David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has sparked anger from college students after he allegedly called fossil fuel divestment “stupid.”
In an explosive letter written by three seniors at his alma mater – Hamilton College in upstate New York – the 61-year-old multimillionaire is also accused of expressing “extremely racist and sexist undertones” towards the trio.
Their interaction took place at a March 3 event called Senior Networking with Trustees at the private liberal arts college.
In the letter published later this year, the unnamed authors describe themselves as “students involved in climate justice and campus sustainability efforts” who took the “rare opportunity” to question Solomon about their university’s green credentials.
They said Solomon, who graduated in 1984 and is chairman of the trustees, “claimed he is doing more in a week to help climate change than we will ever do in a lifetime,” pointing to his “capital accumulation” and “power ‘. ‘.
David Solomon, 61, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has sparked anger among students at Hamilton College, New York State, after allegedly calling fossil fuel divestment “stupid”
Multimillionaire Solomon has been accused of expressing “extremely racist and sexist undertones” towards a group of “non-male” non-white students at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York (pictured)
He even laughed and told us he would be dead in 30 years, so climate change would be our problem anyway,” the students said.
During their fiery exchange, Solomon is also said to have assumed that the group of about six students – described in the letter as “all non-male” and predominantly “people of color” – would receive financial support and should “show immense gratitude” for doing so. .
Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto has hit back at the claims, saying Solomon has “huge respect” for the students of Hamilton College and “wouldn’t say things to offend them.”
The students said they began by asking New York native Solomon about Hamilton College’s claim that “less than 2 percent” of his endowment comes from donors with direct ties to fossil fuels.
“We assumed that Solomon would probably close us, but he seemed excited about the question and even brought up the term divestment himself,” they said.
‘However, he quickly gave the impression that he thought this was a good time to pass on his insights to us.
‘The conversation quickly turned into almost 30 minutes of talking about climate change and the role of the college in climate adaptation and mitigation.
During the conversation, Solomon’s attitude and behavior towards us and our questions had an extremely racist and sexist undertone.
“We feel obligated to share his blatant ignorance and disrespect with the campus community.”
The students said Solomon, who graduated from Hamilton College in 1984 and is chairman of the trustees, “claimed that he is doing more in a week to help climate change than we will ever do in a lifetime,” pointing to his “capital accumulation ‘ and ‘position of power’
During their fiery exchange, Solomon is also said to have assumed that the group of about six students – described in the letter as “all non-male” and predominantly “people of color” – were receiving financial aid and should “show tremendous gratitude” for doing so.
Solomon said he was unaware of the university’s 2 percent investment claim, and “indicated that he thought fossil fuel divestment was a stupid move,” the students said.
“He called us hypocrites for advocating divestment while still using electricity and driving cars – and said if we traveled to countries like China, India and Cambodia we would see how the world ‘really works’ and then see if we want to live like this,” the letter reads.
He often contradicted himself and said with the same loaded tone: the ‘West’ is the center of technology and innovation, and it is our responsibility to involve the ‘East’ in a climate transition, but he also said that it is not the task of the Board to participate in this transition.’
The students said Solomon, who was recently accused of bullying Goldman staff, continued his diatribe of ‘deliberate ignorance’ with “seemingly no intention of really learning from us or really interacting with us, other than belittling us.”
They said his “most obviously racist sentiment” came when they explained their belief that by “financially fueling the climate crisis through our endowment,” Hamilton College was jeopardizing their “mission” to pursue “climate justice.” .
‘He pointed to all of us and claimed that we should all receive financial aid,” the letter reads.
“He suggested that we should show immense gratitude because we are indebted to the university and not complain about the investment portfolio.”
The students said that Solomon, who has recently been accused of bullying Goldman staff, continued his diatribe of “deliberate ignorance” with “seemingly not intending to really learn or really interact with us other than belittle us.”
Hamilton College (pictured) in Clinton, New York, teaches about 2,000 students
The students said Solomon quickly backtracked in response to their shocked expressions at this latest comment – telling them that “about 80% of Hamilton students receive financial aid in some way.”
“It’s important to note that the group of about six people who spoke to him were all non-male, and at least half were people of color,” they said.
“We don’t think he would have assumed we all had financial support if we were the group of white male students in suits who were talking to him 20 minutes earlier.”
“Solomon spoke condescendingly and disrespectfully to us,” they added.
“Despite knowing nothing about us and our role in our communities and history of activist work, Solomon claimed he is doing more in a week to help climate change than we ever will in a lifetime.
“When we asked him for an explanation, he attributed his ‘capital accumulation’ and position of power.”
The students said they felt “embarrassed, embarrassed and scared” that Solomon would continue to be the “face and voice of Hamilton College” through his position as president of the board, which runs until 2024.
They called for an early termination of his term, saying: ‘Solomon’s opinions are not just words – his feelings have real weight and power.
“His words do so much damage to the members of our campus community who are advocating for and most affected by climate change.”
About 2,000 students attend Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.
In their letter, the unnamed students describe themselves as “students involved in climate justice and campus sustainability efforts” who took the “rare face-to-face opportunity” to question Solomon about the university’s green credentials
The college is known for its ‘woke’, super-liberal reputation, previously making headlines for student campaigns like ‘The Movement’ – a group the university says demanded radical changes at the college in 2017 Daily beast.
These changes include “the immediate institution of free education for all indigenous peoples” and an “immediate increase in undocumented students,” complete with scholarship programs.
Meanwhile, Solomon has been dealing with a lot of heat in his role as the leader of one of America’s most prestigious banking firms.
Goldman Sachs bankers have accused him of communicating only by “yelling” at staff as he “stamps” around the office and of being a “bully,” according to NY Mag.
In a statement to Business InsiderGoldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto disputed the Hamilton College students’ allegations.
“David Solomon has tremendous respect for the students of Hamilton College,” he said.
“He didn’t say and wouldn’t say things to offend them. We strongly dispute the claims he made.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Hamilton College for comment.