Goldman Sachs celebrates 175 new Quarter Century Club members

Goldman Sachs added 175 new members to its Quarter Century Club this year, pushing total membership to nearly 2,800 and showing that long tenure is still part of the firm’s identity. More than 1,200 of those members were still working at Goldman Sachs, a figure that matters in a business better known for exits, promotions, and fast lateral moves than for 25-year careers.

David Solomon cast the milestone as a tribute to colleagues who had helped carry the firm through multiple market cycles. For analysts, associates, vice presidents, and managing directors, the message was plain: Goldman still wants to present itself as a place where institutional knowledge, apprenticeship, and staying power are rewarded, not just as a training ground before the next move. In a year when bankers were balancing deal activity, AI adoption, compensation questions, and exit opportunities, the club offered a different signal about what the firm values.

The 2026 class was much smaller than the one Goldman recognized a year earlier. In 2025, the firm said the Quarter Century Club welcomed 370 new members, the largest class in its 156-year history. The drop to 175 in 2026 still left the club at a scale that few peer firms can match, and it reinforced the idea that Goldman uses long-service recognition as part morale-building and part branding.

That branding extends beyond the payroll. Goldman said its alumni network included more than 120,000 former employees across more than 115 countries as of the first quarter of 2026, with more than 825 alumni in C-suite roles at leading companies. The firm says the network is meant to keep former colleagues connected, facilitate opportunities for alumni, and provide access to a seasoned professional network. For current bankers, that makes a long Goldman career look less like an end state than one path in a broader institutional lifecycle.

The club also stood out against the wider labor market. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed median employee tenure in January 2024 was 4.2 years for men and 3.6 years for women in the United States. Against those numbers, 25 years at one employer is rare, and Goldman’s celebration of it said as much about retention and culture as it did about longevity. The firm’s history page says it marked its 150th anniversary with a documentary film series and traces its founding to the post-Civil War era, a reminder that Goldman has long treated continuity as part of its self-image.