John LeFevre
John LeFevre | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980 |
| Occupation(s) | Former investment banker, bond syndicate executive, author |
| Years active | 2001–2012 (banking) |
| Known for | Creating the anonymous Twitter persona Goldman Sachs Elevator (@GSElevator) |
| Notable work | Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery and Billion Dollar Deals |
John LeFevre (born 1980) is a former investment banker and bond syndicate executive who worked at Salomon Brothers and Citigroup. He gained widespread recognition for creating the anonymous Twitter persona Goldman Sachs Elevator (@GSElevator), which humorously critiqued banking industry behaviors and amassed a large following along with substantial media coverage. Both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup conducted internal probes to uncover the identity behind the tweets. Subsequently, Gawker reported that LeFevre may have copied tweets from John Munson, a self-described 'Gadabout.'
Life
LeFevre completed his education at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut before attending Babson College in Massachusetts. Beginning in 2001, he worked at Salomon Brothers across offices in New York, London, and Hong Kong. The Asset magazine recognized him as "one of the most prolific syndicate managers in Asia." Later, he joined Amias Berman & Co., a capital markets and private equity firm established by ex-Citi bankers. In 2010, he was hired by Goldman Sachs to head its Asian bond syndicate desk; however, a non-compete clause prevented him from assuming this position. He exited the banking sector in 2012 to author his memoir, which was released in 2015 as a New York Times Bestseller and subsequently optioned by Paramount, with Zac Efron attached to play the lead role.
GSElevator
In August 2011, LeFevre created the @GSElevator Twitter account inspired by @CondeElevator, which posted overheard remarks from publisher Condé Nast. His intention was "to shed light on Wall Street culture through both humor and insight." The account quickly attracted attention; within a short period, LeFevre granted an anonymous interview to Kevin Roose at The New York Times. By 2014, @GSElevator had surpassed 600,000 followers.
Under the pseudonym Goldman Sachs Elevator, LeFevre also penned articles and banking tutorials for Business Insider.
Straight to Hell
LeFevre proposed a book in 2014 drawing from his banking experiences, published under a pseudonym as Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery and Billion Dollar Deals. Barron's described it as "a classic of the genre."