The jig is up. Yesterday the man behind infamous Twitter handle @GSElevator, which has garnered a cult following of more than 600,000 followers, was unmasked. That man is John Lefevre, a 34-year-old former bond executive who lives in Texas.
Mr. Lefevre created @GSElevator in Fall of 2011, at the time when the Occupy Wall Street movement was in full swing. The Twitter handle tweets uncensored comments, supposedly overheard from investment bankers in Goldman Sachs’ elevators. The tweets, often laced with insider references to publicised deals, appeal to both Wall Street bankers and outsiders who mock the industry.
For years Goldman Sachs had been trying to identify the employee behind the account. As it turns out, he never even worked there! According to Dealbook, Mr. Lefevre was offered a job as head of debt syndicate in Asia at Goldman’s Hong Kong office in August 2010. However, due to a noncompete agreement with his previous employer, the offer was revoked.
Mr. Lefevre was inspired to start the Twitter account after seeing the handle @CondeElevator, which documented the goings-on in the elevators of media company Condé Nast. In Mr. Lefevre’s own words, “I thought, ‘This is ridiculous that people are infatuated with Condé Nast. If they only saw the elitist, sexist and out-of-touch things bankers say.’ People had no idea what it is really like.”
Mr. Lefevre insists that many of the exchanges he tweeted under @GSElevator were true, collected over many years, some of which came from Goldman Sachs employees he hung out with when he first received his job offer.
“Early on, I tweeted more about specific people or deals, inside jokes/commentary, and even a few ad hominem attacks. That gave me a certain validation and credibility. But over time, the tweets have been increasingly styled to have a bit more commercial appeal,” said Mr. Lefevre.
It’s unclear where the Twitter handle will go from here now that Mr. Lefevre has been unmasked. We for one hope it stays the same!
Here’s a collection of our favourite tweets from @GSElevator:
#1: On Valentine’s Day, I send my wife flowers with a card that says ‘Congratulations’.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) February 7, 2014
#1: If I only wanted one drink, I’d go for communion.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) September 10, 2013
#1: It’s too bad stupidity isn’t painful.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) September 3, 2013
#1: You’re not on Facebook? All your high school friends probably assume you’re dead. #2: Nah. I’m sure they’ve Googled me.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) August 18, 2013
#1: Most people wouldn’t even be the main character in a movie about their own lives.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) August 19, 2013
#1: I’m saving all my Black Amex points to go to space.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) August 11, 2013
#1: If judging people on first impressions were an Olympic sport, they’d suspect me of using steroids.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) August 9, 2013
#1: I already know I’m going to Hell. So, at this point, it’s go big or go home.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) June 16, 2013
#1: I spent $2,000 on a suit I don’t need, just to impress a sales chick I don’t find attractive.
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) August 7, 2013
#1: If higher taxes on cigarettes are meant to decrease smoking, what are higher taxes on business supposed to do?
— GS Elevator Gossip (@GSElevator) May 21, 2013
