Goldman was born in 1943 to a Jewish family, the daughter of Lillian (née Schuman) and Sol Goldman. He has three sisters: Jane Goldman, Diane Goldman Kemper, and Amy Goldman Fowler. His Father was the largest non-institutional real estate investor in New York City in the 1980s, owning a portfolio of nearly 1,900 commercial and residential properties. After his father's death, his three sisters engaged in litigation with their mother over his father's assets; their mother subsequently received 1/3rd of their father's estate. He and his sister, Jane Goldman, manage the remaining real estate assets via the firm Solil Management. His cousin, Lloyd Goldman, is also a notable real-estate investor in New York City.