Goldman Sachs - Political Audit

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

On 11 October 2023, Goldman Sachs published a firm-wide message from David Solomon announcing a $2 million commitment to organisations providing critical support and humanitarian relief in Israel ¹.
The announcement stated that the firm would match qualifying employee donations to eligible organisations at 3:1 for donations below $25 and 1:1 for larger donations ¹.
The published announcement did not identify recipient organisations, grant amounts, payment dates, or any allocation for Palestinian or Gaza relief ¹.
The message referred to Goldman Sachs employees and colleagues in Tel Aviv, evidencing personnel in that location at the time ¹.

Goldman Sachs’ locations page lists Goldman Sachs Israel LLC at the Da Vinci Building, 14A Leonardo Da Vinci Street, sixth floor, Tel Aviv 6473118, Israel ².
The locations page does not identify an office in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, the Golan Heights, or an Israeli settlement ².
Goldman Sachs’ EMEA disclosures state that the firm is not licensed under Israeli law to provide investment advice or investment-management services, and that its offering circular and funds are not approved for public sale in Israel ³.
That disclosure is limited to the specified services and does not negate the firm’s separately listed Tel Aviv location ^{2, 3}.
No public evidence identified in the reviewed records of Goldman Sachs offices, branches, subsidiaries, franchisees, facilities, or sponsored activities in an Israeli settlement or other occupied territory ^{2, 3}.

The 2026 proxy describes a combined Chair–CEO structure, with an independent Lead Director selected by independent directors when the Chair is non-independent ⁴.
Thirteen director nominees were presented for election at Goldman Sachs’ 29 April 2026 annual meeting ⁴.
The reviewed disclosures do not establish Israel/Palestine-related employee-discipline rules, reservist-pay policies, settlement-specific transaction due diligence, union disputes, or shareholder-resolution suppression ^{1, 3, 4}.
No public evidence identified in the reviewed materials of boycott campaigns, Israel/Palestine-specific legal proceedings, regulatory enforcement, or OECD National Contact Point complaints concerning Goldman Sachs ^{1, 2, 3}.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a Delaware corporation whose common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GS ⁵.
The company’s stated purpose is to advance sustainable economic growth and financial opportunity ⁵.
No public evidence identified in reviewed corporate records of a state-held golden share, a founding mandate tied to Israeli state geopolitical objectives, or a controlling shareholder holding 10% or more of Goldman Sachs common stock ^{5, 6}.
Goldman Sachs International ranked third in the primary market for nominal Israeli government-bond issuance auctions in Israel’s Ministry of Finance first-quarter 2023 primary-dealer ranking ⁷.
The same ranking placed Goldman Sachs International fifth in secondary-market activity for both nominal and CPI-linked Israeli government bonds ⁷.
The 2023 ranking does not establish continuation of primary-dealer activity after that reporting period ⁷.

On 11 February 2025, the State of Israel entered an underwriting agreement naming Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC among the underwriters for $2.5 billion of 5.375% bonds due 2030 and $2.5 billion of 5.625% bonds due 2035 ⁸.
The two bond series had an aggregate offering size of $5 billion, while the cited filing does not specify Goldman Sachs’ individual underwriting allocation ⁸.
The February 2025 underwriting activity independently evidences Israeli sovereign-debt underwriting after the 2023 primary-dealer ranking ^{7, 8}.
No public evidence identified in the reviewed materials of a Goldman Sachs contract to provide products, equipment, or financial services directly to the IDF, Israeli Ministry of Defense, settlement authorities, or military-welfare bodies ^{1, 7, 8}.
The publicly described $2 million Israel-relief commitment and employee matching programme do not establish that a recipient was linked to the Israeli military, settlements, or Palestinian humanitarian relief ¹.

The registrant and parent company is The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and its 2025 Form 10-K defines “Goldman Sachs,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “the firm” to include the parent and its consolidated subsidiaries ⁵.
Goldman Sachs describes itself as a global financial institution serving corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals ⁵.
The parent company describes itself as a holding company dependent on dividends, distributions, loans, and other payments from subsidiaries ⁵.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC are among the significant subsidiaries identified in the parent’s December 2024 Exhibit 21.1 ⁶.
The parent directly or indirectly owns at least 99% of the voting securities of substantially all subsidiaries listed in that exhibit ⁶.
Exhibit 21.1 is not a complete legal-entity register because it omits subsidiaries that do not individually meet the SEC definition of a significant subsidiary ⁶.
No complete public ownership chain specifically connecting Goldman Sachs Israel LLC to a named parent was identified within the reviewed records ^{2, 6}.

David Solomon is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of Goldman Sachs, and the 2026 proxy describes him as the firm’s primary external face ⁴.
John Waldron is President, Chief Operating Officer, and a director who joined the board in February 2025 ⁴.
Michele Burns is identified as an independent Goldman Sachs director and a director of Goldman Sachs International ⁴.
Kevin Johnson is identified as an independent Goldman Sachs director and a director of Goldman Sachs Bank USA ⁴.
The proxy’s beneficial-ownership disclosures include holdings through family trusts, estate-planning vehicles, and private charitable foundations, but those disclosures do not themselves establish an Israel/Palestine-related donation, grant, or investment ⁴.
No public evidence identified in reviewed corporate and proxy records linking Solomon, Waldron, Burns, or Johnson to an Israel/Palestine-related charity, military-welfare body, settlement organisation, anti-BDS organisation, or Israeli defence or surveillance investment ^{4, 9}.