Close Ties to Goldman Enrich Romney's Public and Private Lives.

When Bain Capital sought to raise money in 1989 for a fast-growing office-supply company named Staples, Mitt Romney, Bain's founder, called upon a trusted business partner: Goldman Sachs, whose bankers led the company's initial public offering. When Mr. Romney became governor of Massachusetts, his blind trust gave Goldman much of his wealth to manage, a fortune now estimated to be as much as $250 million. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]