Under Pressure, Goldman CEO Ditches Dream of Consumer Domination

David Solomon, the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., jumped on a flight to go meet Reese Witherspoon.

The Legally Blonde star-turned-mogul was toying with offering online financial services to her legions of fans, and the head of Wall Street’s most prestigious firm wanted in. He saw it as a potential new source of business for Marcus, his firm’s foray onto Main Street and handling money for the masses.

In the effort to turn Goldman Sachs into a bank for the everyman, that moment in 2019 may have been peak Marcus.

Reese Witherspoon and David Solomon

Bloomberg

Solomon, 60, who’s spent ...