---
title: "Goldman Sachs says no succession is underway after paying Solomon and Waldron $80 million each to stay"
description: "Goldman gave David Solomon and John Waldron $80 million each to stay five years, and a third of voting shareholders objected; the record quarter that followed is the bar any handover must clear."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Money"
published: 2026-10-16T21:11:32.351Z
modified: 2026-10-16T21:11:32.351Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/goldman-sachs-says-no-succession-is-underway-after-paying-solomon-and-waldron-80-million-each-to-stay
language: en
keywords: "Goldman Sachs, Executive Pay, Succession, Bank Earnings, Wall Street"
---

# Goldman Sachs says no succession is underway after paying Solomon and Waldron $80 million each to stay

> Goldman gave David Solomon and John Waldron $80 million each to stay five years, and a third of voting shareholders objected; the record quarter that followed is the bar any handover must clear.

[Goldman Sachs](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/goldman-sachs) chief executive David Solomon used [his October 13 earnings call](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/article/goldman-sachs-ceo-david-solomon-no-succession-transition-or-timeline-underway-154852212.html) to dismiss the story hanging over it: "There is no succession transition or timeline underway at Goldman Sachs." [3] Two weeks earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported the board had discussed president and chief operating officer John Waldron, 57, succeeding him as early as 2027 or 2028, with Solomon moving to executive chairman, and [CNBC reported the plan could face a board vote within months](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/goldman-sachs-ceo-succession-planning-faces-one-big-problem/ar-AA2ddMTd). [2][6] The bank calls any assertion about timing speculation. [1]

## Shareholders priced this handover a year ago

The succession Goldman denies has already been paid for. In January 2025 the board [gave Solomon and Waldron $80 million each in restricted stock to stay five years](https://theinference.org/article/goldman-s-80m-handcuffs-now-hold-the-heir-not-the-handover), then seated Waldron as a director a month later, unusual for a public bank outside the CEO. [1][2][6] A third of voting shareholders objected to the awards, the most executive-pay resistance in the firm's history, and holders of about a quarter of its shares did not vote at all. [4] Goldman's answer was an SEC-cleared option letting retail holders, roughly 30% of the register, default their votes to the board. [4] A separate 2021 plan now [pays out more than $500 million at the end of October](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2026/10/08/goldman-sachs-to-pay-top-executives-500mn-in-special-bonuses/), with Solomon expected to collect about $100 million on top of $47 million in 2025 pay. [7]

*Chart: **Keeping the pair cost $160 million, and a $100 million payout lands in October** Bar chart comparing Goldman Sachs awards to Solomon and Waldron: an estimated $100 million 2021-plan payout for Solomon, $80 million retention awards to each man in 2025, and Solomon's $47 million 2025 annual pay.*

*Award values at grant and at expected October 2026 value; the 2021-plan figure is an estimate set by the share price at end-October vesting. [7][2]*

## The bar is the best run in the bank's history

Whoever takes over inherits the strongest stretch Goldman has reported. Third-quarter revenue was $18.68 billion, the second-highest quarter ever and up 23% on the year; net earnings rose 29% to $5.29 billion, and [EPS of $17.01 beat forecasts near $13.50](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/big-banks-report-strong-earnings-131500142.html). [3][8] Advisory fees set a record at $1.65 billion and equities revenue jumped 72%, the first bank results since the Federal Reserve's first rate hike since 2023, passed 12-0. [3][5][8] By the bank's own count, clients announced more than $1.5 trillion of M&A this year, some $400 billion clear of the nearest rival. [8]

*Chart: **The two biggest revenue quarters in Goldman's history are the last two** Column chart of Goldman Sachs quarterly net revenue from Q3 2024 through Q3 2026, showing the two biggest quarters are Q2 2026 at $20.3 billion and Q3 2026 at $18.7 billion.*

*Quarterly net revenue in billions of dollars, Q3 2024 to Q3 2026, calendar quarters. Sources: Goldman Sachs quarterly figures from its SEC filings [9]; Q3 2026 results coverage [3]. [9][3]*

## The mandate: prove the AI plan, fatten the small quarter

[Wells Fargo](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/wells-fargo) analyst Mike Mayo expects one of the smoothest handovers he has seen, and the stock is up more than 300% under Solomon. [1][6] The open items are mix and machines. Asset and wealth management still supplies only about a quarter of revenue, $5.1 billion this quarter against $13.5 billion from banking and markets, even with client assets at a record $4.1 trillion. [1][5] Mayo says the rollout of agentic AI, software agents that do employees' work, will be on Waldron's shoulders, and Waldron already owns OneGS 3.0, the late-2025 efficiency plan that caps headcount. [1][2] On [the AI financing wave feeding those trading desks](https://theinference.org/article/goldman-collects-the-ai-boom-s-fees-and-leaves-the-debt-on-other-balance-sheets), Solomon's own words: "[I don't know and nobody knows](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/goldman-sachs-group-inc-gs-010027786.html)." [5] Two readings matter next: [the end-October share price, which sizes the payout](https://theinference.org/article/goldman-s-succession-math-80m-to-hold-the-heir-records-to-hold-the-incumbent), and any board vote on the plan.

## Takeaway

Goldman denies any succession timeline, but $160 million of retention stock, the biggest shareholder pay resistance in the firm's history and a record quarter have already priced the Waldron option; end-October vesting and any board vote are the next tells.

## Sources

1. [American Banker, Allissa Kline: How John Waldron could make his mark as Goldman's next CEO, 1 October 2026](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-john-waldron-could-make-his-mark-as-goldmans-next-ceo)
2. [Reuters via U.S. News & World Report: Factbox: Who is John Waldron, long seen as next Goldman CEO?, 29 September 2026](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-09-29/factbox-who-is-john-waldron-long-seen-as-next-goldman-ceo)
3. [Yahoo Finance, David Hollerith: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon: 'No succession transition or timeline underway', 13 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/article/goldman-sachs-ceo-david-solomon-no-succession-transition-or-timeline-underway-154852212.html)
4. [Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance, Todd Gillespie: Goldman Revamps Shareholder Voting Options After Fight Over Pay, 28 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/goldman-revamps-shareholder-voting-options-124822180.html)
5. [GuruFocus via Yahoo Finance: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Highlights, 13 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/goldman-sachs-group-inc-gs-010027786.html)
6. [CNBC via MSN, Hugh Son: Goldman Sachs CEO succession planning faces one big problem, 29 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/goldman-sachs-ceo-succession-planning-faces-one-big-problem/ar-AA2ddMTd)
7. [Financial Times via The Irish Times, Simon Foy: Top Goldman Sachs executives to get $500m in one of largest such payouts in Wall Street history, 8 October 2026](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2026/10/08/goldman-sachs-to-pay-top-executives-500mn-in-special-bonuses/)
8. [MarketBeat via Yahoo Finance, Dan Schmidt: Big Banks Report Strong Earnings, So Why Are Shares Falling?, 15 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/big-banks-report-strong-earnings-131500142.html)
9. [Goldman Sachs, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 16 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000886982)


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Goldman Sachs says no succession is underway after paying Solomon and Waldron $80 million each to stay — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/goldman-sachs-says-no-succession-is-underway-after-paying-solomon-and-waldron-80-million-each-to-stay