Other
David Solomon’s Remarks at the 2026 FDNY Foundation Dinner
- The speaker, CEO of Goldman Sachs, accepted an award from the FDNY Foundation at the organization's training academy, "The Rock," while simultaneously marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- The speaker described being elevated 95 feet in the air in a bucket as an unprecedented experience during the event.
- On September 11, 2001, the speaker walked through Ground Zero observing firefighters entering the towers while thousands of others fled, noting that running toward danger contradicts normal human instinct.
- 343 FDNY firefighters died entering the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, comprising part of a total of 412 first responders (including police and paramedics) who died that day.
- Significant additional fatalities have occurred in the years following 9/11 due to illnesses caused by the toxic environment at Ground Zero.
- The speaker characterized 9/11 as an attack on the American way of life intended to destroy societal unity, which instead resulted in an unprecedented gathering of New Yorkers helping strangers.
- The speaker visited Engine 10 and Ladder 10 last month at the historic tent house on Liberty Street, adjacent to Goldman Sachs headquarters, to observe the department's camaraderie and dedication.
- The FDNY operates as a force of approximately 17,000 firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs responding to millions of emergencies annually across the five boroughs.
- Goldman Sachs, having been headquartered in New York since 1869, was the first major U.S. company to announce the construction of a new headquarters in Lower Manhattan directly across from the World Trade Center site following 9/11.
- The speaker emphasized that FDNY support extends beyond physical equipment and training to include resources for the next generation of first responders to sustain their philosophical mission.
- The speaker framed the firefighter's role as a philosophy of citizenship that prioritizes "who needs me" over "what's in it for me," arguing this obligation to strangers is foundational to a civilized society.
- The acceptance speech concluded by thanking the FDNY for embodying the principle that every individual's life has value and that society must show up for one another in moments of danger.