Mitt Romney, man of considerable wealth, has Goldman Sachs to thank for at least some of his fortune.
In his 2010 and preliminary 2011 tax returns, made available for public viewing on Tuesday, Romney's relationship with the Wall Street firm comes to life -- one in which a future Republican presidential candidate benefited from preferential treatment during the iconic investment bank's initial public offering in 1999.
(Read More about the Mitt Romney-Goldman Sachs connection at The Caucus)
As noted by The New York Times, Romney experienced a seven-digit windfall in 2010 thanks to his connection with Goldman Sachs, which handled many of the candidate's assets in return for some $48,582 in management fees.
Romney's bonanza came about as a result of a 2010 sale of 7,000 stock shares from Goldman Sachs's initial public offering, which happened in 1999. At the time, Goldman's public launch raised some eyebrows for how carefully the company steered the allocation of its own stock.
The fact that Romney was even given the opportunity to have shares in the company when it went public makes him part of a rather exclusive club, as shares went to a handpicked group of customers, employees, and partners. Romney acquired 7,000 shares, which went into a blind trust managed by Goldman itself -- eventually netting $1,130,123.87.
That sale wasn't the only time that Romney realized financial benefits as a result of his connection with Goldman Sachs. The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign contributions from the employees, owners and political action committees of various organizations, lists Goldman Sachs as the top donor to Romney's campaign in this election.
Romney's relationship with Goldman Sachs could raise questions about his ability to police the financial sector in the wake of the financial crisis. Still, he's not alone in getting criticized. The cozy relationship between Wall Street and Washington has come under fire thanks in part to the Occupy movement.