Goldman boss gets 24pc pay rise amid slump

GOLDMAN SACHS paid its chief executive David Solomon $31m (£25m) last year despite the Wall Street bank reporting its worst annual profit for four years.

Mr Solomon, who has led the bank since 2018, saw his pay jump 24pc on the previous year.

The payout is in stark contrast to Goldman’s performance, with profits falling to their lowest since 2019 last year. The bank has also cut thousands of jobs to stave off a downturn in dealmaking. Headcount fell by 3,200 last year to 45,000 staff.

Goldman credited Mr Solomon’s “decisive leadership” and “swift execution” of strategy amid the downturn.

Mr Solomon has led a shift in focusing efforts on its retail and wealth management divisions to cushion the blow from a dealmaking dip.

Goldman said: “While these strategic actions negatively impacted short-term performance, the compensation committee believes that the actions of senior management were critical to reorienting the firm with a much stronger platform for 2024 and beyond”. The 62-yearold has been a controversial figure since taking over from long-serving chief Lloyd Blankfein five years ago.

He was forced to give up a sideline job as a DJ last year after he said it distracted from his day job at the bank.

Mr Solomon’s payout comprises a $2m fixed annual salary and $29m in bonuses.

Most of the bonus, equal to $20.3m, is performance-based shares that Mr Solomon can cash in if Gold- man meets certain targets.

The payout is the second most lucrative since he took charge. In 2021 he earned $35m, his biggest payout.

According to annual results last month, profits for the year ending December 2023 fell by a quarter to $8.5bn. The figures were hit by a drop in investment bank fees, which dropped 16pc.

The payday is similar to some of his Wall Street rivals.

JP Morgan’s chief executive Jamie Dimon earned $36m last year after a strong performance by the bank. His pay was up 4pc.

Morgan Stanley’s former chief James Gorman, who recently stood down, saw his pay rise 17.5pc to $37m.