John Whitehead, a remarkable man

The Hill is the magazine of and about Congress, but perhaps the story of a man who made his mark outside of Washington could provide an instructive perspective for those who serve inside Washington.

Integrity, generosity and passion defined John Whitehead. He was an investment banker, public servant and philanthropist, who recently passed away at age 92. Perhaps he was one of a kind and of a bygone era. But perhaps his story is relevant to today’s business and political world often defined by cynicism, selfishness and lack of a moral compass.

Unlike some politicians who feign, exaggerate or exploit their military service, few of John’s acquaintances knew he commanded one of the landing boats on Normandy Beach in World War II.

{mosads}John devoted the next four decades at Goldman Sachs, building it into the powerhouse that it is today, while at the same time authoring a list of 12 rules (later expanded to 14) that became the core values of Goldman Sachs Business Principles, the first of which is “Our Clients’ Interests Always Come First.” He also devoted one-third of his time to building and helping nonprofits.

Unlike some businessmen who want to cap their career with a Cabinet position or others who cynically make large campaign contributions to get a government position, John had to be drafted. Shortly after the 1980 election, John got a call from George Shultz, the secretary of State-designee, to come see him the next day. Little did he know that he would be marched over to the Oval Office and not allowed to leave until President-elect Reagan got his wish: John Whitehead as deputy secretary of State.

Rather than exploit his Cabinet post for financial reward, John retired from the business world and returned full-time to his passion of helping nonprofits he had nurtured from his days at Goldman Sachs, offering financial help and wisdom.

Even though he was a proud Republican, John was chairman of the Brookings Institution as well as the United Nations Association, the Federal Reserve of New York and his alma maters of Haverford College and Harvard University. Even at age 80 he could not refuse to take on the chairmanship of the Lower Manhattan Development Center after the World Trade Center was destroyed on 9/11. In a diplomatic manner he juggled competing interests on how best to revitalize ground zero. When fundraising stalled, he guided the project himself and single-handedly raised $130 million.

Full disclosure: I, too, was the recipient of John’s generosity. He served on my board of directors for some 30 years and missed not one year of a donation. The real gifts I got were annual visits with John, after which I was always reinvigorated and drawn to the principles of integrity, generosity and passion.

Our visits were always about the economic policy challenges facing our country. We talked at length about the role and responsibility of a business leader in public policy, most recently the emerging debate on inequality and that of the business leader. After troubled times at Goldman Sachs, I remember his admonition and saying that it would take some work to recover from its black eye.

Most unusually, he also shared with me once that his opening phrase at a congressional committee hearing, “I hate to disagree with the president, but …, ” resulted in a mysterious loss of privilege to the White House Tennis Court. 

Years later, he was diagnosed with cancer, but took it in stride because he still could be in the arena.

In a more recent visit, John saw a dismal economic future for the U.S. because of our long-term unsustainable debt. As he told me the story, I got up to leave. “Why?” he asked. I responded, “If the world is coming to an end, why continue our work on pro-growth tax reform? Have you sold all your stock?” John said, “No.” I asked, “Why?” He responded, “I may be wrong.”

No, John, you were not wrong on how you approached life. From a World War II commander in Normandy, to Wall Street icon, public servant and philanthropist, your ideals and faith in the system are a model for all of us to follow.

Bloomfield is president and CEO of the American Council for Capital Formation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to public policies supportive of saving and investment to promote long-term economic growth, job creation and competitiveness. He also served as secretary to then-President-elect Reagan’s Transition Task Force on Tax Policy.