[cowpip]

I'm not an equity trader, so I'm not aware of the tools that can be used to figure this out. But I'm dying to know if King Henry, by chance, still owns shares in Goldman Sachs?

If he does, can anyone tell me how many shares he owns?

Is it possible that his intentions contain more than "national best interests" at heart? Is it possible that he is also going to profit enormously if the bailout allows Goldman to make a killing?

I'm just a wee bit concerned about a conflict of interest with his role as the "master banker" right now. Is it justified, or did he have to relinquish his shares when he took the Treasury role?

[MidKnight]

Hi cowpip,

Yesterday bloomberg disclosed the value of his GS holdings. Stock and options total was nearly 1bln I believe. Talk about a vested interest huh.

[cowpip]

Holy crap! REALLY??? No kidding. So it really is possible that he is making bad decisions to help keep his own investment alive. Hmmm.... very interesting.

Thanks very much for the info, MidKnight. Much appreciated.

[cowpip]

I wonder if his stocks and options are ever-present in his mind. Or maybe his wife is driving the boat?

[thrunner]

I don't know where do you get your facts, and understandably no one at the Treasury or the Fed has too much credibility right now, but Paulson should have had divested himself of GS holdings back in June 2006.

Last update: 2:12 p.m. EDT June 30, 2006
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson filed to sell about $500 million worth of Goldman Sachs stock late Thursday shortly after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm his appointment as U.S. Treasury Secretary.
Paulson filed to sell 3.23 million shares in a shelf offering of Goldman Sachs (GS:

135.63, +2.63, +2.0%) stock according to a prospectus filed with
regulators. Based on the bank's closing price of $152.50 on Thursday, the stock is worth about $492 million.
The banking chieftain is unloading the shares to adhere to conflict-of-interest rules.

[cowpip]

That's what I figured he should have had to do. Thanks for that. However, does he have any stock or options left in the company (or did he build any up after having left)? I would assume conflict of interest rules would forbid that, but do the rules permit the ownership of a minimum number of shares? Hopefully he had to divest them all.

[cowpip]

Ok, I found it on the net now. He had 3.23 million shares and was required (along with his wife) to divest all of the shares prior to taking office. BUT, he was allowed to reinvest the proceeds into government approved mutual funds or treasuries to avoid a tax hit. Given the market turmoil, if he would have invested there, is it possible he may still be feeling a pinch?

PS: I don't know if he reinvested in mutuals or other government-allowed entities.

[MidKnight]

Sorry for the bad info above...I guess what I read in my brief morning skim read was what his holdings were when he was with GS. My apologies. The morning news skim is a speed read glance at best...

All my best,
MK