Goldman Sachs partner’s sexually explicit video led to settlement worth millions

A Goldman Sachs partner agreed to pay several million dollars to a woman to resolve a complaint so sensitive it was handled at the highest levels of the firm.

The executive accidentally included a sexually explicit recording of himself as part of a work-related video sent to a junior staffer, according to more than a half-dozen people with knowledge of the matter. The incident, which happened in 2020, quickly spiralled into an internal review overseen by senior leaders, including chief executive officer David Solomon, the people said.

Goldman determined that the partner — Adam Dell, a fintech entrepreneur and brother of billionaire Michael Dell — didn’t realise the camera filmed beyond the work project and unknowingly sent the entire video file while working remotely, the people said.

When he left a few months later, the firm named him an advisory director, an honorific granted to those who exit on good terms and could continue to help the bank, according to a news report at the time. The woman also left.

The previously unreported episode sparked debate within the firm. Some senior executives privately chafed at what they regarded as the woman’s rush to get a lawyer, and argued that if she were traumatised by the video she could have just stopped watching it, according to several of the people, who described the reactions.

Others within the firm said such attitudes show a culture that still doesn’t grasp the mistrust built up over decades of power imbalances, and lacks empathy for how such an incident could be destabilising.

Adam Dell, 53, didn’t respond to several requests for comment. The “reporting contains significant factual errors,” Goldman spokesman Tony Fratto said, without elaborating on the errors.

Goldman Sachs has said improving gender diversity in its top ranks is a key priority and has grappled with a legacy of some women feeling unwelcome. In a separate matter, the firm last month settled one of the biggest class-action lawsuits over gender discrimination in Wall Street history. And in November, Bloomberg reported on an eight-figure settlement with a female partner who accused senior executives of fostering a toxic workplace culture.