Hank Paulson

Hank Paulson
Born	Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. 28 3, 1946
Birthplace	Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Template:Hlist
Title	Chairman, Paulson Institute
Known for	74th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury; former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs; founder of the Paulson Institute
Education	Dartmouth College (B.A.); Harvard Business School (M.B.A.)
Awards	NCAA First-Team All-Ivy (Football)

Henry Merritt "Hank" Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American banker, government official, and conservationist who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. Before entering public service, Paulson spent more than three decades at Goldman Sachs, ultimately serving as the firm's chairman and chief executive officer from 1999 to 2006. His tenure at the Treasury coincided with the onset of the most severe global financial crisis since the Great Depression, and the decisions he made during that period — including the emergency stabilization of financial institutions, the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) — remain among the most consequential and debated actions in modern American economic policy. Born in Palm Beach, Florida, and raised in Barrington, Illinois, Paulson was a standout scholar and athlete from an early age. Since leaving government, he has focused on environmental conservation and U.S.–China economic relations through the Paulson Institute, which he founded at the University of Chicago in 2011. He has written extensively on topics ranging from nature conservation to clean energy policy, and he continues to comment on pressing issues in global finance and environmental sustainability.

Early Life

Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. was born on March 28, 1946, in Palm Beach, Florida. He was raised in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb located approximately an hour northwest of Chicago. Barrington, a quiet community set against the flat Illinois prairie, remained a touchstone in Paulson's life; he maintained a residence in the area long after achieving prominence in finance and government.

From an early age, Paulson demonstrated both academic ambition and physical discipline. He grew up on a farm, an experience that would later inform his lifelong interest in the natural world and environmental stewardship. The rural setting of his upbringing in the Illinois countryside fostered an appreciation for land conservation that would become a defining element of his post-government career.

Paulson attended Barrington High School, where he excelled both in the classroom and on the athletic field. His combination of intellectual rigor and competitive drive would become hallmarks of his professional life, carrying him from the prairies of Illinois to the pinnacles of American finance and government.

Education

Paulson enrolled at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he distinguished himself as both a student and a collegiate athlete. At Dartmouth, he was a member of the football team and earned recognition as an NCAA First-Team All-Ivy selection, reflecting his abilities as a lineman. He graduated from Dartmouth with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Following his undergraduate studies, Paulson pursued graduate education at Harvard Business School, where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree. The combination of a liberal arts education at Dartmouth and professional training at Harvard provided the intellectual foundation for what would become one of the most prominent careers in American finance. His time at Harvard coincided with a period of significant evolution in the American financial services industry, and the analytical frameworks he developed there informed his approach to both investment banking and, later, public policy.

Career

Early Career and Rise at Goldman Sachs

After completing his MBA at Harvard Business School, Paulson entered the world of finance. He joined Goldman Sachs, one of the most prestigious investment banks on Wall Street, and over the course of more than three decades rose through the firm's ranks. Goldman Sachs, founded in 1869, had by the latter half of the twentieth century established itself as a dominant force in global investment banking, trading, and asset management. Paulson's ascent within the firm was marked by his work in its investment banking division, where he developed expertise in corporate finance and client relationships.

Paulson's leadership qualities and deal-making acumen attracted the attention of the firm's senior partners. He advanced through a series of increasingly senior positions, gaining experience across multiple areas of Goldman's business. His career trajectory reflected not only personal ambition but also the firm's culture of promoting from within and rewarding competitive performance.

Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs

In 1999, Paulson was named chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, assuming leadership of the firm at a pivotal moment in its history. His appointment came during a period of rapid transformation in the global financial industry, characterized by deregulation, the growth of complex financial instruments, and the increasing interconnectedness of global capital markets.

Under Paulson's leadership, Goldman Sachs navigated the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000–2001, the economic disruptions following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the subsequent recovery and expansion of financial markets in the early and mid-2000s. The firm maintained its position as one of the world's leading investment banks during this period. Paulson served as chairman and CEO until 2006, when he departed to join the Bush administration.

