Henry Paulson
The Goldman Sachs chief who stepped into the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis, orchestrating massive interventions to prevent a total economic collapse.
Born 1946 (age 80)·American investment banker and financier·Birthday: March 28·Baby Boomers
Biography
Hank Paulson's career is a study in the movement of power between Wall Street and Washington. He rose to the pinnacle of finance as the CEO of Goldman Sachs, shaping the firm into a global powerhouse with a reputation for disciplined risk-taking. His move to become Treasury Secretary under President George W. Bush in 2006 was seen as a natural transition, but the calm did not last. When the subprime mortgage crisis exploded into a full-blown systemic panic in 2008, Paulson became the central architect of the government's response. Working with the Federal Reserve, he engineered the rescue of Bear Stearns, the controversial takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the even more contentious $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). His actions, often described as pragmatic and forceful, were credited with preventing a deeper catastrophe but also sparked lasting debates about moral hazard and the role of government in markets.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Henry was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Henry Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Henry's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009, leading the federal response to the 2008 financial crisis.
- Was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs from 1999 to 2006, overseeing its transition to a public company and global expansion.
- Conceived and advocated for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which created the $700 billion TARP program.
Did You Know?
He is a devoted conservationist and served as Chairman of the Board for The Nature Conservancy.
He famously became physically ill during a meeting with Congressional leaders in 2008, a moment that underscored the intense pressure of the crisis.
He began his career in the Pentagon, serving as staff assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1970 to 1972.
“I'm not one who takes polls to figure out what the right thing is. I do what I think is right.”
