Goldman's succession math: $80m to hold the heir, records to hold the incumbent

Goldman Sachs's board has discussed David Solomon stepping down as chief executive, with president and chief operating officer John Waldron taking over around late 2027 or 2028 and Solomon staying on as executive chairman for a year or two, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter↗ ¹². Board approval could come within months, though insiders caution the plan is far from locked in ¹².

The bank's answer is on the record: the board discusses succession "as we disclose in our filings, but there is no definitive timeline↗," and "any assertions about timing are just speculation" ¹³.

An $80m receipt for a seat nobody wanted vacant

The compensation record sits between the horse race and the denial. Goldman's board learned in late 2024 that Waldron was in serious talks with Apollo and several other firms seeking to recruit him; he declined, and Business Chief adds Carlyle to the list of suitors ¹²³.

In January 2025 Goldman disclosed retention awards of $80m each in restricted stock↗ for Solomon and Waldron, tied to a five-year commitment; Waldron joined the board a month later ⁴⁵.

The package is now worth close to $120m and runs through 2030 ³⁵. Goldman did not pay $80m to hold a man for a coronation; it paid because Apollo had already called.

A record quarter is strange ground for an exit fight

The timing is what looks odd, not the choice of heir. Q2 2026 revenue hit a record $20.34bn, up 39.5% year on year↗ ³⁶, volatility from the US-Iran war lifted equities revenue to its own record ¹, and the stock has roughly quadrupled since Solomon took the job in October 2018 ¹⁷. Sonnenfeld counts more than 21% of the share count retired along the way↗ ⁷. The scar is consumer banking: about $7bn of pretax losses since 2020 ².

The chairman chairs the board that would replace him

Solomon, 64, holds both titles, and senior staff had pencilled him in for a decade, a term that would reach 2028 ¹². Sonnenfeld, writing on the chief executive's eighth anniversary, calls the coverage a "whisper campaign" and says Solomon "remains firmly in charge" ⁷. Bank of America sees the handover as continuity: "Goldman today is undoubtedly a more shareholder-focused institution than the one Solomon inherited"↗ ⁸.

If Waldron rises, the jockeying shifts to Dan Dees, Ashok Varadhan and Marc Nachmann below him ²⁹. Waldron, author of the OneGS 3.0 automation plan, is the heir who calls Goldman a "human assembly line" waiting for AI to digitise it ⁴⁵.

The vote, the clock, the call

Before any vote, holders are choosing between pre-wired continuity and a fight with the chairman. Three markers settle it: a board vote that could come within months ¹; the retention clock that pays Waldron to wait through 2030 ³⁵; and any new approach from Apollo or Carlyle, which he could still pursue ³. Whether the board actually votes this year, no document yet says.