James Wolfensohn - Early Life

Early Life

James Wolfensohn was born in Sydney, Australia, on 1 December 1933. In his autobiography, A Global Life, he described that monetary insecurity was a fact of life from childhood and that he was always looking for a cushion to protect himself from it.

He was first educated at Woollahra Public School, then educated at Sydney Boys High School. He studied arts (BA) and law (LL.B) at the University of Sydney, and in 1959 earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Harvard Business School. In his 2010 memoirs he reveals he failed several university classes, including English, and was a 'late developer'. He was a member of the Australian fencing team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.

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