By Pritam Biswas and Arunima Kumar
Jan 23 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs said on Friday CEO David Solomon’s total annual compensation rose 20.5% to $47 million for 2025 after a strong year for the bank, making him one of the highest-paid chief executives on Wall Street.
His compensation eclipsed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s pay package of $43 million announced on Thursday, which was a bump of a little over 10%.
Solomon’s compensation as the head of one of the most prominent Wall Street banks in the U.S. included a base salary of $2 million and $45 million in annual variable compensation.
He was paid $31 million in 2023 and $39 million in 2024.
Goldman capped a strong year with its fourth-quarter results last week, where its profit beat Wall Street expectations, driven by a surge in dealmaking and trading.
Goldman advised on some large mergers in 2025, including the $56.5 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts and Alphabet’s $32 billion acquisition of cloud security firm Wiz.
The bank also was a lead underwriter in medical supply giant Medline’s IPO in the fourth quarter, which was the largest listing globally in 2025.
These outsized deals helped Goldman secure the top spot once again for global M&A in 2025, with the bank advising on $1.48 trillion in total volume of deals and raking in $4.6 billion in fees.
It also expressed optimism for investment banking in 2026, a development that bodes well for the bank.
A more accommodating regulatory stance under U.S. President Donald Trump, coupled with lower interest rates and ample liquidity, has encouraged companies to step up dealmaking. This has helped investment banks such as Goldman Sachs rake in gains.
The board said in the filing it set the compensation after weighing the bank’s financial performance on an absolute and relative basis, as well as the 2025 operating environment and longer-term results.
GOLDMAN OUTPERFORMS UNDER SOLOMON
Under the stewardship of Solomon, who was once rejected by Goldman for a job straight out of college, shares of the bank gained 53.5% in 2025, outperforming the broader market index and most of its banking peers.
He joined the bank as a partner in 1999 after leaving Bear Stearns and rose through the ranks to eventually succeed Lloyd Blankfein, who led Goldman through the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath.
Solomon, 64, was named the top boss of Goldman Sachs in 2018.
The bank named President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron to its board a month after awarding him a 2025 retention bonus, reinforcing his status as a potential successor to Solomon.
Waldron joined Solomon as the second member of the management committee to gain a board seat.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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