David Solomon's lesser known passion, and how he got his DJ name

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has a lot going on right now as he deals with the aftermath of the 1MDB scandal and the bank’s upcoming earnings call, in which Solomon is reportedly planning to participate. But as a vocal proponent of maintaining a proper work-life balance, Solomon still found 45 minutes to sit down with Philadelphia 76ers guard JJ Reddick on the NBA star’s podcast to talk about some lighter subjects, including laying out preferences critical in assessing any native New Yorker: which one of the two local teams he roots for in the four major U.S. sports.

Solomon said he grew up a Jets, Mets, Knicks and Rangers fan, though he admitted to one taboo that may have some diehards shaking their head. Solomon roots for both New York baseball teams. “I can appreciate the greatness of [the Yankees] franchise,” he said, adding that he has season tickets to the Yankees and Knicks but also goes to Mets, Jets and Rangers games when he can. But not the Giants. “My dad was a huge Giants fan, but I never really warmed up to Giants,” he said. (Somewhat ironically, Goldman Sachs hired former Giants star Justin Tuck as a VP within its wealth management division last summer).

As an 8-year-old, Solomon got to see Joe Namath lead the Jets to their historic sole Super Bowl championship in 1969, which was quickly followed by an equally improbable Mets World Series title that fall. A year later, the Knicks won their first NBA championship. “As a New Yorker my whole life, that was the pinnacle of New York sports. And it’s been all downhill since,” he said.

Outside of being the new CEO of Goldman Sachs, Solomon may be best known for his side hustle as a DJ. He told Reddick that mixing music became a great stress relieving outlet – allowing him to set aside all his thoughts about work for an hour. He also revealed that his admittedly less imaginative stage name – DJ D-Sol – was inspired by the nicknames given to his children by their friends. “One of my daughters is K-Sol and one is C-Sol,” he said. “It was simple enough.”

***Disclaimer: the author is a die-hard, cynical and possibly jealous Mets fan who hates the Yankees.