Goldman is viewed by many on Wall Street as a kind of supremely clever super-villain. The working assumption is that whatever is known about Goldman’s tactics and motives is just a fraction of a far more complex scheme. Even the knowledge that this may be nothing more than paranoia fueled by envy doesn’t stop people on Wall Street from taking the view.

“In the presence of Goldman Sachs, paranoia is another word for intelligence,” is how one private equity executive—whose firm frequently turned to Goldman for financing—once put it to me.

Goldman has not done much to downplay this view of the firm. Indeed, at times it seems to revel in it.

"We didn't have the word 'client' or 'customer' at the old J. Aron [the commodities trading firm Goldman acquired back in the 1980s]. We had counterparties - and that's because we didn't know how to spell the word 'adversary,'" Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein once said.

An initial public offering could be a bonanza for Goldman. Even if Facebook drives a hard bargain to keep down fees for a public offering, Goldman would probably collect at least 5 percent of the total amount sold at the IPO. On top of that, it stands to make 5 percent on any gains made by investors in its Facebook fund. Additionally, a publicly held Facebook would probably see tax advantages in debt financing and engage in more acquisitions—generating even more fees for Goldman.