In the Hamptons, a Financier Talks Housemates and College Credit

Steve Klinsky knows how Goldman Sachs careers can arc and bend. In the 1990s, Robert Kaplan and Phil Murphy were his roommates in a share house in Sagaponack. Kaplan is now Dallas Fed president, Murphy is running for governor of New Jersey, and Klinsky, 17 years into helming his own private equity firm, has created Freshman Year for Free.

The program helps students overcome the prohibitively high cost of college by offering free online courses leading to College Board exams and real credits. It’s run by a philanthropy he set up, Modern States Education Alliance. And he has promised to pay the first 10,000 exam fees.