His tenure at the helm of Goldman Sachs cemented his reputation as one of the most influential figures in American finance. The relationships he built across Wall Street and in global financial centers would prove both advantageous and controversial when he transitioned to government service.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

In July 2006, Paulson was confirmed as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury, succeeding John Snow. President George W. Bush nominated Paulson in part because of his extensive experience in the financial industry and his reputation as a pragmatic leader capable of navigating complex economic challenges.

Paulson's early tenure at the Treasury focused on economic competitiveness, tax policy, and the U.S.–China economic relationship. However, the defining chapter of his time in office began in 2007 as the U.S. housing market deteriorated and the subprime mortgage crisis began to unfold. By 2008, what had started as a correction in the housing market had metastasized into a full-blown global financial crisis — the most severe since the 1930s.

The Financial Crisis of 2008

The financial crisis placed Paulson at the center of some of the most consequential economic decisions in modern American history. As Secretary of the Treasury, he worked alongside Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner to respond to a cascading series of institutional failures and market panics.

In September 2008, the crisis reached a critical juncture. Paulson oversaw the government's decision to place the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) into conservatorship, effectively placing the two government-sponsored enterprises under federal control to prevent their collapse and the broader systemic consequences that would follow. Shortly thereafter, the investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy — a decision not to rescue the firm that remains one of the most debated moments of the crisis.

Paulson then led the effort to secure congressional approval for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion emergency fund designed to stabilize the financial system by purchasing distressed assets and injecting capital into banks. The initial vote on TARP failed in the House of Representatives on September 29, 2008, sending financial markets into a sharp decline. A revised version was subsequently passed and signed into law on October 3, 2008.

A Harvard Business School case study documented Paulson's decision-making during the crisis, examining the pressures he faced as he walked into the Treasury Department's conference room to confront the rapidly deteriorating situation. The case has been used in business school curricula to analyze crisis leadership and the intersection of government and financial markets.

Controversies

Paulson's actions during the financial crisis drew significant scrutiny. In November 2011, ProPublica reported on a meeting that took place on July 21, 2008, in which Paulson, then Secretary of the Treasury, met with "a dozen or so hedge-fund managers and other Wall Street executives" and discussed matters related to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The report raised questions about the appropriateness of such communications between a sitting Treasury Secretary and private financial actors during a period of acute market stress. Critics characterized the meeting as an example of the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington and questioned whether material non-public information may have been shared.

Paulson's critics also questioned whether his prior role at Goldman Sachs created conflicts of interest in his management of the crisis, particularly given that Goldman Sachs was among the firms that received TARP funds and that benefited from the government's decision to rescue the American International Group (AIG), a major counterparty to Goldman Sachs.

Supporters of Paulson argued that his deep knowledge of the financial system, gained through decades on Wall Street, was precisely what made him effective in navigating the crisis. They pointed to the eventual stabilization of financial markets and the recovery of most TARP funds as evidence that the emergency measures, however controversial, were necessary and ultimately successful.

Post-Government Career

The Paulson Institute

After leaving the Treasury in January 2009, Paulson founded the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago in 2011. The institute focuses on promoting sustainable economic growth and environmental protection, with a particular emphasis on the U.S.–China relationship. As chairman of the Paulson Institute, Paulson has sought to leverage his experience in finance and government to address challenges at the intersection of economic policy and environmental conservation.

The Paulson Institute has undertaken research and advocacy on topics including green finance, sustainable urbanization, and biodiversity conservation. In a September 2025 article in the Financial Times, Paulson wrote about the unintended environmental consequences of certain approaches to climate change, warning that efforts to address climate change were in some cases damaging nature. He noted that five years earlier, he had warned that the world was "sleepwalking towards" an ecological crisis.

In September 2025, Paulson appeared alongside primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall at a Bloomberg event to discuss investing in biodiversity, underscoring his continued engagement with environmental issues at the intersection of finance and ecology.

