Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon surprises Wall Street with coveted ‘partner’ promotions

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is awarding the coveted status of “partner” to 80 bankers at the Wall Street giant this year — the biggest yearly increase in membership to the exclusive club since Solomon took the helm in 2018, according to a report.

The employees who will be promoted to partner are the most diverse group to nab the coveted role yet, Bloomberg reports. But it’s the sheer number who got named that has surprised insiders, sources said.

Goldman watchers had figured Solomon instead would keep the group — which is announced every two years — smaller this year as he tries to tamp down on ballooning compensation costs and maintain the group’s elite status. In 2018, Solomon promoted 69 employees to partner and in 2020 Solomon limited the partner class to just 60.

A spokesperson for Goldman declined to comment.

A promotion to partner is certainly about prestige — less than 1% of the entire firm is partner — but also has other privileges. In addition to base pay and bonuses typically north of $1 million, partners get access to private investment opportunities and a cut of profits from Goldman’s investment funds.

Amid record payouts in 2022, partners were also given a special one-time bonus on top of the typical compensation of a base salary and bonus — that added millions of dollars extra to each partner’s pay.

However, as the bank grapples with a decline in profits, those close to the bank caution hefty partner bonuses likely won’t be replicated at the same level in 2023.