Early life:
Weinberg's background contrasted sharply with that of the traditional Ivy League Wall Streeter. Weinberg was one of eleven children of a Jewish wholesale liquor dealer. His family were active members of Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes in Brooklyn, joining when the synagogue was on Boerum Place, and remaining with it when it moved to Cobble Hill. Sidney's mother, Sophie, was sisterhood president from 1912 to 1913, his father, Pincus, served as president from 1919 to 1921, and the children all attended the Sunday school and Talmud Torah. Sidney married Helen W. Livingston there in 1920.[3][4]Weinberg never got further than junior high school at P.S. 13, dropping out, but with letters of
recommendation from one of his teachers.
Career at Goldman Sachs:
Weinberg started with Goldman Sachs as a $3/week janitor's assistant, where his responsibilities included brushing the firm’s partners’ hats and wiping the mud from their overshoes. The grandson of the firm’s founder, Paul Sachs, liked Weinberg, and promoted him to the mailroom, which Weinberg reorganized. To improve Weinberg's penmanship, Sachs sent him to Brooklyn's Browne's Business College.[2]Weinberg did a stint in the U.S. Navy in World War I, and afterwards became a securities trader.[5] Goldman Sachs bought Weinberg a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1925.[2]
Weinberg became a Goldman Sachs partner in 1927 and helped run the investment trusts, including Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. He co-ran the division with Waddill Catchings, who shriveled the market value of Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. from $500 million to less than $10 million. At this point, Weinberg took over the division, and became a senior partner in 1930. He became head of the firm in 1930, saving it from bankruptcy, and held that position until his death in 1969.[5]
Bottom line:
He started out as an assistant janitor making $3/week. Weinberg came from a poor family, and when he started working at Goldman Sachs, his responsibilities included brushing the firm partner’s hats and wiping mud from their overshoes. The grandson of the firm’s founder, Paul Sachs, promoted Weinberg to the mail room, which he completely reorganized. Paul Sachs saw his potential and sent him to Brooklyn’s Bowe’s Business College. From there on in, he continued to climb the corporate ladder; becoming a securities trader, a partner, and then a senior partner. The company’s value was dangerously low when he finally became head of the firm in 1930. However, he saved it from bankruptcy and held the position until his death in 1969.
This is a man who truly lived the American Dream.
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