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Four of Goldman Sachs’ top executives collectively received $126.5mn for their work in 2024, a 30 per cent pay raise from a year earlier and a far larger increase than the bank’s overall workforce.
In its proxy filing released on Friday, Goldman disclosed that its president John Waldron earned $38mn for 2024, finance chief Denis Coleman received $27mn and general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler’s pay was $22.5mn. Goldman in January had already said that last year’s pay for chief executive David Solomon was $39mn.
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. A Goldman spokesperson 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” and that it “recognised that the firm delivered strong results in 2024, as senior management took steps to further execute on strategy and focus on our core franchises”.
The $126.5mn total for the four executives is up from $97mn in 2023. Part of the increase comes from Goldman introducing a new so-called carried interest programme for its top executives, which is linked to the performance of the bank’s asset management funds. Shares granted in the form of performance stock awards were also higher than a year ago.
Goldman wrote in its proxy filing that its remuneration programme “reflects our pay-for-performance culture” and also “promotes retention”. They said factors in the decision to increase pay included the bank’s stock price increasing by almost 50 per cent last year and higher dividends for shareholders.
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.
In recent years, Goldman’s management team has talked about an intense war for talent from other investment banks, as well as hedge funds and asset managers.
“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,” Solomon told an industry conference last month.
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