Goldman Sachs 2012 annual pretax earnings were $11,207 mil,
up a very robust 82% over the $6,169 mil earned in 2011.
However, these 2012 annual pretax earnings of $11,207 mil were
down 13% from the $12,892 mil earned in 2010, and down a substantial 57% from
the $19,829 mil earned in 2009.
To get a better handle on these annual earnings, I think it
is wise to isolate the Total Compensation and Benefits Expense element and
compare it with these Pretax Earnings numbers for the most recent four years:
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | |
| mils of $s | mils of $s | mils of $s | mils of $s | |
| Pretax Income | 11,207 | 6,169 | 12,892 | 19,829 |
| Compensation & Benefits | 12,944 | 12,223 | 15,376 | 16,193 |
| Pretax Income Before Compensation & Benefits | 24,151 | 18,392 | 28,268 | 36,022 |
| Compensation & Benefits as a % of Pretax Income Before Compensation & Benefits | 54% | 66% | 54% | 45% |
As you can see from the above chart, it is good to see the
Total Compensation and Benefits Expense as a Percentage of Pretax Income before
Total Compensation and Benefits Expense to drop from 66% in 2011 to 54% in
2012. But this 54% in 2012 is still
above the 45% in 2009.
To get a better handle on just how much the top executives
at Goldman Sachs are receiving in Compensation, below here are the Compensation
Elements received by the Top Five Goldman Sachs Executives in 2011, the most
recent Proxy Statement available.
| 2011 | |||||
| 2011 | Total | ||||
| 2011 | All | These | |||
| 2011 | 2011 | Stock | Other | Four | |
| Salary | Bonus | Awards | Comp | Comps | |
| thous of $s | thous of $s | thous of $s | thous of $s | thous of $s | |
| Blankfein Chairman & CEO | 2,000 | 3,000 | 10,710 | 450 | 16,160 |
| Cohn COO | 1,850 | 3,000 | 10,710 | 243 | 15,803 |
| Viniar CFO | 1,850 | 3,000 | 10,710 | 243 | 15,803 |
| Evans Vice Chairman | 1,850 | 3,000 | 10,710 | 186 | 15,746 |
| Weinberg Vice Chairman | 1,850 | 3,000 | 10,710 | 188 | 15,748 |
| Total all 5 | 9,400 | 15,000 | 53,550 | 1,310 | 79,260 |
The common folk cannot understand how the lowest of these Top
Five Goldman Sachs executives is making a monstrous Total Compensation here of
$15,746,000 in just one year, 2011.
Working in this isolated Big Financial Environment, could
these Top Five Goldman Sachs executives have any idea how the common folk live?
And below here are five of the elements included in All
Other Compensation of these Top Five Goldman Sachs executives for 2011. And one of the Perqs excluded from the above is
$258,701 of security provided to CEO Blankfein.
| 2011 | ||||||
| Executive | 2011 | 2011 | ||||
| Medical & | Benefits & | 2011 | 2011 | Total | ||
| Dental | Tax | Executive | 401(K) | These | ||
| Premiums | 2011 | Counseling | Life | Matching | Five | |
| Payments | Car | Services | Premiums | Contribution | Perqs | |
| $s | $s | $s | $s | $s | $s | |
| Blankfein Chairman & CEO | 61,068 | 51,467 | 47,731 | 18,758 | 9,800 | 188,824 |
| Cohn COO | 61,068 | 59,226 | 76,750 | 11,692 | 9,800 | 218,536 |
| Viniar CFO | 61,068 | 90,087 | 58,615 | 17,955 | 9,800 | 237,525 |
| Evans Vice Chairman | 61,068 | 44,153 | 50,988 | 13,202 | 9,800 | 179,211 |
| Weinberg Vice Chairman | 61,068 | 45,200 | 55,705 | 13,761 | 9,800 | 185,534 |
| Total all 5 | 305,340 | 290,133 | 289,789 | 75,368 | 49,000 | 1,009,630 |
Clearly, there is something seriously wrong with US Tax
Policy which permits corporations to receive a 35% US Federal Income Tax
Deduction for all of the above very extravagant compensation items. Yeah, that means that the US Taxpayer is
funding 35% of these extravagant compensation items.
Further, these Top Five Goldman Sachs executives don’t even
have to pay US Federal Income Tax on some of these Perqs!
This is a clear illustration of Unfettered US Capitalism
Gone Wild, all to the clear detriment of the US
middle and lower classes and of the US Debt level.
But it’s not just Goldman Sachs, nor is it just nearly all
of the Big Financial Corp. It’s nearly
every large US Corporation, where Excessive Greed has continued to grow like
Weeds in my Back Woods.
And when this Excessive Greed is surrounded on all sides by High Weeds, you cannot possibly see what is going on in the rest of the world.
The US Government needs to take wise, fair steps to pare down these Weeds so that the Top Executives of these Corps, as well as their Board of Directors who set these very extravagant compensation and perqs pretty much all throughout corporate America, can clearly see the entire world, not just their isolated Financial Camelot.
And when this Excessive Greed is surrounded on all sides by High Weeds, you cannot possibly see what is going on in the rest of the world.
The US Government needs to take wise, fair steps to pare down these Weeds so that the Top Executives of these Corps, as well as their Board of Directors who set these very extravagant compensation and perqs pretty much all throughout corporate America, can clearly see the entire world, not just their isolated Financial Camelot.
