Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon obtained the birthday current of a lifetime on Friday because the financial institution introduced he had raked in a wallet-busting $39 million paycheck final yr.
Solomon, who turned 63 Friday, obtained a 26% hike from what he picked up in 2023 — pocketing a $2 million base wage, and an $8.3 million money bonus, with the remainder paid in inventory choices.
He may also earn an $80 million retention bonus if he stays with the financial institution for an additional 5 years, Goldman mentioned in a regulatory submitting.
It’s unclear how he shall be celebrating the 2 milestones, however Solomon shall be heading to Washington, D.C. this weekend for a string of occasions forward of Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
The Wall Road large made the disclosure two days after it posted surging full-year earnings pushed by a revival in M&A exercise and rising optimism in regards to the incoming administration’s financial insurance policies.
The retention bonus means Solomon will tighten his grip on the financial institution as he appears to be like to remain within the high job till the top of the last decade.
His would-be successor, president and chief working officer John Waldron, 55, may also pocket the identical sum if he stays with Goldman till 2030.
Waldron has been in his place since 2018 and is extensively seen as Solomon’s closest confidant, having beforehand served because the co-head of funding banking at 200 West Road.
The choice, signed off by the monetary large’s compensation committee, comes after Waldron briefly held talks about becoming a member of Marc Rowan’s Apollo World Administration, in accordance with a report final month by the Wall Road Journal.
The transfer by the board is being seen as a bid to maintain Waldron with the financial institution that he joined in 2000. The announcement comes 24 hours after Goldman’s rank-and-file had been knowledgeable of the scale of their 2024 bonuses.
The scale of every particular person bonus has not been disclosed.
“The firm is delivering strong performance and the board is determined to maintain our momentum, ensure stability, and keep in place a solid succession plan,” mentioned Goldman Sachs spokesperson Tony Fratto.
However in a word to shoppers, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo acknowledged that the pair had presided over “strong growth in revenue (and) earnings” however warned the agency that the bumper payouts “could be alienating to other high-level execs or employees.”
“We still question these awards, and the assumed benefit to shareholders (low, in our view),” the word mentioned.
Goldman’s inventory worth has shot up by almost 50% over the previous yr and is up by 174% since Solomon took over from his long-serving predecessor Lloyd Blankfein in 2018.
Shares had been up 1.7% in Friday morning buying and selling, at $624.43.
Over the previous two years, Solomon has refocused the financial institution’s efforts on its conventional funding banking actions after racking up billions of {dollars} in losses on its shopper banking arm, Marcus.
His reign has additionally been dogged by unfavorable headlines about his DJing facet hustle, the place he appeared below his home music moniker D-Sol, and his frequent use of company plane.
However the newest monetary outcomes seem to have soothed issues with buyers, with Solomon eyeing one other 5 years on the helm of the American monetary titan.
“I’ve got a great job and I’ll be the CEO as long as the board wants me to be,” he mentioned at a Reuters convention in New York final month.
