American investment-giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has made it to the headlines, as its decision to increase David Solomon, the company CEO's compensation has gained some traction. The 'raise' said to be 24 per cent. This would mean, his overall compensation would amount to USD 31 million.
This revelation came to light, in regulatory filing, where Solomon's compensation package, included a USD 2 million base salary and USD 29 million in variable compensation, with a significant portion allocated as restricted stock units totalling USD 20.3 million.
CEO has a pay hike, as others get laid off
One of the major reasons behind the ostensible scrutiny is the below power performance exhibited by the company he runs, Goldman Sachs.
In 2023, Goldman Sachs encountered challenges such as sluggish capital markets impacting fee income, losses on real estate investments, and setbacks in its consumer strategy. These difficulties contributed to a significant decrease in net income, which amounted to USD 8.52 billion for the year.
The firm also resorted to significant job cuts at the start of 2023, eliminating as many as 3,200 positions. Just in the past one week, the shares of the group have declined by over 10 points.
The percentage rise in compensation that 62-year-old Solomon received is higher than all his counterpart across the board in the finance sector. For instance, JPMorgan Chase & Co. awarded CEO Jamie Dimon USD 36 million for last year, marking a 4.3 per cent increase from the previous year, while Morgan Stanley increased James Gorman's pay by 17 per cent to USD 37 million for his final year as CEO.
(With inputs from various publications)
