His pay had been set before the pandemic devastated the global economy. Even so, some colleagues have faulted him privately for accepting the raise while asking the rest of the firm to make do with less.
Private jets are inherently fancy, but the kind that Goldman chose are among the most luxuriant. Marketing material for the G700 advertises speakerless surround sound and “the industry’s only ultra-high-definition circadian lighting system.”
It’s the sort of extravagance that can attract unwanted scrutiny, like in early 2009, when the heads of the biggest U.S. banks were called in to testify before congress on the financial crisis.
At one point, the executives were asked to raise their hand if their company owned or leased a private plane. Lloyd Blankfein, Solomon’s predecessor, was the only one who didn’t.
“Let the record show,” said congressman Brad Sherman, “all the hands went up except for the gentleman from Goldman Sachs.”
--With assistance from Stephanie Davidson.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.