Goldman Sachs president clashes with Martha’s Vineyard officials in

Goldman Sachs president clashes with Martha’s Vineyard officials in

The president of Goldman Sachs has roused the ire of local officials on Martha’s Vineyard after he allegedly flouted a city order and chopped down 19 bushes that had been blocking views at his lavish waterfront trip house, The Post has discovered.

John Waldron — the Wall Street large’s No. 2 government who’s seen as the seemingly successor to CEO David Solomon — sparked a fracas last spring when the alleged violation was found on their sprawling four-acre property close to Katama Bay, the quaint maritime enclave the place Steven Spielberg filmed his 1975 blockbuster “Jaws.”

The 56-year-old Waldron and his spouse, Amanda, purchased the vacant Edgartown lot in 2020 for over $11 million. They constructed a four-bedroom summer season house two years afterward the Massachusetts island getaway for the East Coast elite; the unfold is now valued at more than $30 million.

Waldron purchased the plot of land in Edgartown, MA, in 2020, before he and his spouse constructed their dream summer season getaway home two years later. Getty Images for Semafor

But last spring, local officials found that the deep-pocketed funding banker had apparently chopped down 19 cedars and pitch pines — some of them 60 years outdated and as a lot as 60 toes high — that had been blocking the mansion’s water view, according to filings lodged with the Edgartown conservation fee.

That was after the city in 2022 had accepted building plans permitting 11 bushes to be lower down, however explicitly barred the elimination of those 19 cedars and pines, sources said.

“On a recent site inspection, April 9, 2025, it came to the attention of this office that almost every tree that was to remain unaltered between the dwelling and the water has been removed,” Edgartown conservation officer Kara Shemeth wrote in an August cease-and-desist letter to Waldron obtained by The Post.

Edgartown officials allege Waldron’s unlawful landscaping occurred in a protected wetlands zone, doubtlessly harming local wildlife and setting a harmful precedent.

“This is in violation of the permit granted and the plans on file,” she added, demanding a proof by way of his lawyer and citing breaches of the Wetlands Act and local bylaws.

Edgartown on the island of Martha’s Vineyard has lengthy been a summer season hangout for the East Coast’s wealthy and well-known. Katama Bay was utilized by Steven Spielberg as a location for his 1975 blockbuster ‘Jaws’. demerzel21 – inventory.adobe.com

Peter Welsh, the Goldmanite’s private lawyer, told The Post: “Mr. Waldron shares the Commission’s commitment to conservation and is taking the appropriate steps with a consultant to support the health of the wetlands.”

Filings present that Waldron’s architect, John Kett, had tried in useless to persuade the authorities at a gathering on Sept 14, 2022, that the house owners had been “sun people” who “wanted to ensure that the property got ample sunlight.”

Shemeth, the Edgartown conservation official, ordered Waldron to submit a “restoration” plan within 30 days of her Aug. 14 letter that would set out how he deliberate to mitigate the alleged wetlands harm.

Pictures obtained by The Post present a latest inspection that was carried out at the Waldron property by Egdartown environmental officials.

Waldron was hit with one month’s price of $300-a-day fines — an estimated $9,000. The penalties are so uncommon on Martha’s Vineyard that officials said they needed to “search for a finebook” to determine the right way to issue the levies against Goldman’s inheritor obvious, sources told The Post.

The banking bigwig’s authorized team satisfied authorities to pause the fines round November, with sources current claiming they’d hinted Waldron would donate a princely sum to assist with the repairs of the wetlands.

However, the plans had been only submitted by Waldron in mid-December, and so they cease wanting changing the bushes.

Renderings drawn up by John Waldron’s architect present the luxurious, four-bedroom waterside mansion.

Plans drawn up by Waldron’s architect recommended eradicating the bushes, however they had been rejected by local conservation officials.

Instead, he proposes “planting native shrubs” and claims that they’re “much more likely to benefit” uncommon local bugs and moths in the wetlands — while also not obstructing his views.

“We are not trying to ignore the board,” Robert McCarron, a local lawyer who also represents Waldron, told city officials at the listening to. “The short answer, not to rub salt in the wounds, but the plans we are proposing are not huge trees.”

At a tense Dec. 17 listening to attended by The Post on-line, Bob Avakian, a longtime conservation commissioner, ripped the Waldrons’ actions as “mindblowing”, urging that the bushes get replaced.

“They violated the order of conditions,” he fumed to the Goldmanite’s Edgartown lawyer. “If you had come to us with a plan that says we want to take all these trees down, we would have probably said no.”

Waldron is widely tipped to take over from current CEO David Solomon, 64, when he steps down from the top job at 200 West Street. REUTERS

“It’s a precedent that would be like any homeowner who owns land on the water can say, ‘Hey, I am going to come in and cut all these trees down,” Avakian added. “Why are we here? Why do we have these regulations?”

“The enforcement order requires restoring the area to what it was, which includes cedars and pines,” added another Edgartown insider. “The proposal that they’ve sent in doesn’t include any of that.”

While a lawsuit stays “months away” and only if tensions escalate, sources near the matter told The Post, the purpose is to resolve the row out of courtroom.

Experts also discovered proof of unspecified “archaeological features” on-site, requiring session with the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah (Gay Head) before the top cash man proceeds with any additional ground-disturbing work.

Former President Barack Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama also have a luxurious mansion on Martha’s Vineyard.

The tribe, with roots on Martha’s Vineyard spanning over 12,000 years and federal recognition since 1987, must be notified and invited to look at before the Wall Street hotshot presses ahead with potential adjustments.

“Prior to undertaking any planting activities, notice will be provided to a member of the Wampanoag Tribe, Aquinnah, with an invitation to be present during any planting or other activities which will disturb the ground below the surface soil layer,” the report states.

The Wampanoag Tribal Council didn’t reply to The Post’s request for remark.

Waldron spends most of his time at his plush Central Park residence, which has been dubbed The Tower of Power owing to the variety of wealthy and well-known residents who live there. Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama personal a 29-acre property bought for almost $12 million in 2019, about two miles away in the historic city of 5,000 people, which was first settled by British colonists in 1642.

Waldron earned $38 million in 2024, according to his employer’s latest proxy submitting. Waldron also signed a five-year, $80 million “golden handcuffs” deal last 12 months in a bid by the board to maintain him with the agency.

His 2025 wage stays undisclosed.

His New York City residence is 15 Central Park West, the place neighbors have included ex-Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Sting, and former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.

He is hotly tipped to succeed 64-year-old CEO David Solomon, and a number of Goldmanites told The Post that he’s widely admired by the agency’s rank-and-file.

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