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                  [Letterhead of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP]

                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1
 
                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
 
 
We hereby consent to the use in the Prospectus constituting part of this
Registration Statement on Form S-1 of our report dated August 3, 1998, relating
to the financial statements and selected historical income statement and balance
sheet data (excluding adjusted assets) of The Goldman Sachs Group, L.P. and
Subsidiaries, which appears in such Prospectus. We also consent to the
application of such report to the Financial Statement Schedules for the
six-month fiscal period ended May 29, 1998 and the three fiscal years in the
period ended November 28, 1997 listed under Item 16(b) of this Registration
Statement when such schedules are read in conjunction with the financial
statements referred to in our report. The audits referred to in such report also
included these schedules. We also consent to the references to us under the
headings "Experts", "Summary Consolidated Financial Data", and "Selected
Consolidated Financial Data" in such Prospectus.
 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

New York, New York
August 24, 1998.