Goldman Sachs, the famous and most profitable Wall Street investment bank, will pay its top 30 executives in stock bonuses instead of cash bonuses this year.

• Paying the executives in stock is meant to reduce public anger over large profits and the $5 billion that has been set aside for employee compensation in the wake of the financial crisis this year.
• Paying the executive bonuses in stock means that employees cannot reap the benefits of that money for at least five years.
• The internal reason for paying out stock is to encourage future performance by the whole company – not just focused reward for one particular year.

Facts & Figures

• Goldman set aside $5.38 billion dollars this year for compensation for its 31,000 employees
• The average employee at Goldman will earn roughly $700,000 in 2009
• Compensation and bonuses are at an all-time high for Goldman Sachs

Best Quote

“We believe our compensation policies are the strongest in our industry and ensure that compensation accurately reflects the firm’s performance and incentivize behavior that is in the public’s and our shareholders’ best interests.” -  Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive at Goldman Sachs