Ex-Goldman CEO: Top State School Grads Equal Ivy Leaguers

The former head of one of Wall Street's most prestigious firms just said what many have suspected all along: elite school brands don't guarantee elite talent.

Lloyd Blankfein ran Goldman Sachs for years, overseeing thousands of new hires from top universities. Despite being a Harvard graduate himself, he noticed something important about where real talent comes from.

"If you're going to look at the tippy, tippy top of Harvard or the tippy, tippy top of the University of Minnesota, where you're the top of 50,000 as opposed to the top of 1,600, I would say that having gone through that they're at least as good, maybe better," Blankfein shared on the Big Shot podcast.

His reasoning makes perfect sense. Rising to the top of a class with 50,000 students means outperforming far more competition than leading a group of 1,600.

Blankfein pointed to his own colleagues as proof. Gary Cohn, Goldman's former president, attended American University. Current CEO David Solomon graduated from Hamilton College. Both rose to lead one of the world's most competitive companies.

The former CEO noted that students from large public universities face harder climbs from the start. Many didn't attend prestigious prep schools like Choate or Andover that feed directly into the Ivy League. They've been "swimming upstream against a much bigger current" their entire academic careers.

Why This Inspires

Blankfein's comments matter now more than ever. Recent surveys show 26% of companies are recruiting from narrower school ranges, up from 17% in 2022. AI-generated resumes have made applications look identical, pushing recruiters to rely on university names as shortcuts.

But when leaders from elite institutions speak up about talent beyond the Ivy gates, it opens doors. Students working hard at state schools need champions who understand that determination and excellence aren't limited to campuses with single-digit admission rates.

His message validates what hardworking students across the country already know: your school's name matters less than what you do with your education.

Goldman Sachs didn't become a Wall Street powerhouse by limiting its talent pool. Neither should anyone else.