I didn't leave Wall Street because the work was against my nature - I do have a pretty good head for numbers. I left because I had this love for writing.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I loved working on Wall Street. I loved the meritocracy of it and the camaraderie of the trading floor.
I was not a student of Wall Street, but I was a quick study.
I left Goldman Sachs. I was thinking about going to another Wall Street place. I didn't want to do that. That was crazy. After you work on Wall Street, it's a choice: would you rather work at McDonald's or on the sell side? I would choose McDonald's over the sell side.
I represented Wall Street, as a senator from New York, and I went to Wall Street in December of 2007 - before the big crash that we had - I basically said, 'Cut it out! Quit foreclosing on homes! Quit engaging in these kinds of speculative behaviors.'
I left because I could no longer make records that sounded less and less like me. I tried to please people instead of believing in my own strength, until the only thing I could do was walk away.
I'm not a Wall Street expert, but I can read the papers.
I'm not averse to helping Wall Street when it helps Main Street.
Although we work through financial markets, our goal is to help Main Street, not Wall Street.
I've never been on Wall Street. And I care about Wall Street for one reason and one reason only because what happens on Wall Street matters to Main Street.
I wouldn't in any way say I distanced myself from Wall Street.