Goldman Sachs Announces Ginormous Employee Bonuses (avg. $623,418)

[JusticeForAll]

Life is good! That is, if you work for Big Oil or had "a bang-up year" like investment banking firm Goldman Sachs. Goldman, which was helmed by Henry Paulson until his May appointment by President Bush to Treasury Secretary, announced year end bonuses for its 26,500 employees averaging $623,418.

ABC News Video link http://www.bradblog.com/Video/RichNPoor1_player121306.swf
Brad Blog Story http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3912#more-3912

[Ignacio Upton]

1. Not to be tin foily...

But do you think Paulson's appointment helped this? I don't think it's a the cause, but I'm wondering if there is any evidence that his appointment helped them rake in more revenue.

[unblock]

2. all investment banks had a great year

m&a activity was big, equities were big, other markets were stable enough to get deals done the whole year,....

just a great year to be in that business, and goldman's always one of the best.

i'm unfortunately juuust "off"-wall street enough to miss out...:grr:

[Ignacio Upton]

3. The way these banks are doing

It's like the Bonfire of the Vanities days of the '80s, or the Dot Com boom. I can't believe that the average employee is getting that much of a bonus. I'd love to work there is something like that keeps up.

[unblock]

6. there "average" and then there's "average"

mean bonuses are what they said, but obviously they aren't distributed equally.

nevertheless, the mailroom staff are quite happy i'm sure

[Ignacio Upton]

7. I know that

But even at a company like that people of most levels see some kind of wage increase. This isn't like the economy overall affecting the nation's rich and poor, this is one company, so I expect things to be slightly more even. And even "only" making a $50,000 or $100,000 bonus is still hella good.

[TroglodyteScholar]

14. CEO's bonus was approx. $40 million

I wonder what that does to this "average."

[Faygo Kid]

4. Bush's success: Two of top three goals achieved

He invaded Iraq (using 9-11 as a heaven-sent pretext), and has successfully driven wealth upward into the hands of a wealthy elite (this story reflects that success). That's two; he only lacks destruction of the New Deal and the social safety net (i.e., Social Security, Medicare) to complete the Bush "trifecta" of his top three priorities upon taking office. Shredding the Constitution and disenfranchising vast numbers of voters is also being worked on diligently, as an outgrowth of the Big Three.

[1932]

9. Yes. Mission almost Accomplished.

[sweetheart]

5. they got theirs

When you have that much capital to leverage, and take advantage of the revolving door to keep a foot in every pie,
those guys really work for every dollar, just as hard as the macdonalds wage worker... ha! ;-) noooott!!

[Roland99]

8. Well, when the gov't funds the stock market with $2+ trillion in new debt, someone's making money!

[marmar]

10. Gee, that free market really is working out well for ALL of us, isn't it?

:think:

[Renew Deal]

11. I need to get a job there.

Damn :wow:

[KharmaTrain]

12. The "Investor Class" Had A Kick-Ass Year

Many of these profits came from the run-up of oil prices, the savings from outsourcing and the steady drip, drip, drip of inflation and a consumer culture that spends first and foremost. For those with diversified portfolios, 2006 was a very solid year despite the realities so many here feel in the "real world" of earning an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

From one who worked for several employers who offered nothing as a holiday bonus, I don't fault G-S for offering their employees a cut of the action. They worked for those profits and at least the employer is willing to back it up with some folding green.

Somehow I get a feelimg if we picked apart the numbers the vast majority of the "wage slaves" who deal with the "little money" didn't quite haul the six figure bonus compared to those handling the "institutional investors".

[Taxloss]

13. That offer doesn't include the cleaners in London that they're screwing.

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