From Goldman to Gold Man, it pays to be Thornton
As a former director, president and co-CEO of Goldman Sachs (GS*US), John Thornton had presumably developed a thick skin as well as a large wallet.
The uber-profitable U.S. investment bank - famously described as a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity" by Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi - has been a favourite target of critics on Wall Street and beyond even before the financial crisis shook the foundations of U.S. finance. (Thornton retired from Goldman in 2003.)