Famous American Bankers

Ben Bernanke is an American economist who served two terms as the chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 to 2014, during which he supervised the Federal Reserve's response to the global financial crisis (GFC). For his efforts during GFC, Ben Bernanke was named Time Person of the Year in 2009.

Tom Steyer is an American businessman, philanthropist, hedge fund manager, liberal activist, and environmentalist. He is credited with founding the popular investment firm Farallon Capital. He is also credited with co-founding OneCalifornia Bank, which later became Beneficial State Bank. Since 2012, Tom Steyer has focused on the environment and politics.

The son of wealthy Pittsburgh banker Thomas Mellon, Andrew William Mellon had followed in his father’s footsteps, to be a banker. He had also been the American ambassador to the U.K. and the American secretary of the treasury. He owned companies such as Alcoa, Old Overholt whiskey, and Gulf Oil.

J. P. Morgan Jr. was an American finance executive, banker, and philanthropist. He became the head of the investment banking institution, J.P. Morgan & Co., after his father J. P. Morgan's demise in 1913. J. P. Morgan Jr. was also an important philanthropist, who donated his London residence to the U.S. government in 1920.

A reputed investment banker, Lloyd Blankfein, who began his career as a tax lawyer, later served as the chairman and CEO of the American multinational company Goldman Sachs. However, he was also criticized for drawing a huge salary and for making controversial comments such as he was “doing God’s work.”

Jamie Dimon is an American business executive, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the largest of the popular American banks, JPMorgan Chase. He is among the few bank chief executives in the world to become a billionaire. In 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011, Jamie Dimon was named in Time magazine's world's 100 most influential people lists.

James Forrestal was an American financier who served as the first US Secretary of Defense from 1947 to 1949. He is also remembered for his service as the US Secretary of the Navy from 1944 to 1947. James Forrestal was honored with the Medal of Merit and the Distinguished Service Medal by President Harry S. Truman.

Amadeo Giannini was an American banker best remembered for founding the Bank of Italy, which later became Bank of America. He is credited with inventing numerous modern banking practices. Amadeo Giannini is also credited with establishing one of the first trans-national institutions.

Gary Cohn is an American business leader best known for his service as the Director of the National Economic Council from 2017 to 2018. Prior to his service in the White House, Cohn was the COO and president of Goldman Sachs. Gary Cohn is also a well-known philanthropist and has donated money to various organizations.

Harry Markopolos is an American financial fraud and forensic accounting investigator. A former securities industry executive, Markopolos is best known for his investigation that exposed Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme much before the latter's arrest in 2008. Harry Markopolos later penned No One Would Listen as he was initially ignored by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investment banker Steven Mnuchin, who has served as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under Donald Trump, has earlier been associated with Goldman Sachs, Sears Holdings, and Kmart. He later purchased IndyMac, renamed it OneWest Bank, and sold it to CIT Group. Mnuchin was also part of Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Marvin Bush is known as the son of former US president George H.W. Bush and the brother of another former president, George W. Bush. He has also been a businessman in his own right, heading SECURACOM and HCC Insurance Holdings, and appeared in the documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.

The CEO and co-founder of the healthcare services provider Athenahealth, businessman Jonathan Bush has also been at the center of domestic violence accusations made by his first wife. He has penned the bestseller Where Does It Hurt? He is also a cousin of former US president George W. Bush.

The grandson of J.P. Morgan founder John Pierpont Morgan, Sr., Henry Sturgis Morgan co-founded the multinational investment company Morgan Stanley. A Harvard alumnus, he also headed the Morgan Library & Museum as its president and chairman. A sailing enthusiast, too, he was part of the New York Yacht Club.

Carl C. Icahn is an American businessman. He is credited with founding a diversified conglomerate holding company called Icahn Enterprises, which is based in New York City. He also serves as the chairman of the popular auto parts manufacturer and developer, Federal-Mogul. Also known for his charity work, Icahn joined the Giving Pledge list in 2010.

Ronald Perelman is an American banker, investor, and businessman. He is the current chairman, CEO, and owner of the diversified holding company, MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated. He also holds significant shares in companies like Revlon, Deluxe Entertainment, RetailMeNot, and SIGA Technologies. Ronald Perelman is also known for his philanthropic efforts and has donated millions of dollars to various causes.

