating officer and president of the finance company, who was appointed director of the National Economic Council late last year, and is apparently holding swap in the Trump White House and affecting policy decisions.
But just who is he, and how did he get to such a prominent, powerful, political position? Business Insider explored his nontraditional backstory, and RCL has teased out some of the most incredible facts.
-Cohn grew up in Cleveland in the ’60s and had a hard time finding steady education, as he suffered from dyslexia.
-One teacher told Cohn’s parents that the best bet their son had was becoming a truck driver.
-After college, Cohn worked as an aluminum siding salesman in Akron, Ohio.
-On a work trip to Manhattan, Cohn shared a taxi with a Wall Street exec, and impressed the fellow passenger enough to land an interview. This eventually led him to Goldman Sachs in 1990, where he’d work for 26 years.
-Four years into his tenure at Goldman, he made partner. He would eventually rise to president and COO.
-In 2016, he left Goldman to become a top economic adviser to the Trump administration. (His exit deal landed him $300 million.)
Read the full Business Insider profile here.
Below, watch Cohn interview NBA great Shaquille O’Neal.
—RealClearLife
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