Goldman Sachs President John Waldron’s pay and perks have long made him an outlier among bank deputies.
Last year, he became the rare second-in-command to join his boss on his bank’s board of directors. Beyond that, he’s become the gold standard in well-paid No. 2s. He received $38 million in compensation in 2024 – out-earning all U.S. big-bank CEOs except Goldman’s David Solomon and JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon.
Now Waldron has surpassed Dimon, according to proxy materials Goldman published Friday.
The Goldman president received an 18.4% increase in compensation for 2025 – bringing his pay to $45 million, the bank disclosed. That’s more than the $43 million JPMorgan paid Dimon – arguably the poster-exec of U.S. banking. In fact, the only big-bank CEO who made more than Waldron in 2025 was Solomon, at $47 million. (Morgan Stanley paid its CEO, Ted Pick, $45 million, drawing him even with Waldron.)
Waldron’s $1.85 million salary remained steady in 2025 from the year before. In 2025, however, he received $25.9 million in performance share units – up from $21.7 million. He received a $13.8 million cash bonus, up from $11.6 million in 2024. And he received $3.45 million from the carried interest program the bank debuted a year earlier. (He received $2.9 million in carried interest in 2024, according to Goldman.)
Goldman’s proxy materials disclosed compensation for select other executives, including outgoing legal chief Kathryn Ruemmler.
Ruemmler is leaving the bank June 30, amid the revelation that her name appears in more than 9,300 documents related to the Justice Department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.
Documents released by the DOJ in January show a close relationship between Ruemmler and Epstein, whom she referred to as “Uncle Jeffrey,” “wonderful” and “thoughtful.” The two met often for meals, and Epstein had gifts such as handbags and an Apple Watch delivered to her, and treated her to hair, massage and facial appointments.
“Well, I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!” Ruemmler wrote of Epstein in a 2015 email to someone who worked for him.
Ruemmler, at the time, worked as a litigation partner at the law firm Latham & Watkins, according to her LinkedIn profile. She joined Goldman in 2020 and became the bank’s chief legal officer and general counsel the next year.
Ruemmler received $25 million in compensation for 2025. That’s an 11.1% increase from a year earlier. Her $1.5 million salary remained the same. However, she received $14.1 million in performance share units – up from $12.6 million in 2024. She also received an $8.5 million cash bonus in 2025, up from $7.6 million a year earlier. And she received $940,000 in carried interest, up from $840,000.
Ruemmler “provid[ed] exceptional judgment and advice across a broad range of legal, risk management, regulatory and people matters,” Goldman’s proxy statement reads. “In doing so, she continued her excellent track record of experienced and nuanced counsel and a keen ability to navigate complex and evolving challenges while supporting the firm’s long-term objectives.”
The statement backs up Solomon’s defense of her work at Goldman.
“Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm,” Solomon said in February, when Ruemmler resigned. “As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed.”
At the time, Ruemmler “made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defense attorney, was becoming a distraction,” she told the Financial Times.
Goldman’s proxy statement also disclosed compensation for CFO Denis Coleman. The bank paid Coleman $31 million for 2025, up 14.8% from $27 million. He received $17.5 million in performance share units for 2025, up from $15.1 million in 2024. Coleman also received a $9.3 million cash bonus and $2.3 million in carried interest, up from $8.1 million in cash and $2.1 in carried interest in 2024.
In addition to $45 million in compensation, Goldman approved a one-time $80 million retention bonus for Waldron in 2025.
Each of the CEOs of the U.S.’s six largest global systemically important banks received $40 million or more for 2025, including $40 million for Wells Fargo’s Charlie Scharf, $41 million for Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan and $42 million for Citi’s Jane Fraser.
