Goldman’s Top Leaders Set to Score More Than $500 Million Bonus

Later this month, some of Goldman Sachs's most senior executives are set to unlock a special bonus that will rank among the largest such payouts the company has ever awarded. About 20 of the executives are in line for the equity-based awards, which will total more than $500 million at today's current share price. That half a billion dollar sum is the result of a 5-year stock price run in which Goldman bested most of its rivals. When shareholders questioned why only the two top executives were initially getting a shot at the top awards, the bank's board expanded the program to include more of the bank's management committee members to alleviate concerns. That move in 2022 broadened the group of recipients with about 20 of them still at the firm and in line to snag their payouts. Chief executive David Solomon is in line for the biggest cut, raking in more than $100 million of the bonus pool. Other winners include his heir apparent President John Waldron and the heads of some of the bank's key business lines including Mark Nackman, Ashoke Faradan and Dan De's. Half of the grant's value hinge on the stock reaching certain targets. Goldman's share price has significantly exceeded the threshold required to trigger the maximum payout for that half of the grant's total value. The other half is tied to Goldman's performance compared to six of its peers it identified at the end of a 5-year period. The firm's share price has outperformed most of that cohort with the exception of Bank of New York Melon.