Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
                                           Registration Statement No. 333-112367

   Pricing Supplement to the Prospectus Supplement No. 371 dated February 6,
                                2004 -- No. 463
                              -------------------

(GOLDMAN SACHS LOGO)
                         THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.
                          Medium-Term Notes, Series B

                              -------------------

                                 $20,000,334.60

               4% Mandatory Exchangeable Notes due December 2005
     (Exchangeable for Common Stock of EchoStar Communications Corporation)

                              -------------------

     This pricing supplement and the accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371,
relating to the mandatory exchangeable notes, should be read together. Because
the mandatory exchangeable notes are part of a series of our debt securities
called Medium-Term Notes, Series B, this pricing supplement and the accompanying
prospectus supplement no. 371 should also be read with the accompanying
prospectus dated February 6, 2004, as supplemented by the accompanying
prospectus supplement dated February 6, 2004. Terms used here have the meanings
given them in the accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371, unless the context
requires otherwise.

     The mandatory exchangeable notes offered by this pricing supplement, which
we call the "offered notes" or the "notes", have the terms described in the
accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371, as supplemented or modified by the
following:

ISSUER:  The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

FACE AMOUNT:  each offered note will have a face amount equal to $33.57, which
    is the initial index stock price; the aggregate face amount for all the
    offered notes is $20,000,334.60

INITIAL INDEX STOCK PRICE:  $33.57

ORIGINAL ISSUE PRICE:  100% of the face amount

NET PROCEEDS TO THE ISSUER:  99.9% of the face amount

TRADE DATE:  December 21, 2004

SETTLEMENT DATE (ORIGINAL ISSUE DATE):  December 29, 2004

STATED MATURITY DATE:  December 30, 2005, unless extended for up to six business
    days

INTEREST RATE (COUPON):  4% per year

INTEREST PAYMENT DATES:  March 30, June 30, September 30, and December 30,
    beginning March 30, 2005 and terminating on the stated maturity date

REGULAR RECORD DATES:  for the interest payment dates specified above, five
    business days before the respective interest payment dates

INDEX STOCK AND INDEX STOCK ISSUER:  common stock of EchoStar Communications
    Corporation

CUSIP NO.:  38143Y855

     Your investment in the notes involves certain risks.  In particular,
assuming no changes in market conditions or any other relevant factors, the
value of your note on the date of this pricing supplement (as determined by
reference to pricing models used by Goldman, Sachs & Co.) is significantly less
than the original issue price. We encourage you to read "Additional Risk Factors
Specific to Your Note" beginning on page S-2 of this pricing supplement and on
page S-3 of the accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371 so that you may
better understand those risks. The offered notes are not principal-protected and
the payment amount is capped.

                              -------------------

     NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY OTHER REGULATORY
BODY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY
OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PRICING SUPPLEMENT. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A
CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

                              -------------------

     Goldman Sachs may use this pricing supplement in the initial sale of the
offered notes. In addition, Goldman, Sachs & Co. or any other affiliate of
Goldman Sachs may use this pricing supplement in a market-making transaction in
an offered note after its initial sale. UNLESS GOLDMAN SACHS OR ITS AGENT
INFORMS THE PURCHASER OTHERWISE IN THE CONFIRMATION OF SALE, THIS PRICING
SUPPLEMENT IS BEING USED IN A MARKET-MAKING TRANSACTION.

                              -------------------

                              GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.

                              -------------------

                  Pricing Supplement dated December 21, 2004.


PRINCIPAL AMOUNT:                    On the stated maturity date, each offered
                                     note will be exchanged for index stock at
                                     the exchange rate or, at the option of
                                     Goldman Sachs, for the cash value of that
                                     stock based on the final index stock price.

EXCHANGE RATE:                       If the final index stock price equals or
                                     exceeds the threshold appreciation price,
                                     then the exchange rate will equal the
                                     threshold fraction times one share of index
                                     stock for each $33.57 of the outstanding
                                     face amount. Otherwise, the exchange rate
                                     will equal one share of the index stock for
                                     each $33.57 of the outstanding face amount.
                                     The exchange rate is subject to
                                     anti-dilution adjustment as described in
                                     the accompanying prospectus supplement no.
                                     371.

                                     Please note that the amount you receive for
                                     each $33.57 of outstanding face amount on
                                     the stated maturity date will not exceed
                                     the threshold appreciation price and that
                                     it could be substantially less than $33.57.
                                     You could lose your entire investment in
                                     the offered notes.

