[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Goldman domination: The firm's far-reaching grasp has crossed the U.K., where Goldman alumni Mark Carney will serve as the next head of the Bank of England.

Where Are They Now? Mr. Carney, currently the head of the Bank of Canada, is among several former Goldman officers holding senior positions at international bodies.  Members of the Goldman club include:

• Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank and a former vice chairman of the firm
• Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister and a former international adviser
• Gary Gensler, the head of the CFTC

Mr. Carney's own competition for the position at the Bank of England was current Goldman executive, Jim O'Neill.  The U.S. government includes:

• Henry M. Paulson Jr., the former Treasury secretary
• Neel T. Kashkari, a top lieutenant under Mr. Paulson who helped draft the Bush administration's response to the 2008 financial crisis
• Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary
• Stephen Friedman, the onetime chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Other, less celebrated former Goldman members include Jon Corzine, the former senator and governor of New Jersey.

Detractors contend that this trend leads to government policies that favor banking firms at the expense of the general populace.  On the other hand, proponents argue that it allows for more sophisticated regulations, penned and executed by people who know Wall Street inside out.  For its part, Goldman said its alumni's future success may not reflect favorably on the firm.

"We're proud of our alumni, but frankly, when they work in the public sector, their presence is more of a negative than a positive for us in terms of winning business.  There is no mileage for them in giving Goldman Sachs the corporate equivalent of most-favored-nation status." -- a spokesman for the firm in The New York Times in 2008.