Henry Paulson

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Henry Paulson : biography

March 28, 1946 –

In May 2008, The Wall Street Journal wrote that Paulson said U.S. financial markets are emerging from the credit crunch that many economists believe has pushed the country to the brink of recession. "I do believe that the worst is likely to be behind us," Paulson told the newspaper in an interview.

On July 20, 2008, after the failure of Indymac Bank, Paulson reassured the public by saying, “it’s a safe banking system, a sound banking system. Our regulators are on top of it. This is a very manageable situation.”

On August 10, 2008, Secretary Paulson told NBC’s Meet the Press that he had no plans to inject any capital into Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. On September 7, 2008, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went into conservatorship.

On November 18, in testimony before the United States House Committee on Financial Services, Secretary Paulson told lawmakers, “There is no playbook for responding to turmoil we have never faced. We adjusted our strategy to reflect the facts of a severe market crisis always keeping focused on Congress’s goal and our goal – to stabilize the financial system that is integral to the everyday lives of all Americans.”

On November 20, 2008, during remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Secretary Paulson said, “We are working through a severe financial crisis caused by many factors, including government inaction and mistaken actions, outdated U.S. and global financial regulatory systems, and by the excessive risk-taking of financial institutions. This combination of factors led to a critical stage this fall when the entire U.S. financial system was at risk. This should never happen again. The United States must lead global financial reform efforts, and we must start by getting our own house in order.”

In media

Paulson was portrayed by William Hurt in the 2011 HBO film Too Big to Fail and by James Cromwell in the 2009 BBC film The Last Days of Lehman Brothers.

In the documentary film Inside Job, Paulson is cited as one of the persons responsible for the Economic Meltdown of 2008 and named in Time Magazine as one of the "25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis".

Career after public service

After leaving his role as Treasury Secretary, Paulson spent a year at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University as a distinguished visiting fellow, and a fellow at the university’s Bernard Schwartz Forum on Constructive Capitalism.. Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. February – March 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2011. His memoir, On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System, was published by Hachette Book Group on February 1, 2010.

The Paulson Institute

On June 27, 2011, Paulson announced the formation of the Paulson Institute, an independent center located at the University of Chicago, dedicated to fostering international engagement to address issues of global scope, with particular emphasis on cooperation between the United States and China. Paulson was also named as a senior fellow at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. His five-year appointment took effect July 1, 2011., Harris School of Public Policy, June 27, 2011, retrieved June 27, 2011

Personal life and family

Paulson was born in Palm Beach, Florida, to Marianna (née Gallauer) and Henry Merritt Paulson, a wholesale jeweler.

Paulson attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. 

A star athlete at Barrington High School, Paulson was a champion wrestler and stand-out football player, graduating in 1964. Paulson received his A.B. in English from Dartmouth College in 1968; at Dartmouth he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Alpha Epsilon and he was an All-Ivy, All-East, and honorable mention All American as an offensive lineman.

He met his wife Wendy Judge, a Wellesley College graduate, during his senior year. The couple have two adult children, sports-team owner Henry Merritt Paulson III, more commonly known as Merritt Paulson, and journalist Amanda Paulson. The Paulsons became grandparents in June 2007. They maintain homes in both Barrington Hills and Chicago.