Ex-Goldman Bankers Make a Fortune With Controversial Bet on Coal
A commodities newcomer is using deep connections with US miners to compete with industry giants — and make its founders very, very rich.
Bulk carrier Nordic Nuluujaak, pictured here in 2021, carried metallurgical coal from the US to the Netherlands for Javelin in Dec. 2022, according to Riverside Shipping data.
Photographer: Anmar Aal-ajmaya/MarineTraffic
Shortly before Goldman Sachs Group Inc. officially sold off the last of its coal assets, two of its top commodities traders left the bank to strike out on their own.
It seemed a bit retrograde. Global priorities were shifting toward cleaner sources of energy. Investors, activists and regulators were starting to paint financial institutions as enablers of carbon pollution and encouraging them to rethink their coal industry ties.