Whoever they are, they sure are making a lot of money. That best describes the inner, very rich circle of Goldman Sachs, where a group of 475 partners collectively makes billions of dollars while many remain anonymous.

 

Unlike other Wall Street powerhouses, Goldman retained a partnership system when it became a publicly traded company in 1999. But despite going public, Goldman only reports compensation for its top officers, and reveals the names only of new partners. Existing ones remain unidentified by the firm.

 

An analysis of financial records by The New York Times and Footnoted.com found that nearly 860 current and former partners cashed out more than $20 billion in shares over the last 12 years, and still hold another $10 billion in Goldman stock.

 

But news for the investors in the illustrious house is not all shiny these days. Earnings for the fourth quarter of last year were down 53%, thanks to increased competition and decreased activity by clients.

 

For employees, on the other hand, 2010 was not a bad year overall. Goldman is expected to pay out $17.5 billion in compensation for last year to its 35,000 employees—an average of half a million per person.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Study Points to Windfall for Goldman Partners (by Susanne Craig and Eric Dash, New York Times)

At Goldman, Quarterly Profit Drops 53% (by Susanne Craig, New York Times)