Goldman Sachs president clashes with Martha’s – Business News
The president of Goldman Sachs has roused the ire of native officers on Martha’s Vineyard after he allegedly flouted a city order and chopped down 19 trees that have been blocking views at his lavish waterfront trip home, The Post has discovered.
John Waldron — the Wall Street giant’s No. 2 govt who’s seen because the probably successor to CEO David Solomon — sparked a fracas final spring when the alleged violation was found on their sprawling four-acre property close to Katama Bay, the quaint maritime enclave the place Steven Spielberg filmed his 1975 blockbuster “Jaws.”
The 56-year-old Waldron and his spouse, Amanda, purchased the vacant Edgartown lot in 2020 for over $11 million. They constructed a four-bedroom summer season home two years later on the Massachusetts island getaway for the East Coast elite; the unfold is now valued at more than $30 million.
Waldron purchased the plot of land in Edgartown, MA, in 2020, earlier than he and his spouse constructed their dream summer season getaway home two years later. Getty Images for Semafor
But final spring, native officers found that the deep-pocketed investment banker had apparently chopped down 19 cedars and pitch pines — some of them 60 years outdated and as a lot as 60 ft high — that have been blocking the mansion’s water view, based on filings lodged with the Edgartown conservation commission.
That was after the city in 2022 had permitted construction plans permitting 11 trees to be cut down, however explicitly barred the removing of these 19 cedars and pines, sources stated.
“On a recent site inspection, April 9, 2025, it came to the attention of this office that almost every tree that was to remain unaltered between the dwelling and the water has been removed,” Edgartown conservation officer Kara Shemeth wrote in an August cease-and-desist letter to Waldron obtained by The Post.
Edgartown officers allege Waldron’s unlawful landscaping occurred in a protected wetlands zone, probably harming native wildlife and setting a harmful precedent.
“This is in violation of the permit granted and the plans on file,” she added, demanding an rationalization through his lawyer and citing breaches of the Wetlands Act and native bylaws.
Edgartown on the island of Martha’s Vineyard has long been a summer season hangout for the East Coast’s wealthy and well-known. Katama Bay was utilized by Steven Spielberg as a location for his 1975 blockbuster ‘Jaws’. demerzel21 – stock.adobe.com
Peter Welsh, the Goldmanite’s personal lawyer, advised The Post: “Mr. Waldron shares the Commission’s commitment to conservation and is taking the appropriate steps with a consultant to support the health of the wetlands.”
Filings show that Waldron’s architect, John Kett, had tried in useless to persuade the authorities at a assembly on Sept 14, 2022, that the house owners have been “sun people” who “wanted to ensure that the property got ample sunlight.”
Shemeth, the Edgartown conservation official, ordered Waldron to submit a “restoration” plan within 30 days of her Aug. 14 letter that may set out how he deliberate to mitigate the alleged wetlands injury.
Pictures obtained by The Post show a current inspection that was carried out on the Waldron property by Egdartown environmental officers.
Waldron was hit with one month’s price of $300-a-day fines — an estimated $9,000. The penalties are so uncommon on Martha’s Vineyard that officers stated they needed to “search for a finebook” to ascertain how to challenge the levies in opposition to Goldman’s inheritor obvious, sources advised The Post.
The banking bigwig’s legal workforce satisfied authorities to pause the fines round November, with sources current claiming that they had hinted Waldron would donate a princely sum to help with the maintenance of the wetlands.
However, the plans have been solely submitted by Waldron in mid-December, they usually stop short of changing the trees.
Renderings drawn up by John Waldron’s architect show the luxurious, four-bedroom waterside mansion.
Plans drawn up by Waldron’s architect steered eradicating the trees, however they have been rejected by native conservation officers.
Instead, he proposes “planting native shrubs” and claims that they’re “much more likely to benefit” uncommon native bugs and moths within the wetlands — whereas additionally not obstructing his views.
“We are not trying to ignore the board,” Robert McCarron, a native lawyer who additionally represents Waldron, advised city officers on the listening to. “The short answer, not to rub salt in the wounds, but the plans we are proposing are not huge trees.”
At a tense Dec. 17 listening to attended by The Post online, Bob Avakian, a longtime conservation commissioner, ripped the Waldrons’ actions as “mindblowing”, urging that the trees get replaced.
“They violated the order of conditions,” he fumed to the Goldmanite’s Edgartown lawyer. “If you had come to us with a plan that says we want to take all these trees down, we would have probably said no.”
Waldron is broadly tipped to take over from present CEO David Solomon, 64, when he steps down from the highest job at 200 West Street. REUTERS
“It’s a precedent that would be like any homeowner who owns land on the water can say, ‘Hey, I am going to come in and cut all these trees down,” Avakian added. “Why are we here? Why do we have these regulations?”
“The enforcement order requires restoring the area to what it was, which includes cedars and pines,” added one other Edgartown insider. “The proposal that they’ve sent in doesn’t include any of that.”
Charlie Gasparino has his finger on the heartbeat of the place business, politics and finance meet
Sign up to obtain On The Money by Charlie Gasparino in your inbox each Thursday.
Thanks for signing up!
While a lawsuit stays “months away” and provided that tensions escalate, sources close to the matter advised The Post, the purpose is to resolve the row out of courtroom.
Experts additionally discovered proof of unspecified “archaeological features” on-site, requiring session with the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah (Gay Head) earlier than the highest money man proceeds with any additional ground-disturbing work.
Former President Barack Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama even have a luxurious mansion on Martha’s Vineyard.
The tribe, with roots on Martha’s Vineyard spanning over 12,000 years and federal recognition since 1987, have to be notified and invited to look at earlier than the Wall Street hotshot presses forward with doable modifications.
“Prior to undertaking any planting activities, notice will be provided to a member of the Wampanoag Tribe, Aquinnah, with an invitation to be present during any planting or other activities which will disturb the ground below the surface soil layer,” the report states.
The Wampanoag Tribal Council didn’t reply to The Post’s request for remark.
Waldron spends most of his time at his plush Central Park residence, which has been dubbed The Tower of Power owing to the quantity of wealthy and well-known residents who dwell there. Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP
Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama own a 29-acre property bought for practically $12 million in 2019, about two miles away within the historic city of 5,000 people, which was first settled by British colonists in 1642.
Waldron earned $38 million in 2024, based on his employer’s newest proxy submitting. Waldron additionally signed a five-year, $80 million “golden handcuffs” deal final yr in a bid by the board to keep him with the firm.
His 2025 wage stays undisclosed.
His New York City residence is 15 Central Park West, the place neighbors have included ex-Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Sting, and former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.
He is hotly tipped to succeed 64-year-old CEO David Solomon, and a number of Goldmanites advised The Post that he’s broadly admired by the firm’s rank-and-file.