One of the most well-known white-collar criminals ever, Marc Rich, an NYU dropout, was a self-made business magnate and commodities trader who established Glencore but was later charged with fraud and tax evasion, among other crimes. He also donated generously for leukemia research and Jewish causes.

Robert Morris was an English-born merchant best remembered as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was also one of the signers of the United States Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and the Declaration of Independence. From 1789 to 1795, Robert Morris served as the United States Senator from Pennsylvania.

Henry Paulson is an American financier, banker, and political figure. He is best known for his service as the US Secretary of the Treasury from 10 July 2006 to 20 January 2009. A respected banker, Henry Paulson was the CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs prior to his role in the US Department of the Treasury.

Carter Page is an American investment banker and foreign policy analyst. He played an important role during the 2016 presidential election campaign when he served as a foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump. A petroleum industry consultant, Carter Page is credited with founding Global Energy Capital, which specializes in the Central Asian and Russian oil and gas business.

Raj Rajaratnam is a Sri Lankan-American retired hedge fund manager. He is best known for founding a popular hedge fund management firm called the Galleon Group. In 2009, he was arrested for insider trading and was found guilty on 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy. In 2011, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

American politician Phil Murphy was the US ambassador to Germany under former president Barack Obama and now serves as the governor of New Jersey. He previously had a career as a financier and has served Goldman Sachs for over 2 decades, working in places such as Germany and Hong Kong.

Jacob Schiff was a German-born American banker, philanthropist, and businessman. He is credited with financing the expansion of American railroads. Jacob Schiff also played an important role during the Russo-Japanese War where he helped finance the Japanese military efforts.  

Legendary American investment banker Marcus Goldman was born into a German Jewish family of farmers and was part of the first wave of Jewish immigration to America. He went from being a peddler to founding Goldman Sachs, which is now one of the largest investment banks of the world.

Born into the famous Rothschild banking family, French financier David René de Rothschild heads Rothschild & Co. as its Supervisory Board Chairman. He has previously been the chairman of Rothschild & Co Gestion and of the iconic diamond mining and retail company De Beers.

William M. Daley is an American politician, lawyer, and former banker. He is best known for his service as the White House Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2012 when Barack Obama was the President. William M. Daley also served as the US Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000.

Stanley Fischer is an Israeli American economist. He was previously the chief economist at the World Bank and the vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve. In 2014, he was nominated by US President Barack Obama to be the vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue as well.  

Junius Spencer Morgan was an American financier and banker. The patriarch to the famous Morgan banking house, Morgan is credited with establishing J. S. Morgan & Co. in 1864. He then transformed his banking house into a financial empire with the help of his son, John Pierpont Morgan Sr. 

Charles Keating was an American lawyer, sportsman, real estate developer, financier, banker, and conservative activist. Also a convicted felon, Keating is best remembered for his involvement in the infamous savings and loan scandal of the 1980s. He was imprisoned for four-and-a-half years after he was convicted of many counts of racketeering, fraud, and conspiracy.

The CEO of Lazard, Peter R. Orszag has previously also been associated with Citigroup and has headed the OMB. A Princeton alumnus and a PhD from the London School of Economics, he has also been associated with organizations such as the National Academy of Medicine and been a lecturer of macroeconomics.

John Hoeven is an American politician and banker. He is the current US Senator from North Dakota. He is also known for his service as the Governor of North Dakota from 2000 to 2010. A respected banker, John Hoeven served as the President of the Bank of North Dakota from 1993 to 2000.

Samuel Sachs was an American investment banker best remembered for co-founding the popular investment banking company Goldman Sachs along with his father-in-law Marcus Goldman. Samuel Sachs is also credited with pioneering the practise of issuing stock as a method to raise funds.

Randy Lerner is an American investor best known as the former owner of the Cleveland Browns who play in the National Football League. He also owned Aston Villa Football Club of the Premier League, which he sold in 2016. A well-known philanthropist, Lerner donated £5m to the UK's National Portrait Gallery, the largest single donation the gallery has ever received.