Who is Henry Paulson from Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the FinancialSystem--and Themselves and what is their importance?

Henry Paulson was the United States Secretary of the Treasury at the time of the 2008 financial crisis. Paulson came to the job at the request of President George W. Bush, after rising to become the CEO of Goldman Sachs. He severed most of his ties with Goldman upon becoming Treasury Secretary to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest, but during the crisis he received a waiver to discuss financial matters related to Goldman when it became clear that he intended to put public money into the financial system. Paulson received criticism, as he appeared to favor his former colleagues at Goldman.