Tim Fadek: Masters Of The Universe

Along with the wires, BagNews contributor Timothy Fadek went to cover President Obama speaking about financial reform at Cooper Union, and Goldman Sachs executives were in the audience. As Timothy relates, “you can see, they were laughing, sharing a joke, even though a week earlier, the SEC sued Goldman on allegations that they misled investors in a gigantic subprime mortgage scam. These two men: masters of the universe. They view themselves as untouchable.”

Blankfein was named as the most outrageous CEO for the year 2009 by Forbes, having also told the British Sunday Times newspaper that he was doing “God’s work” as a banker. Later he said that he was joking and apologized, speaking not just for himself but for Goldman. That was before this latest scandal. It seems they are still having a good time, and it was the apology that was the joke.

–Alan Chin

PHOTOGRAPHS by TIMOTHY FADEK / POLARIS

Caption: L-R: Goldman Sachs President and CEO  Lloyd Blankfein, Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, and Barry Zubrow, Chief Risk Officer of JP Morgan Chase, share a laugh prior to the start of a speech by US President Barack Obama about reforming Wall Street and the financial reform bill in the Great Hall at Cooper Union in New York. Obama said Thursday that his financial reforms would bring an end to taxpayer bailouts as he made a defining pitch for America to overhaul Wall Street regulations.

Last week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product, igniting a battle between Wall Street’s most powerful bank and the nation’s top securities regulator.