Goldsmith started his career as an attorney at
Irell & Manella. Later, he co-founded his own law firm, Sanders, Barnet & Goldsmith, which tackled entertainment litigations. From 1983 to 1985, Goldsmith served as the chief operating officer of
Lorimar Television, a film production company. From 1986 to 1994, he served as chairman and CEO of
Republic Pictures, a formerly publicly traded company. Moreover, from 1990 to 1994, he served as vice chairman of the
San Diego Padres, a baseball sports team. Goldsmith has served on the board of directors of City National Bank since 1978. He has served as the chairman and
CEO of City National Bank since October 1995. From 2008 to 2011, he served on the Federal Advisory Council of the
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; during that period of time, he also served as its vice president for two years. He is also chair of the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America. Goldsmith serves on the board of trustees of the
Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, the
Bay Area Council and the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles as well as on the board of governors of the
Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School. Additionally, he is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations, the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth and the Civic Alliance. He also serves on the board of directors of
Wynn Las Vegas and the
Financial Services Roundtable. ==Political activity==