Goldman Sachs insiders are concerned about CEO David Solomon's push to build his personal brand
Hi, I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Welcome back to Insider Weekly, a roundup of some of our top stories.
On the agenda today:
- Goldman Sachs insiders are concerned about CEO David Solomon's push to build his personal brand.
- Wall Street's biggest investors fear an economic nightmare is coming. They may be right.
- Some companies are posting "ghost jobs" but don't actually plan to hire you — or anyone.
- Amazon has created a new team to help address concerns raised by frustrated engineers.
But first: This week, Insider launched its inaugural Climate Action 30, a prestigious list of leaders working toward climate solutions. Lily Katzman, an associate editor on our Special Projects team, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the project.
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Meet 30 global leaders tackling the climate crisis
When we say climate heroes, the usual suspects — think Greta Thunberg and Al Gore — come to mind. While they're certainly doing notable work, we wanted to shift attention to others who are making important contributions to tackling the climate crisis, associate editor Lily Katzman writes.
That's where Insider's Climate Action 30 comes into play.
Our inaugural list of 30 top global leaders features activists, influencers, scientists, execs, entrepreneurs, and public-sector and nonprofit leaders, among others, who are working to address the climate crisis. Here's what the project includes:
- 30 unique write-ups describing each finalist's work and why it's important.
- 30 calls to action from each finalist to tell global leaders — and our readers — what they should do, stop doing, or understand to drive change.
- Original (and stunning) photography commissioned by our team of photographers.
While we won't spoil it all, finalists include government leaders like Francia Márquez, the first Black vice president of Colombia; entrepreneurs like Jan Wurzbacher, who founded a company that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in the ground; and activists like Autumn Peltier, who advocates for clean drinking water in Indigenous communities.
Check out the full project here.
Goldman Sachs insiders fume about CEO's personal brand
David Solomon, Goldman Sachs' CEO, moonlights as an electronic-music DJ, playing high-profile gigs like the Lollapalooza music festival and Tomorrowland, a Belgian music festival.
Solomon has been working on the side hustle for years. But some insiders are baffled by the amount of time and attention he's committed to his hobby and his use of private jets to promote his DJ work. Some say they're worried Solomon is putting his own interests ahead of the firm's.
Here's what else insiders told us.
Plus, check out:
An economic nightmare could be looming
Wall Street can't shake a nightmare about the US economy.
Some of the market's biggest investors are worried there will be no hard or soft landing for the economy. Instead, we'll just get stuck: Inflation comes down a bit from its scalding-hot level, but stays persistently higher; the Federal Reserve keeps hiking interest rates, but can't get a handle on prices. And Americans will end up with uncomfortably high interest rates, higher unemployment, and higher prices.
What happens if our economy gets stuck.
Also read:
Beware: That's not a real job opening
In today's remarkably tight labor market, a new trend is puzzling applicants: While many employers can't find enough workers, some qualified candidates are applying to open jobs and aren't hearing anything back.
The phenomenon is raising questions about whether a company's job postings are reflective of actual open positions, or if they're "ghost jobs" — listings that employers are no longer actively hiring or recruiting for.
Everything to know about "ghost jobs."
Amazon is trying to fix its crumbling engineering culture
Following developers' complaints about a slowing engineering culture, Amazon has created a new team called "Amazon Software Builder Experience," leaked documents show.
Amazon formed the group earlier this year with the goal of turning the internet giant into "Earth's best employer for software builders." Since launching, ASBX has grown to more than 400 employees, working on code automation, improved developer tools, and enhanced tutorials and safety infrastructure.
Inside the Amazon Software Builder Experience group.
For more on Amazon:
This week's quote:
"That's $30,000 a year you could be putting into a retirement fund."
- Andrew Lokenauth, who said he was paying $30,000 in taxes annually before moving to Tampa, Florida. He's one of several high earners who shared what happened after moving to states with no or low taxes.
More of this week's top reads:
- Toxic managers are creating a burnout crisis.
- There's a thriving underground market for used Amazon seller accounts.
- A woman who makes $7,000 a month on TaskRabbit shares her tips for success.
- Tech headhunters are flocking to laid-off Snap employees.
- Two creators share how much they earn through an online course teaching people how to repair their own RVs.
- Meet Dylan Field, the 30-year-old college dropout who built Figma.
- Josh Harris, the owner of the 76ers and Devils, upset Apollo insiders with the time he spent on personal investments.
Event invite: Many small-business owners may think they can't invest in talent acquisition. But innovative talent strategies may be their superpower.
Join us Tuesday, September 27, at noon ET for an editorial boot camp, in partnership with Indeed, covering how small businesses are developing these strategies. Sign up here.
Plus: Stay up to date with the latest business news throughout your weekdays by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here tomorrow.
Curated by Matt Turner. Edited by Jordan Parker Erb and Lisa Ryan. Sign up for more Insider newsletters here.