Posted on 02/05/2010 3:27:49 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein was awarded $9 million in stock for his performance in 2009, a year in which profit soared to an all-time high and the shares doubled.
The sum falls short of the Wall Street record that Blankfein, 55, set with his $67.9 million bonus in 2007. Blankfein’s payment of 58,381 restricted stock units, valued at $9 million at today’s closing price of $154.16, was disclosed today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, cut the percentage of revenue earmarked for pay to the lowest in its 10 years as a public company. The New York- based firm aimed to allay anger about banks whose profits and pay rebounded within a year of taking government bailouts while the U.S. jobless rate was about 10 percent.
“There’s a perception amongst the public that if it wasn’t for the bailout that these firms wouldn’t have these profits and therefore wouldn’t be able to pay the size of bonuses,” said Joseph Sorrentino, a managing director at Steven Hall & Partners LLC, a New York-based executive compensation consulting firm. “Main Street sees it as these guys are earning ridiculous amounts of money while the average American is having a difficult time.”
Blankfein’s bonus compares with about $17 million in restricted stock and options that JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it awarded today to CEO Jamie Dimon, 53. James Gorman, 51, who became CEO of Morgan Stanley at the start of this year, was awarded deferred stock grants valued at about $8.6 million for 2009.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
I wonder if he will invest in Chinese currency with it.
Lloyd Blankfein? The man who recently said he is doing God’s work, is only getting 9 million? I humbly submit “bull$hit” to this claim. There is a back end deal somewhere.
The funny thing is that $9MM seems low if profits grew so much. This guy is looking out for the shareholders, no matter what it takes. That’s his job. He didn’t steal from the government, the government gave the money to these firms. I say keep this CEO and fire the government.
That would be a small part of the eventual motivation picture for manufacturing more in the USA. ;-) Many of the greatest investment advisors have been steering their clients toward investments in Chinese business for some time. The alternative would be continued investments in US businesses with their shops in China (middlemen).
Only $9m? Slacker.
tax the SOB
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