Goldman Sachs pay surges 30% for handful of top executives

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Goldman Sachs collectively awarded four of its top executives a 30 per cent pay raise for their work in 2024, far greater than the bank’s overall workforce, and gave its president John Waldron expanded personal use of the company’s private plane.

In its proxy filing released on Friday, Goldman disclosed Waldron earned $38mn for 2024, finance chief Denis Coleman received $27mn and general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler’s pay was $22.5mn. The Wall Street bank in January said last year’s pay for chief executive David Solomon was $39mn.

The $126.5mn total for the four executives is up 30 per cent from $97mn in 2023. Overall across Goldman, its 46,500 employees were paid $16.7bn in pay and benefits for 2024, up 8 per cent from a year earlier.

Goldman referred to the proxy statement that said the bank’s “[compensation] committee considered the firm’s financial performance, both on an absolute basis and relative to peer results”.

Part of the increase comes from the bank introducing a new so-called carried interest programme for its top executives, which is linked to the performance of the group’s asset management funds. Shares granted in the form of performance stock awards were also higher than a year ago.

Goldman also disclosed its board now expected Waldron to use the bank’s private jet for personal travel. Previously, this was limited to Solomon. The company said this was for security reasons and to maximise the efficiency of their time.

It is the latest perk Goldman has given Waldron this year, following an $80mn retention bonus and a coveted seat on the bank’s board of directors.

Goldman bought two private planes in 2019 under the direction of Solomon, a move which broke with a long-standing policy to rent private aircraft from NetJets.

Other senior executives “who have time-sharing agreements with us may use our corporate aircraft for personal use in limited circumstances”, Goldman said. The bank said its policy is to require reimbursement of “the aggregate incremental costs” associated with any personal use.

Goldman’s profits in 2024 rose 71 per cent to $13.5bn, boosted by higher investment banking fees and fewer losses caused by its pullback from an ill-fated expansion into retail banking. The bank’s share price rose almost 50 per cent last year.

In recent years, the group’s management team has talked about an intense war for talent from other investment banks, as well as hedge funds and asset managers.

Solomon last month said: “It’s a competitive world and we’re going to ensure that for extraordinarily talented people that make a difference at Goldman Sachs, that they can have enormous opportunities that are just as attractive as lots of other things that they can go out and do.”