[4][5] After graduation, he served in the United States Army Air Corps for three and a half years, spending eighteen months in Burma.

[6] Goldsmith was elected to the board of directors of City National Bank in 1964, when Alfred S. Hart was chairman and Benjamin N. Maltz (1901–1993), president.

[4][6][10] He was sometimes referred to as the "banker to the stars," as the bank's clients under his included celebrities such as; Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Cher.

[3][8][9] In 1984, he was the highest paid banker in the United States with US$3.1 million, more than the salaries of the CEOs of Bank of America, Citibank and Chase Manhattan combined.

[3][9] Goldsmith served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 1981 to 1987.

[4] Additionally, he served as the Founding Chairman of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, until February 2013.

[9] Their youngest son, Russell Goldsmith, serves as chairman and chief executive officer of City National Bank.