Clean Energy and the AI Race

Paulson has also written about the strategic importance of clean energy to American competitiveness, particularly in the context of technological competition with China. In an April 2025 opinion piece in the Financial Times, he argued that clean energy would be critical to winning the artificial intelligence race with China, contending that the United States must quickly create the conditions for a diverse energy mix to meet rapidly growing demand driven by AI and other advanced technologies, rather than choosing one energy source over another.

Continued Commentary on Financial Markets

Paulson has continued to comment on matters of financial stability and economic policy in the years since leaving government. In an April 2023 interview with the Financial Times, conducted at his home in Barrington, Illinois, Paulson stated that he considered it "pretty likely" that the United States would experience a recession, reflecting on the economic challenges of that period including inflation, rising interest rates, and banking sector stress.

In August 2025, Paulson joined former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner — his counterpart during the later stages of the financial crisis — in issuing a public warning about potential threats to the $29 trillion U.S. Treasuries market. The two former Treasury chiefs, both of whom had held office during the global financial crisis, expressed concern about risks to the stability of the market that underpins the global financial system. Their joint intervention reflected the ongoing relevance of the lessons drawn from the 2008 crisis and the continued engagement of former policymakers in debates about financial stability.

Personal Life

Paulson was born in Palm Beach, Florida, and raised in Barrington, Illinois, where he has maintained a residence throughout his life. His connection to Barrington and the surrounding Illinois countryside has been a constant amid a career that took him from Wall Street to Washington and around the world.

Paulson is known for his interest in nature and conservation, an interest rooted in his upbringing on a farm in Illinois. This passion for the natural world has been a defining feature of his post-government career, informing his work at the Paulson Institute and his public writing on biodiversity, clean energy, and the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

He has been a member of The Nature Conservancy's board and has been involved in conservation efforts in the United States and internationally, particularly in China. His work in conservation represents a through line connecting his early life in rural Illinois to his later efforts to influence global environmental policy.

Recognition

Paulson's career has been the subject of extensive academic, journalistic, and public interest. His role during the 2008 financial crisis has been studied in business schools and analyzed in numerous books, articles, and documentaries. The Harvard Business School case study on his decision-making during the crisis remains a widely used teaching tool in courses on leadership, crisis management, and financial regulation.

At Dartmouth College, Paulson earned recognition as an NCAA First-Team All-Ivy selection in football, reflecting his accomplishments as a collegiate athlete before entering the world of finance.

His public commentary on financial markets, environmental policy, and U.S.–China relations continues to attract attention from major international publications, including Bloomberg and the Financial Times, both of which have published his writing and reported on his views in recent years.

Legacy

Paulson's legacy is shaped primarily by two chapters of his career: his leadership of Goldman Sachs during a period of dramatic change in the financial industry, and his stewardship of the U.S. Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis. The decisions he made during the crisis — the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the passage of TARP, the controversial handling of Lehman Brothers — have been subject to extensive debate among economists, policymakers, and historians.

Supporters credit Paulson with helping to prevent a total collapse of the global financial system at a moment of extreme peril. The emergency measures he championed, including TARP, are credited by many economists with stabilizing financial markets and averting a depression. Most of the TARP funds were eventually repaid to the federal government.

Critics have pointed to the moral hazard created by the bailouts, the perception that Wall Street was rescued while ordinary homeowners were left to suffer, and the questions raised by Paulson's prior relationship with Goldman Sachs and his interactions with Wall Street executives during the crisis. The controversy surrounding these issues has informed ongoing debates about financial regulation, the revolving door between government and the private sector, and the appropriate role of government in financial markets.

In his post-government career, Paulson has sought to build a second legacy through his work on environmental conservation and U.S.–China relations via the Paulson Institute. His writings on clean energy, biodiversity, and the intersection of economic growth and environmental sustainability have positioned him as a voice in global debates about climate change and ecological preservation. Whether this second act will come to define his legacy as fully as the events of 2008 remains a question for future historians to assess.

The August 2025 warning he issued alongside Timothy Geithner about risks to the U.S. Treasuries market served as a reminder that the lessons of the financial crisis remain relevant and that the stability of the global financial system cannot be taken for granted.