Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein Testifies In Front Of Blue Collar Jury, Plus Hipster Alternate
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2011
Modified Mar 23, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2011
Modified Mar 23, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Vampire squid Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein testified today in the Galleon insider trading trial of Raj Rajaratnam. Rajaratnam, a hedge fund founder who is out on $100 million bail, is accused of a huge insider trading ring. The trial is pretty complicated, what with hours of secretly recorded conversation and financial details, and the jury is made up of mostly blue collar New Yorkers—and one alternate juror dubbed the "Hipster Juror" who has already fallen asleep—who don't know who the hell Lloyd Blankfein is.
Blankfein appeared to say that a former Goldman board member—Rajat Gupta—violated the company's confidentiality policy by discussing issues with Rajaratnam. A tape of Gupta telling Rajaratnam about possible deals was played, and prosecutors claimed that Gupta also mentioned Berkshire Hathaway's $5 billion investment in Goldman, which then prompted Rajaratnam to buy shares in the investment firm.
What's interesting is that the prosecution directed questions to Blankfein without mentioning the words "financial crisis"—according to Dealbook, "Before Mr. Blankfein’s testimony, prosecutors had expressed concern that testimony about the financial crisis could unfairly prejudice the jury against Mr. Blankfein. In his testimony on Wednesday, Mr. Blankfein described September 2008 as 'a volatile period in the market,' saying that it was 'a dangerous time' that 'made us nervous.' There was also 'riskiness,' and a 'general insecurity,' he said." Goldman received a $10 billion TARP bailout in 2008; the year before, Blankfein was paid $68 million.
Tagged
financial crisis
Galleon trial
goldman sachs
jury
lloyd blankfein
raj rajaratnam
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .