Other Assets (Details) (USD $)	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Other Assets (Textuals) [Abstract]
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	$ 8,060,000,000	$ 7,870,000,000
Property, leasehold improvements and equipment used for operation	6,610,000,000	6,440,000,000
Investments accounted for at fair value excluded from Equity-method investments	3,820,000,000	3,770,000,000
Assets held for sale	2,930,000,000
Impairment losses recognized on assets held for sale	220,000,000
Other Assets [Abstract]
Property, leasehold improvements and equipment	9,743,000,000	11,106,000,000
Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets	5,187,000,000	5,522,000,000
Income tax-related assets	4,917,000,000	6,239,000,000
Equity-method investments	1,140,000,000	1,445,000,000
Miscellaneous receivables and other	6,485,000,000	3,747,000,000
Total	$ 27,472,000,000	$ 28,059,000,000

This item represents investments where the firm has significant influence over the investee that are accounted for at fair value under the fair value option.

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Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets.

+ Details

Name:	gs_GoodwillAndIdentifiableIntangibleAssets
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Impairment Losses Recognized On Assets Held For Sale.

+ Details

Name:	gs_ImpairmentLossesRecognizedOnAssetsHeldForSale
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Income tax-related assets.

+ Details

Name:	gs_IncomeTaxRelatedAssets
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Other Assets Abstract.

+ Details

Name:	gs_OtherAssetsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The aggregate carrying amounts, as of the balance sheet date, of assets not separately disclosed in the balance sheet.

+ Details

Name:	gs_OtherAssetsBS
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The sum of the carrying amounts, as of the balance sheet date, of assets which have not been itemized or categorized in the footnotes to the financial statements and are a component of Other Assets (OtherAssets).

+ Details

Name:	gs_OtherAssetsMiscellaneous
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Other Assets Textuals.

+ Details

Name:	gs_OtherAssetsTextualsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Property, leasehold improvements and equipment used for operation.

+ Details

Name:	gs_PropertyLeaseholdImprovementsAndEquipmentUsedForOperation
Namespace Prefix:	gs
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The cumulative amount of depreciation, depletion and amortization (related to property, plant and equipment, but not including land) that has been recognized in the income statement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher AICPA
-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)
-Number 12
-Paragraph 5

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher AICPA
-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)
-Number 12
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph c

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 14
-Article 5

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccumulatedDepreciationDepletionAndAmortizationPropertyPlantAndEquipment
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This item represents the carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of an equity method investee. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of the investee, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment losses recognized.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The lower of the carrying value or fair value less cost to sell of assets held-for-sale, other than loans receivable.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 144
-Paragraph 34, 46

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherAssetsHeldForSale
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Tangible assets that are held by an entity for use in the production or supply of goods and services, for rental to others, or for administrative purposes and that are expected to provide economic benefit for more than one year; net of accumulated depreciation. Examples include land, buildings, and production equipment.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph a
-Article 5

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 12
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph b, c

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 03
-Paragraph 8
-Article 7

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant