(AP) Jon Corzine was on a family skiing vacation when his world turned upside down.

The year was 1999. Corzine, the CEO who took investment banker Goldman Sachs public, was ousted in a power play by executives unhappy with the direction of the company.

Humiliated, jobless and wondering what to do next, he took the $300 million he made in Goldman Sachs' initial public offering and went home to ponder his future. Then U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg announced his retirement, and Corzine knew it would be politics.

Spending $63 million of his own money, he waged an ultra-liberal campaign and won. Two years later, he was named head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where he raised his own profile helping raise $85 million for Senate candidates.

Opportunity came knocking again last year, when then-Gov. James E. McGreevey announced he had had an extramarital affair with a man and would resign.

Corzine, who beat out Republican Doug Forrester for the job, believes he can do more for New Jersey as governor than as a minority senator.

"I started on the ground floor of a great American business, worked my way to the top," Corzine said. "I've truly lived the American dream _ and now I want to work to make certain everyone in New Jersey has the same shot at that dream I've had."

Sen. Hillary Clinton, who stumped for him, says Corzine has two qualities that make him ideal for public service: "He has a great mind, big heart."

Both were tested during the campaign.

Corzine, 58, held a double-digit lead over Forrester through most of the summer, but a series of small controversies eroded it.

First, newspaper reports revealed Corzine had loaned former girlfriend Carla Katz _ a powerful union boss _ $470,000. He forgave the debt, and the union endorsed him. Corzine also gave millions of dollars to black churches and was later endorsed by more than two dozen black ministers. They denied any quid-pro-quo.

Then, last week, Corzine's ex-wife, Joanne, came out against him, saying politics ruined their 33-year marriage and warning that Corzine would probably let New Jersey down like he let his family down. She said her husband's affair with Katz started before their 2003 divorce.

Corzine grew up the son of an insurance salesman and a teacher in tiny Willey's Station, Ill. He is a self-made man, described by colleagues as a workaholic who engenders loyalty without being domineering.

"There's a little bit of chutzpah in there, and a whole lot of ambition," said former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle.

Corzine, as governor, has power to choose a successor to fill his unexpired Senate term. The seat will be up for election in a year, but Corzine's appointee will likely have a big advantage in that election.