David Solomon is not your typical Wall Street suit. Most people know him as the hard-charging chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, a firm that basically defines global finance. But for a few years, the internet knew him as something else entirely: DJ D-Sol. It started as a hobby. Then it became a meme. Then, honestly, it became a massive headache for the Goldman board of directors.
You’ve probably seen the photos. A bald, 60-something man in headphones, spinning electronic dance music at Lollapalooza or a high-end club in the Hamptons. It wasn’t a midlife crisis, or at least he says it wasn't. To Solomon, it was about having a "meaningful hobby" to manage the crushing stress of running a trillion-dollar asset manager. But on Wall Street, optics are everything. When the firm's stock price dipped and senior partners started jumping ship, the Goldman Sachs CEO DJ persona transformed from a quirky branding win into a symbol of a leader supposedly out of touch with his own ranks.
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He stopped doing it. Or, more accurately, he agreed to stop "publicly" DJing. The music hasn't necessarily stopped, but the high-profile gigs have.
The Rise of DJ D-Sol and the Electronic Side Hustle
Solomon didn't just wake up one day and decide to play Coachella. He’s been into music for decades. He started taking it seriously around 2015, working with professionals to learn the technical side of mixing. By 2017, he released a remix of "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. It actually charted. That’s the part people forget—he wasn't just a guy hitting "play" on a Spotify playlist. He had a label, Payback Records, and he funneled the proceeds to charities fighting the opioid crisis.
It was a brilliant PR move initially. Goldman Sachs has long struggled with its "Vampire Squid" image—a term famously coined by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone. Having a CEO who could talk about house music and wear a t-shirt made the firm look human. It helped with recruiting. Gen Z analysts don't want to work for a robot; they want a boss who has a life.
Then things got messy.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Solomon played a "socially distanced" charity concert in the Hamptons with The Chainsmokers. It was a PR disaster. While the rest of the world was locked down, the head of Goldman was at a crowded outdoor party. New York's then-Governor Andrew Cuomo even launched an investigation. Solomon apologized, but the seed was planted. People started asking: Is he running a bank or a residency in Ibiza?
Why the Goldman Sachs CEO DJ Persona Collapsed
The internal culture at Goldman Sachs is legendary for being "long-term greedy." You work 100-hour weeks, you make a ton of money, and you maintain a laser focus on the client. By 2023, that culture felt like it was fraying. The firm had a series of misses, particularly with "Marcus," its foray into consumer banking. It lost billions.
Partners were furious. When you’re losing money, the last thing you want to see is your CEO on stage at Tomorrowland.
- The optics were brutal during layoffs.
- Senior executives felt the DJing was a distraction.
- The board of directors eventually had "the talk" with him.
It’s a classic case of "permission vs. performance." If Goldman was hitting record highs and every division was printing money, David Solomon could have played the kazoo in a clown suit and no one would have cared. But when the numbers turned south, the turntable became a target.
The criticism wasn't just about the music. It was about what the music represented. Critics like Mike Mayo, a well-known banking analyst at Wells Fargo, have been vocal about the need for Solomon to focus. The narrative shifted from "cool, multi-faceted leader" to "distracted executive."
The Reality of Running Goldman in 2026
Running a bank like Goldman today is significantly harder than it was ten years ago. Regulation is tighter. Capital requirements are higher. The competition from private equity firms like Apollo and Blackstone is relentless. Solomon has had to pivot the entire strategy of the bank back to its core strengths: investment banking and trading.
He’s had to be the "bad guy." He pushed for a full return to the office long before other CEOs. He’s overseen several rounds of job cuts. In that environment, being the Goldman Sachs CEO DJ just didn't fit the vibe of a wartime general.
The interesting thing is that Solomon isn't the only executive with a weird hobby. Jeff Bezos builds giant clocks in mountains. Elon Musk sends cars into space. But banking is different. Banking is built on the illusion of absolute, boring stability. Solomon tried to break that mold, and the mold fought back.
The "D-Sol" Legacy
What did we actually learn from the DJ D-Sol era?
First, the "war for talent" is real. Solomon’s attempt to be relatable was a direct response to the fact that top Ivy League grads were choosing Google and Facebook over Goldman. He wanted to show that you could be a high-achiever and still have a soul.
Second, the "CEO as a Celebrity" era is dangerous. We saw it with Adam Neumann at WeWork and Sam Bankman-Fried at FTX. While Solomon is a legitimate, highly competent banker—unlike those two—the public's patience for "main character energy" from CEOs has evaporated. People want results, not a brand.
What You Should Take Away from the Solomon Saga
If you’re an aspiring leader or just a business nerd watching this play out, there are some pretty clear lessons here. It’s not about whether you should have a hobby. You should. It’s about how that hobby intersects with your professional responsibilities.
Brand Alignment Matters. If your day job requires you to be the steward of people’s life savings, your side hustle shouldn't involve strobe lights and bottle service. It’s a mismatch of expectations.
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Performance Grants Latitude. You can get away with almost anything if you’re winning. If you’re losing, even your virtues will be framed as vices.
Authenticity has limits. Solomon was being his "authentic self" by DJing. But in the C-suite, you aren't just a person; you’re a symbol. Sometimes the symbol has to come before the person.
The "Pivot" is a leadership tool. Solomon’s decision to stop DJing publicly was a signal to his partners. It was a way of saying, "I hear you. I’m focused. I’m back in the trenches." That kind of concession is often necessary to maintain authority.
Today, Solomon is focused on the "One Goldman" strategy. He's trying to get the different parts of the bank—asset management, the trading floor, the bankers—to actually talk to each other. It’s boring, grueling work. There are no cheering crowds or bass drops. But that’s the job.
Actionable Insights for Navigating High-Stakes Careers:
- Audit your public persona: Look at your LinkedIn or social media through the eyes of a skeptical client. Does your "personal brand" reinforce or undermine your professional expertise?
- Identify your "DJing": Everyone has a distraction. Maybe it’s not music. Maybe it’s a side business, a time-consuming sport, or even just a fixation on a specific project. Ask yourself if it’s providing a mental break or if it’s actually draining your professional capital.
- Prioritize Optics During Downturns: When your industry or company is struggling, that is the time to be visible in the office and invisible in the gossip columns.
- Embrace the "Pivot": If you get feedback that a certain behavior is bothering your team, don't double down out of ego. Changing course isn't a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of situational awareness.
The story of the Goldman Sachs CEO DJ isn't really about music at all. It’s a story about the changing nature of leadership in a world where the lines between our public and private lives have completely disappeared. Solomon tried to walk that line, tripped, and had the sense to get back up and keep walking—just without the headphones this time.