Stephen Friedman '59 named Bush's chief economic adviser

By Linda Myers

Friedman

Cornell alumnus Stephen Friedman, A.B. '59, was named as President George W. Bush's chief economic adviser this past December. Replacing Lawrence Lindsey in the post, Friedman is expected to be more low-key than his predecessor but nevertheless to play a major role in shaping the chief executive's future economic strategy and policy.

The president proposed his $674 billion stimulus plan last week. In a Washington Post editorial Jan. 12, Friedman called it "the right plan at the right time." He praised its possibly most-controversial feature, the elimination of the corporate dividend tax, predicting that it would "help all Americans, not just stockholders" by leading to more dividend payouts, which would stimulate the economy.

A director of Goldman, Sachs & Co., Friedman retired in 1994 as chairman of the investment banking firm. The current chairman, Henry Paulson, said in a Dec. 13, 2002, New York Times story about Friedman's current appointment: "This job provides Steve with a tremendous opportunity by bringing his management skills and financial savvy to the White House. We lose a director but the country gains a great financial strategist."

Friedman joined Goldman Sachs in 1966 and became partner in 1973. He rose to vice chairman and co-chief operating officer in 1987 and to chairman in 1990. Most recently, he was a senior principal of Marsh & McLennan.

Stephen Friedman was the 157-pound Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling champion in 1959. Cornell Atheltics and Physical Education

As an undergraduate at Cornell, Friedman was a star wrestler. An Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling finalist for three consecutive seasons, he won the championship at 157 pounds in 1959. He also was the Amateur Athletic Union national champion at 160 pounds in 1961 and won the gold medal at the Maccabiah games in Israel that year. In 1984 he received a National Collegiate Athletic Association Silver Anniversary Award for outstanding athletic and career achievements and was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame that year.

The Times story related an oft-told tale of how Paulson, also a former wrestler as well as football player but unaware of Friedman's wrestling prowess, challenged him to a match during a Goldman Sachs executive retreat and was quickly defeated by him.

Friedman and his wife, Barbara Benioff Friedman, also Cornell Class of 1959, have been active and supportive alumni of the university, serving on the Cornell University Council and other key Cornell advisory groups. A long-time university trustee, Barbara Friedman currently serves as co-vice chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees. On campus, both the Friedman Strength and Conditioning Center and the Friedman Wrestling Center have been named in recognition of significant gifts the two have made during campaigns for those facilities.

The Friedmans, along with the families of other alumni who were wrestling achievers at Cornell, are expected to be on campus Jan. 26 for the dedication of the new wrestling center, a stand-alone facility that is the first of its kind on a U.S. campus.