The WSJ’s Sue Craig reported this evening that Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein is taking a mere $9 million bonus for 2009, in all stock and no cash.
This comes after a year in which the Wall Street firm reported massive profits and compares with the $70 million in compensation that Blankfein collected for 2007.
It seemed likely that Blankfein was going to take a small bonus given all the criticism that Goldman has faced for its role in the financial crisis and the fact that many of its profits have been earned through government intervention in the capital markets. In addition, Goldman’s rank and file employees have had to take smaller bonuses, as the company reduces its overall compensation ratios to the lowest levels since Goldman went public.
Still, $9 million seems perfectly calibrated: Not large enough to be dubbed a “double digit” bonus. But not so small as to seem that Blankfein capitulated completely to political pressures.
Consider that Blankfein’s bonus is nearly half that of JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon . It’s also smaller than far less-well known figures in finance. Would you believe that Blankfein is now officially paid less than the CEO of Jefferies, Richard Handler, who is expected to earn a $12 million bonus in cash and stock.
Outrageous…how is the man suppose to live on that?
When the second crash occurs later this year, I hope it will inspire a “vote them ALL out” campaign. Anyone who voted for the bailouts and, later, the toothless financial “reform” legislation should be voted out of office _unless_ they actively investigate and prosecute the perps of the _massive_ fraud that took place in the US financial system over the last ten years.
Oh, wait… I’m dreaming. That would require an _informed_ populace. So, when the second crash occurs, we’ll just get screwed again…
>> Winston said, on February 6th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
>> When the second crash occurs later this year, I hope it will inspire a “vote them ALL out” campaign.
This will just make things worse.
The dumbest voters in the worst states with the most corrupt senators will just keep their guys in office in response to some emotional appeal — “save the unborn” or “the Mexicans are invading” or “the gays are threatening your marriage” or “the terrorists will kill you”
So who gets voted out? The better of the bunch leaving the worst.
Time to SOAK THE RICH !!! Elvis paid 91% during the “Golden Fifties”, so should these SCUM !!!
#20, you’ve described the flaws of unfettered capitalism. The US has a system of capitalism without morals or limits.
“the natural process of capitalism is the process in which one person wants something and another person has it, they perform a trade, without interference from an unwanted 3rd party, in this case, government. ”
Not true. The “natural” process of capitalism moves toward power and corruption… without fail. The government was not an unwanted 3rd party. They were a necessary and wanted 3rd party in an unfortunate situation where capitalism went awry. That now has to be fixed by regulations, so that it never happens again. Where we disagree is that free enterprise has to be regulated in ways that prevent an entity from having more power and corruption than the government. You are being way too unrealistic in suggesting that we simply stop buying a product when that happens. Have you stopped buying gas yet?
With their stock holding I wonder what his real income was? In 2008 many CEOs had huge negative incomes.
#25 “In 2008 many CEOs had huge negative incomes.”
I think you meant to say their net worth was negatively impacted. To have a negative income the CEO would have had to pay money to his employer to retain his job. The closest to that situation I know of is several CEOs working for a salary of a $1 for the year.
Hey Cap’n: It may only be a dollar but, by the end of the year, many of them were worth it, too!
#24 Ever watch “Who killed the electric car?” Who knows what we’d be driving without the intervention of government on behalf of big oil? When on earth have we ever had unfettered capitalism? Before our lovely government taxed us, the British taxed us. Remember the Boston Tea Party? Our so called revolution was merely substituting one set of slave masters from far away with another much more local. Government has always been around in one form or another to screw things up for the majority of the populace who would like to be left alone and interact with each other on a consensual basis. Power corrupts, yes. But power from unadulterated capitalism comes from serving your customers. If you don’t do that in the first place, you’ll never grow as a business. Power from government is gained and maintained from extortion and the capitulation from the masses. Corporatism is the evil two-headed monster that has grown from big business getting into bed with big government. And every now and then one head bites the other one, but most of the time, it just stomps on the rest of us. Try being a true skeptic and question government as a whole, instead of getting caught up in the red team vs. blue team paradigm. Oh, and how has regulations fixed capitalism thus far? How many of them are on the books? How is that working out? And your statement: “Where we disagree is that free enterprise has to be regulated in ways that prevent an entity from having more power and corruption than the government.” is very telling. So I guess you’ve come to terms with corruption from the government and will be happy as long as corporations are less corrupt than government? (Now where’s my pet peeve of the day jingle?)
Re#28, When I said, “Where we disagree is that free enterprise has to be regulated in ways that prevent an entity from having more power and corruption than the government.”, I was saying so with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.
Large organizations of any kind breed corruption… from religions to government. Everything has gotten out of hand. A 9 million dollar bonus to one man in an irresponsible, economically threatening company, illustrates that perfectly. The fairy tale kind of capitalism you envision can’t possibly exist on this earth unless you can change the nature of mankind first. Rules are necessary. Government is necessary. Human nature is predictable. There is a balance between all those things that has allowed us to prosper. What we have to do now is get things back in balance, toned down and cleaned up.
The salary of one of the Joint Chiefs (4 star general, admiral, etc) is $180,000 a year.
Their job is to run the military and ensure the defense of the entire nation.
So exactly why does a Goldman CEO get a $9,000,000 bonus?
The wealthy start all the wars, why not force them to pay for them? 90% tax rate in income.
If not for foreign based economic interests, would we really be embroiled in faraway wars?
@ #29 Well, this is an internet blog forum, so if you want people to know you’re being sarcastic, you’re going to have to spell it out.
Of course big organizations breed corruption, because humans run them and humans by nature have their own interests as priority #1. The difference between corruption in business and corruption in government is business gets your participation on a voluntary basis, but government gets your participation by force. Extortion is irresponsible, and is the basis for all that is government. A $9 million dollar bonus to a man who doesn’t deserve it is irresponsible, but it is the owner of that company’s right to pay him that. If it’s the wrong decision, market forces will cause that company to fail, and in a truly free market economy, it would fail, without government bail outs coming from taxing citizen slaves.
Rules are necessary, but they should come organically, from individuals interacting with each other on a consensual basis, not from some guy dressed in a robe sitting on high. Human nature is predictable, we’re all selfish to one degree or another. That’s all you can count on. If you expect a representative that you “elect” to put your interests ahead of his own you must be on something really, really strong. The kind of “fairy tale” capitalism I speak of banks on the fact that all humans are selfish, and takes advantage of that fact so we all become more productive while living as freely as humanly possible. I dare say you are the one living in a fairy tale if you think giving people power, then turning around and expecting them to use it for your benefit ahead of theirs, is a realistic goal. Government is not necessary. It is a bane on the human spirit. For the government is just another version of a slave master, one that we have been cajoled into believing is necessary and good but in fact is a blood sucking tyrant.
1)The head of the IMF is Mr. Strauss Kahn
2)The CEO of Goldman Sachs is Mr. Blankfein
3)The head of the SEC Investigation commitee investigation Goldman Sach in Greeces and int. crisis is Mr. Levin
4)The head of the FED in US is Mr. Bernanke
5)Speculators on a downgoing Euro are
a)Mr. George Soros Soros Fund management
b)Mr. David Einhorn Greenlight Capital
c)Mr. Jong Paulson
4)Mr. Steven Cohen SAC Capital
I dont know for sure but is it a coincedence that all these gentlemen ar jewish?
Is this a worldwide conspirency taking Europe and the US downwords and leve them in a financial crisis, so legislation can be changed
and the western world becomes more a digital controled police state? Who is in control you think?
Well good luck finding it out!