Who earns the really big money on a hourly basis at Goldman Sachs? Regulated staff working for the bank in London earn an average of $2.3m a year, which – by our reckoning, works out at about £700 ($1,010) an hour (based on a 75-hour working week with five weeks’ a year holiday). That might sound pretty good, but it’s nothing- nothing – compared to what you can make on an hourly basis when you make a speech on behalf of The Firm.
The Guardian reports that former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg made a two and a half hour keynote speech at a Goldman Sachs event in early December, for which he was paid £22.5k. The speech addressed the subject of the European Union, an institution which both Clegg and senior Goldman Sachs executives are very supportive of.
The Daily Mail helpfully points out that Clegg’s fee means he was paid £150 ($216) a minute. On a per minute basis, our estimations imply he was paid 127% more than Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Blankfein earned around $95 a minute for 2014 when his restricted stock was factored in (assuming an 80-hour week and two weeks off per year…).
Even so, excitement over Clegg’s enormous hourly rate might be overdone. You can’t make a two and a half hour speech and answer follow-up questions without at least some preparation. In reality, we suspect Clegg made £75 a minute. What’s all the fuss about?
Separately, people at J.P. Morgan may have to go cold turkey. The New York Post reports that the US bank is, ‘preparing to rip out thousands of its $21,000-a-year Bloomberg terminals over the coming two or three years.’ Consenting individuals at J.P.M. will reportedly be given Thomson Reuters terminals instead. It’s not clear how this is being received, but we can’t imagine it’s entirely well.
Meanwhile:
Jefferies hired Chris McReynolds from Barclays as US head of rates. (Business Insider)
Banks are still hiring in Australia, but the rest of Asia Pac has gone sour. (Financial News)
Now pulling back from Asian equities: BNP Paribas. (Financial Times)
Arno Kitts, Blackrock’s head of UK institutional sales, has left the firm during a reshuffle. (Financial News)
An MBA is worth a lot more when you’re white or Asian. (Bloomberg)
A 30-something single female financier bemoans young men who get drunk and play nothing but video games. (NYTimes)
Oxford graduate quits Merrill Lynch job after a week, launches technology start-up worth millions. (BusinessInsider)
Goldman Sachs gives good creche. (The Guardian)
Quirky hedge fund is big payer. (Evening Standard)
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