Ex-Goldman Sachs Exec Sells Tell-All For $1.5 Million

By Matt Egan

Just weeks after gripping the financial world with a scathing op-ed piece about Goldman Sachs, Greg Smith has reportedly landed a seven-figure advance on a book deal.

According to the New York Post, the Hachette Book Group's Grand Central beat out rival publishers after a heated bidding war, agreeing to pay Smith a lofty $1.5 million advance to write a memoir of his experiences.

Offers to secure Smith's work topped $1 million by the middle of this week and on Wednesday the Penguin Group dropped out of the running, the paper reported.

Earlier this month Smith penned an op-ed that appeared in The New York Times, describing Goldman as "toxic and destructive" and criticizing it for not having the best interests of clients at heart.

Smith blamed the Wall Street firm's leadership and said he can "no longer in good conscience ... identify with what it stands for."

Goldman pushed back, disputing Smith's claims and portraying him as a relatively low-level employee who was suffering from sour grapes.

It's easy to see why the publishing world raced to secure the rights to Smith's story as Goldman is seen as public enemy No. 1 by many in the anti-Wall Street crowd.

The Smith Op-Ed made national headlines because it matched criticisms of Goldman and marked a very rare example of a former employee breaking ranks with the firm.

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