Goldman Sachs 2009 bonuses top $23 Billion

On Thursday, Goldman Sachs will announce the firm's bonus payments for 2009. Analysts expect the bonus pool to mushroom to $23 billion -- double the bonus pool paid to employees in 2008. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs said that it had put aside $11.4 billion for bonuses during the first half of the year.

“The absolute size of compensation payouts will rise significantly,” Keith Horowitz, an analyst at Citigroup, wrote in a note to clients two weeks ago, highlighted by Andrew Sorkin in The New York Times' dealbook column Tuesday.

How much is $23,000,000,000?

For one thing, it's enough to send 460,000 full paying students to Harvard University for one year, or 115,000 for four years.

It's enough to pay the health insurance premium for the average American family ($13,375) 1.7 million times.

It's enough to upgrade 191 million computers to Windows 7 operating system (priced at $119.99), or to buy 115 million iPhones at $199.99 (provided the recipient was willing to sign a two-year contract).

Or, apparently, it's enough to reward the employees of Goldman Sachs for a bonanza trading year, at a firm where average employee compensation was recently $622,000 -- and likely to be greater this year.

The $23 billion figure could leave some American taxpayers woozy -- the US government bailed out Goldman Sachs with a multi-billion payment last year, which the firm has since repaid.

But while Goldman is likely to pay its biggest bonuses ever to employees, the firm pays very little in taxes worldwide. In 2008, the company was said to have paid just $14 million in taxes worldwide, and paid $6 billion in 2007.

The firm's corporate tax rate? About 1 percent. According a prominent tax lawyer, “They have taken steps to ensure that a lot of their income is earned in lower-tax jurisdictions.”

Sorkin says Goldman's CEO is trying to hold off criticism by making a big charitable donation.

"Now there’s talk inside Goldman that it is considering making a huge charitable donation — perhaps more than $1 billion — as a way to help deflect the criticism," Sorkin says. "Such a donation would be a welcome gesture that would no doubt benefit many needy organizations. But it would most likely be seen for what it is: a one-time move to draw attention away from where most of the money is really going. A large charitable donation also raises questions about the company’s fiduciary duty to its shareholders; it could be seen as giving away profits that ostensibly belong to them."

rawstory.com...

$23 Billion in bonuses!

How do they do it? Do they use those market robots?

On a side note, does anyone know if they did indeed return the over $10 billion that the Gov gave them in bailout funds last October (2008) ??

They said they were going to return the funds or some of it, but I can;t find anything concrete stating that they did indeed return the money.

$23 billion in bonuses, wow. That would outfit one hell of a lair.

unreal, not sure what else to say.. there has to be some accountability within this, how can these clowns justify such extravagant bonuses?


[edit on 13-10-2009 by Naeem82]

reply to post by warrenb


Wow that is encouraging news. It must mean they are doing well and at least things in the financial sector are improving. I hope the people that get the bonuses use it wisely and enjoy it.

reply to post by StinkyFeet


sorry for criticizing your ignorance, but...

With amounts of money this size, there is blood involved, peoples lives destroyed and ruined.

Jobs lost, etcetera...

reply to post by Grey Magic


I would say chances are it means jobs were saved and/or created. A company cannot grow without good leadership and a great sales staff. I bet a good hunk of this is going to the salesforce who create the business that creates the revenue to keep them in business.

Warrenb another great post, they should hurry up and cash the check and spend the money on something they can eat and keep them warm for the next year or so. , I can't see the dollar being worth much in the near future, this is the second time this year that the Canadian $ will be on a par with the greenback, gold is stunning everyone , and the Chinesse must want to get out of some of their dubious positions. I will be interested in seeing if you dig anything up on weather thaey have repaid anyting.

reply to post by warrenb


This makes me sick to my stomach. These guys are thieves!! Now we know why GS's contributed so much too OBAMA"S CAMPAIGN (and McCAIN's as well)!

They wanted to keep THEIR MONEY!!

WOohoo!!

Millions out of work....countless people losing their houses.....and so many are struggling.

I don't know how people don't demand these guys be put in prison.

[edit on 13-10-2009 by David9176]

I'm a stockbroker - this isn't illegal! we do a job, high stress, high rewards. I earn an honest buck or two, make the best for my family. Never been involved with mortgage backed securities or any exotic instruments. I am sick to the stomach with the corruption and greed that put us in this position, but a huge percentage of brokers are innocent in this and take the rough with the smooth. Capitalism is ok folks if used in moderation, just like most everything else. Could go on a rant but really cant be bothered, leave the rest to you.

Originally posted by S4murai
I'm a stockbroker - this isn't illegal!

It should be.

You are the kind of people that get companies go for profit only, and in the process destroying smaller companies, buy them for scratch, and underpaying their own employees, understaffing their management and workforce, just to make a buck for the shareholder until in the end the corporation is outsourced to a cheap labor country and the dream is over, except for the shareholder.

Get a real job, not one just making only money off of other people's backs, but a job where you do something productive, instead of trading some piece of papers of companies you never worked for.

Some may consider this post off-topic.

[edit on 13-10-2009 by stevegmu]

What an optimism about people who do fractional banking.

When will you people wake up?

reply to post by S4murai


High stress? LMAO! Shut up! You Wallstreet clowns wouldn't know a hard days work or stress if it smacked you in the face You've got about as much stress as a gambling addict.

America doesn't produce anything anymore...........everyone has their hand in the next guys pocket. Yeah sure hide behind the guise of capitalism.

What can you expect from the power behind the federal Reserve and they actually own the treasury Department. the preses are at their disposition day and night.

Most be wonderful to be the rulers of the USA of America.

And people still think we get to elect our government anymore, please go ask Goldman Sach they have the list of the Americas presidents for the next millennium.

[edit on 13-10-2009 by marg6043]

I can't believe people haven't risen up and torched the place. 23 billion in bonuses certainly doesn't mean there's a cut for the lower positions.


higher-ups need champagne, caviar, and lots of money, I suppose.

good good . plutocratic corporatism is so nice . killing USa since 1955

reply to post by piddles


yep, higher up need champagne,caviar etc . after they are superior and usa is capitalist , so how dare encourage socialism?

Capitalism is great, and good, as long as the gain is honest and not underhanded or exploiting others.

Recon3

What I think is the most disturbing about this whole thing, is that money could be used for SO many better causes. What do they need all that money for? Honestly, what do CEO's need hundreds of millions of dollars for? There is NO justification behind that.

Meanwhile 10%+ of the country is unemployed, poverty runs rampant, homelessness is on the rise....c'mon already. It actually makes me sick to hear something like this.

Where do you get inspiration from anymore? This is the kind of stuff that makes people not even care anymore. GS can pump out 23 billion in BONUS' and they can't do ANYTHING to stimulate the economy? Don't give me that billion dollar donation BS, because you can start several companies, produce hundreds if not thousands of jobs with that kind of money and that's 4% (1 billion) of the total bonus.

reply to post by S4murai


I can work really hard on a slot machine too!

How the hell people let this crap keep going on is beyond me.

Take my 401k and play with it all day, trading nothing but paper backed by nothing.
If you guys want to do what you do, you should have to pay up front 100% instead of 10%. And it should be for real products and commodities, not the future of something that does not exist yet.

You want to buy a future of something? Then you should have to wait until it is real and in a warehouse to sell it.

Originally posted by Recon3
Capitalism is great, and good, as long as the gain is honest and not underhanded or exploiting others.

Recon3

You are absolutly right. They all got bailed out at our expence and no changes were made at all.
What happened to those promises?