2008: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Paulson became Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush in July 2006, after working at Goldman Sachs ( as CEO. Paulson was seen as the key visionary behind a plan to use government funds to buy up troubled mortgages from the banks. He helped push the so-called Paulson Plan through Congress and also worked behind the scenes to help ) JPMorgan Chase ( and ) Bank of Americ (a take over weaker rivals. )
But the Paulson Plan was ultimately scrapped. Government funds were instead used to prop up most of the nation's banks through the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Now: chairman, Paulson Institute
Paulson founded his eponymous think tank in 2011. According to the non-profit's website, it is dedicated to promoting sustainable economic growth and environmental preservation in the US and China.
He's also been promoting a new release of his memoir about the financial crisis and has been publicly defending his work during that time.