Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon sparks fury from activists after ‘calling the fossil fuel divestment movement ”stupid”’ – as Hamilton College students accuse him of offering a ‘racially-charged sentiment’ during talk
- Three Hamilton College seniors penned an explosive letter detailing the claims
- They accuse Solomon, 61, of being ‘racist and sexist’ and dismissing green goals
- The fiery face-off came at a March 3 event – Senior Networking with Trustees
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has sparked fury from college students after allegedly calling fossil fuel divestment ‘stupid’.
In an explosive letter penned by three seniors at his alma mater – upstate New York’s Hamilton College – the 61-year-old multi-millionaire has also been accused of expressing ‘extremely racist and sexist undertones’ towards the trio.
Their interaction came at a March 3 event called Senior Networking with Trustees at the private liberal arts college.
In their letter, the unnamed pupils describe themselves as ‘students involved in climate justice and sustainability efforts on campus’ who seized the ‘rare face-to-face opportunity’ to quiz Solomon about the college’s green credentials.
They said Solomon, who graduated in 1984 and is chair of the trustees, ‘claimed he does more in a week to help climate change than we will ever do in our entire lives’, pointing to his ‘capital accumulation’ and ‘position of power’.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, 61, has sparked fury from college students at Hamilton College, upstate New York, after allegedly calling fossil fuel divestment ‘stupid’
Multi-millionaire Solomon has been accused of expressing ‘extremely racist and sexist undertones’ towards a group of ‘non-male’ majority non-white students at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York (pictured)
He even ‘laughed and told us he’d be dead in 30 years, so climate change would be our problem anyway’, according to the students.
During their fiery exchange, Solomon also allegedly assumed the group of around six students – described in the letter as ‘all non-male’ and majority ‘people of color’ – were benefiting from financial aid and ‘should show immense gratitude’ for this.
The students said they began by asking New York-born Solomon about Hamilton College’s assertion that ‘less than 2 percent’ of its endowment comes from donors with direct links to fossil fuels.
‘We assumed Solomon would likely shut us down, but he seemed excited about the question, and actually brought up the term divestment himself,’ they said.
‘However, he very quickly gave the impression that he felt this was a good time to impart his insights to us.
‘The conversation quickly devolved into nearly 30 minutes of talking about climate change and the College’s role in climate adaptation and mitigation.
‘Throughout the discussion, Solomon’s attitude and behavior toward us and our questions carried extremely racist and sexist undertones.
‘His blatant ignorance and disrespect is one we feel obligated to share with the campus community.’
The students said Solomon, who graduated Hamilton College in 1984 and is chair of the trustees, ‘claimed he does more in a week to help climate change than we will ever do in our entire lives’, pointing to his ‘capital accumulation’ and ‘position of power’
During their fiery exchange, Solomon also allegedly assumed the group of around six students – described in the letter as ‘all non-male’ and majority ‘people of color’ – were benefiting from financial aid and ‘should show immense gratitude’ for this
Solomon said he was unaware of the college’s 2 percent investment claim, and ‘indicated he thought fossil fuel divestment was a stupid movement’, the students said.
‘He called us hypocritical for advocating for divestment when we still use electricity and drive cars — and said that if we traveled to countries like China, India, and Cambodia we would see how the world “really works,” and then see if we want to live like that,’ the letter reads.
‘He often contradicted himself, saying with similarly charged undertones, the “West” is the center of technology and innovation, and it is our responsibility to pull the “East” into a climate transition, yet also saying it is not the College’s job to participate in this transition.’
The students said Solomon, who has recently been accused of bullying Goldman staff, continued his tirade of ‘willful ignorance’ with ‘seemingly no intention to actually learn or genuinely engage with us beyond belittling us’.
They said his ‘most clearly racially-charged sentiment’ came as they were explaining their belief that by ‘financially fueling the climate crisis through our endowment’, Hamilton College was compromising their ‘mission’ of pursuing ‘climate justice’.
‘He pointed at each one of us, claiming that all of us must be on financial aid,’ the letter states.
‘He implied that we should show immense gratitude because we are in debt to the college’s endowment and that we should not complain about its investment portfolio.’
The students said Solomon, who has recently been accused of bullying Goldman staff, continued his tirade of ‘willful ignorance’ with ‘seemingly no intention to actually learn or genuinely engage with us beyond belittling us’
Hamilton College (pictured) in Clinton, New York, teaches around 2,000 students
The students said Solomon quickly back-pedaled in response to their shocked expressions over this last comment – telling them that ‘something like 80% of Hamilton students are on some kind of financial aid’.
‘It is important to note that the group of six or so people talking to him were all non-male, and at least half were people of color,’ they said.
‘We believe that he never would have assumed we were all on financial aid if we were the group of white male students in suits talking to him twenty minutes prior.’
‘Solomon spoke to us in a patronizing and disrespectful manner,’ they added.
‘Despite knowing nothing about us and our roles in our communities and history of activist work, Solomon claimed he does more in a week to help climate change than we will ever do in our entire lives.
‘When we asked him to elaborate, he attributed his “capital accumulation” and position of power.’
The students said they felt ‘ashamed, embarrassed and scared’ that Solomon would continue to be the ‘face and voice of Hamilton College’ through his position as board chair, which runs until 2024.
In their letter, the unnamed pupils describe themselves as ‘students involved in climate justice and sustainability efforts on campus’ who seized the ‘rare face-to-face opportunity’ to quiz Solomon about the college’s green credentials
Calling for his tenure to be cut short early, they said: ‘Solomon’s opinions are not just words — his sentiments hold real weight and power.
‘His words do so much damage to the members of our campus community advocating for and most affected by climate change.’
Hamilton College, in Clinton, New York, teaches around 2,000 students
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