Goldman Sachs cuts CEO David Solomon’s pay 30%, still made $25M in 2022

Goldman Sachs cut Chief Executive David Solomon’s pay to $25 million in 2022 — a 30% drop from a year earlier — as the bank lays off thousands of workers amid slumping revenues and flopped business ventures that have included a push into consumer banking.

Solomon’s compensation includes an annual $2 million base salary and $23 million in variable compensation — $16.1 million of which is issued in restricted stock units. That means the payment won’t be available for several years, according to a publicly available filing.

“As is always unique to Goldman Sachs, his compensation is aligned with the direction of compensation for the partnership, reflecting solid results in a challenging environment, but down from the records of 2021,” a person familiar with the matter told The Post.

After the bumper year in 2021, 2022 was a brutal year for Goldman. The bank’s net income dropped 48% year over year to $11.3 billion, the company’s share price fell 10% and it moved away from investing in its consumer business Marcus, which has been responsible for $3.8 billion in pretax losses since launching in 2016.

In 2021, when the bank raked in record profits, Solomon made $35 million. But this year, Solomon is taking a much more substantial cut than his peers at rival banks.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon made $34.5 million this year — the same amount he made in 2021. Morgan Stanley boss James Gorman saw his pay dip just 10% this year, taking his compensation to $31.5 million – down from $35 million the year before.

This year is the lowest Solomon’s compensation has been since 2018, when he made $23 million after just taking over as chief executive of the bank.

The pay cut surfaced days after Solomon admitted that Goldman had “tried to do too much too quickly” in its push into consumer banking. The Wall Street titan reported worse-than-expected profit plunge in fourth quarter results released earlier this month.

Solomon also blamed “challenging” economic conditions as Goldman’s reported profits sank 66% to $1.33 billion, or $3.32 per share, falling well short of Wall Street’s expectations.

“I think it became clear to us early in 2022 that we were doing too much and it was affecting our execution,” Solomon said during an earnings call regarding the struggles at Marcus.

“I think we probably in some places haven’t had all the talent that we needed to execute the way we wanted. We’re making adjustments on that,” Solomon added.

As The Post reported, Goldman laid off 3,200 workers earlier this month in its most significant culling since the 2008 financial crisis. The layoffs earned the nickname “David’s Demolition Day” among spooked staffers.

Hundreds more bank employees were expected to leave Goldman due to “skimpy” bonus payments.

Other budget-conscious maneuvers at the bank included a review of private jet trips utilized by Solomon and other top bank executives. That effort was part of a broader cost review at Goldman to identify elements of excess in the company’s operations.