INITIAL INDEX STOCK PRICE:           $33.57 per share.

FINAL INDEX STOCK PRICE:             The closing price of one share of the index
                                     stock on the determination date, subject to
                                     anti-dilution adjustment.

THRESHOLD APPRECIATION PRICE:        The initial index stock price times 1.20,
                                     which equals $40.284 per share.

THRESHOLD FRACTION:                  The threshold appreciation price divided by
                                     the final index stock price.

DETERMINATION DATE:                  The fifth business day prior to December
                                     30, 2005 unless extended for up to five
                                     business days.

NO LISTING:                          The offered notes will not be listed on any
                                     securities exchange or interdealer market
                                     quotation system.

ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS SPECIFIC
TO YOUR NOTE:                        ASSUMING NO CHANGES IN MARKET CONDITIONS OR
                                     ANY OTHER RELEVANT FACTORS, THE VALUE OF
                                     YOUR NOTE ON THE DATE OF THIS PRICING
                                     SUPPLEMENT (AS DETERMINED BY REFERENCE TO
                                     PRICING MODELS USED BY GOLDMAN, SACHS &
                                     CO.) IS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THE
                                     ORIGINAL ISSUE PRICE

                                     The value or quoted price of your note at
                                     any time will reflect many factors and
                                     cannot be predicted. If Goldman, Sachs &
                                     Co. makes a market in the offered notes,
                                     the price quoted by Goldman, Sachs & Co.
                                     would reflect any changes in market
                                     conditions and other relevant factors, and
                                     the quoted price could be higher or lower
                                     than the original issue price, and may be
                                     higher or lower than the value of your note
                                     as determined by reference to pricing
                                     models used by Goldman, Sachs & Co.

                                     If at any time a third party dealer quotes
                                     a price to purchase your note or otherwise
                                     values your note, that price may be
                                     significantly different (higher or lower)
                                     than any price quoted by Goldman, Sachs &
                                     Co. You should read "Additional Risk
                                     Factors Specific to Your Note -- The Market
                                     Price of Your Note May Be Influenced by
                                     Many Unpredictable Factors" in the
                                     accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371.

                                       S-2


                                     Furthermore, if you sell your note, you
                                     will likely be charged a commission for
                                     secondary market transactions, or the price
                                     will likely reflect a dealer discount.

                                     There is no assurance that Goldman, Sachs &
                                     Co. or any other party will be willing to
                                     purchase your note; and, in this regard,
                                     Goldman, Sachs & Co. is not obligated to
                                     make a market in the notes. See "Additional
                                     Risk Factors Specific to Your Note -- Your
                                     Note May Not Have an Active Trading Market"
                                     in the accompanying prospectus supplement
                                     no. 371.

ECHOSTAR COMMUNICATIONS
CORPORATION:                         According to its publicly available
                                     documents, EchoStar Communications
                                     Corporation is a provider of satellite
                                     delivered digital television entertainment
                                     services to customers across the United
                                     States. Information filed with the SEC by
                                     EchoStar Communications Corporation under
                                     the Exchange Act can be located by
                                     referencing its SEC file number: 000-26176.

HISTORICAL TRADING PRICE
INFORMATION:                         The index stock is traded on the Nasdaq
                                     National Market System under the symbol
                                     "DISH". The following table shows the
                                     quarterly high, low and closing bid prices
                                     for the index stock on the Nasdaq National
                                     Market System for the four calendar
                                     quarters in each of 2002 and 2003 and the
                                     four calendar quarters in 2004, through
                                     December 21, 2004. We obtained the trading
                                     price information set forth below from
                                     Bloomberg Financial Services, without
                                     independent verification.

<Table>
<Caption>
                                                                                 HIGH      LOW     CLOSE
                                                                                 ----      ---     -----
                                                                                          
                                                   2002
                                                   Quarter ended March 31......  29.45    22.34    28.32
                                                   Quarter ended June 30.......  29.35    16.99    18.56
                                                   Quarter ended September 30..  19.36    14.16    17.30
                                                   Quarter ended December 31...  23.09    16.89    22.26
                                                   2003
                                                   Quarter ended March 31......  30.40    23.28    28.88
                                                   Quarter ended June 30.......  36.28    27.62    34.62
                                                   Quarter ended September 30..  40.40    34.28    38.27
                                                   Quarter ended December 31...  40.53    30.34    34.00
                                                   2004
                                                   Quarter ended March 31......  39.26    32.43    32.75
                                                   Quarter ended June 30.......  34.72    29.54    30.75
                                                   Quarter ended September 30..  31.89    27.26    31.12
                                                   Quarter ending December 31
                                                     (through December 21,
                                                     2004).....................  34.27    30.02    33.68
                                                   Closing price on December
                                                     21, 2004..................                    33.68
</Table>

