Goldman CEO Spins in Montauk, Biden Raises Money and Milken Gabs

(Bloomberg) -- Who had more fun in the Hamptons ahead of Labor Day weekend?

Citigroup’s Ray McGuire spoke about philanthropy and finance at what he called the “Davos of the Hamptons,” a series of panels convened by the Milken Institute.

Eric Mindich spent some time with Joe Biden at a campaign fundraiser in Water Mill. Of President Trump’s G-7 trip, Biden said, “He’s overseas and over skis -- way over.”

David Solomon spun at the Fire Pit at Gurney’s.

While deejaying, being a thought leader and meeting the Democratic front-runner all have their merits, it’s probably safe to say Solomon had the most fun by conventional definitions: He was literally surrounded by fire, steps from the ocean, choosing the music.

And in his particular spot, he had the most power -- in charge of creating a vibe Saturday night for a critical 90 minutes of partying, as the clock struck midnight. He pulled it off, too.

Before he arrived in the DJ booth, the crowd was gabbing around the giant fire pit, checking one another out, as millennials and those aspiring to date them do. Once Solomon was at the turntables, dozens of people flocked in front of the booth and started dancing, heeding the advice of one sample, “Follow Me.” They sang along to “Twist and Shout” and “Girls Like You.”

These junior people in finance know Solomon is the chief executive of Goldman Sachs. They’ve seen him spin in Brooklyn. They asked to take photos with him. And they wanted to know where to buy the D-Sol baseball caps that a group of Solomon’s friends had shown up in. (Not only are they not for sale, the guy who had them made only ordered 144.)

SexyBack, Heaven

Some of the lyrics that Solomon spun into the night air: “I feel you in my bones;” “got to be real” (thank you Cheryl Lynn); “ain’t no mountain high” (omitting “enough” -- because in the Hamptons, there is never enough?); and “Baby we can do it, take the time, do it right.”

Watching Solomon mouth “whoop whoop” was an unforgettable moment. He sampled Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack.” He played his remix of Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” and “Feel Alive” featuring Katt Rockell. And there was a smidge of “Heaven” by Bryan Adams, who had played in person in Water Mill earlier in the evening at a gala for the Prostate Cancer Foundation hosted by Michael Milken.

There, Milken said he’d flown in early Wednesday to visit with David Koch before he died. “David and I have teamed up on many things over 25 years, and I brought pictures to show his children,” Milken said. “He was soft-spoken, he had a great laugh. He was self-deprecating. And if you want to talk about New York, you go to the Metropolitan Museum, it’s David Koch, you want to go to Memorial Sloan Kettering, it’s David Koch.”

On Wednesday night, Milken was at Leon Black’s house in Southampton meeting with rising leaders. Thursday brought a session on criminal justice, Saturday one on job creation. But the focus of the gala was medical research.

“Medical research is bipartisan,” Milken said, recalling the support of various Republican and Democratic administrations. “It’s also bipartisan between China and the United States.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson

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