Lloyd Blankfein retires as Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon to take over

Goldman Sachs has announced that Lloyd Blankfein, the firm's chief executive officer and chairman for the last 12 years, will retire later this year.

Blankfein, 63, will be replaced by David Solomon, a long-time Goldman executive who has long been seen as Blankfein's chosen successor to lead the storied Wall Street investment bank.

Goldman also said its second-quarter profit jumped 44 percent from a year ago. The performance was largely driven by the investment bank's core franchises: advising companies on mergers, acquisitions and other deals, and its trading business.

Blankfein took over Goldman Sachs at the height of the housing bubble and on the eve of the Great Recession and financial crisis. Goldman was just as exposed to toxic assets as its competition was, and in the darkest days of the crisis, it was thought Goldman Sachs may not survive.

Blankfein was able to navigate Goldman back through the crisis. Meanwhile, his competition — Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch — were either bought in distressed sales or, in the case of Lehman, went bankrupt.

"Our firm has demonstrated great resiliency and strength over the last 12 years," Blankfein said in a statement.

Solomon, Blankfein's chosen successor, has been with Goldman Sachs since 1999. Solomon held the title of co-chief operating officer along with Gary Cohn, who took a job as President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser before leaving the administration earlier this year. The 56-year-old Solomon is sometimes better known by his nightlife gig as a DJ at major clubs around the world as DJ D-Sol.