                                     As indicated above, the market price of the
                                     index stock has been highly volatile during
                                     recent periods. It is impossible to predict
                                     whether the price of the index stock will
                                     rise or fall, and you should not view the
                                     historical prices of the index stock as an
                                     indication of

                                       S-3


                                     future performance. See "Additional Risk
                                     Factors Specific to Your Note -- The Market
                                     Price of Your Note May Be Influenced by
                                     Many Unpredictable Factors" in the
                                     accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371.

HYPOTHETICAL PAYMENT AMOUNT:         The table below shows the hypothetical
                                     payment amounts that we would deliver on
                                     the stated maturity date in exchange for
                                     each $33.57 of the outstanding face amount
                                     of your note, if the final index stock
                                     price were any of the hypothetical prices
                                     shown in the left column. For this purpose,
                                     we have assumed that there will be no
                                     anti-dilution adjustments to the exchange
                                     rate and no market disruption events.

                                     The prices in the left column represent
                                     hypothetical closing prices for one share
                                     of index stock on the determination date
                                     and are expressed as percentages of the
                                     initial index stock price, which equals
                                     $33.57 per share. The amounts in the right
                                     column represent the hypothetical cash
                                     value of the index stock to be exchanged,
                                     based on the corresponding hypothetical
                                     final index stock prices, and are expressed
                                     as percentages of the initial index stock
                                     price. Thus, a hypothetical payment amount
                                     of 100% means that the cash value of the
                                     index stock that we would deliver in
                                     exchange for each $33.57 of the outstanding
                                     face amount of your note on the stated
                                     maturity date would equal 100% of the
                                     initial index stock price, or $33.57, based
                                     on the corresponding hypothetical final
                                     index stock price and the assumptions noted
                                     above.

<Table>
<Caption>
                                                   HYPOTHETICAL    HYPOTHETICAL
                                                    FINAL INDEX      PAYMENT
                                                    STOCK PRICE     AMOUNTS AS
                                                      AS % OF      % OF $33.57
                                                   INITIAL INDEX       FACE
                                                    STOCK PRICE       AMOUNT
                                                   -------------   ------------
                                                                
                                                        175%            120%
                                                        150%            120%
                                                        125%            120%
                                                        120%            120%
                                                        110%            110%
                                                        100%            100%
                                                         75%             75%
                                                         50%             50%
                                                          0%              0%
</Table>

                                     The payment amounts shown above are
                                     entirely hypothetical; they are based on
                                     market prices for the index stock that may
                                     not be achieved on the determination date
                                     and on assumptions that may prove to be
                                     erroneous. The actual market value of your
                                     note on the stated maturity date or at any
                                     other time, including any time you may wish
                                     to sell your note, may bear little relation
                                     to the hypothetical payment amounts shown
                                     above, and those amounts should not be

                                       S-4


                                     viewed as an indication of the financial
                                     return on an investment in the offered
                                     notes or on an investment in the index
                                     stock. Please read "Additional Risk Factors
                                     Specific to Your Note" and "Hypothetical
                                     Payment Amounts on Your Note" in the
                                     accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371.

                                     Payments on your note are economically
                                     equivalent to the amounts that would be
                                     paid on a combination of other instruments.
                                     For example, payments on your note are
                                     economically equivalent to the amounts that
                                     would be paid on a combination of an
                                     interest-bearing bond bought, and an option
                                     sold, by the holder (with an implicit
                                     option premium paid over time to the
                                     holder). The discussion in this paragraph
                                     does not modify or affect the terms of the
                                     offered notes or the United States income
                                     tax treatment of the offered notes as
                                     described under "Supplemental Discussion of
                                     Federal Income Tax Consequences" in the
                                     accompanying prospectus supplement no. 371.

HEDGING:                             In anticipation of the sale of the offered
                                     notes, we and/or our affiliates have
                                     entered into hedging transactions involving
                                     purchases of the index stock on the trade
                                     date. For a description of how our hedging
                                     and other trading activities may affect the
                                     value of your note, see "Additional Risk
                                     Factors Specific to Your Note -- Our
                                     Business Activities May Create Conflicts of
                                     Interest Between You and Us" and "Use of
                                     Proceeds and Hedging" in the accompanying
                                     prospectus supplement no. 371.

                                       S-5