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Goldman Sachs has appointed 95 new partners in its biennial process to refill the Wall Street bank’s senior ranks, according to people familiar with the matter, the bank’s biggest class of partners since 2010.
While Goldman stopped being a formal partnership when it went public in 1999, the investment bank still confers the partner title on a select group of employees to convey seniority and importance. It remains one of the most sought-after titles on Wall Street.
The appointments come against a backdrop of renewed optimism on Wall Street for mergers and acquisitions and regulation under a second Trump administration. Shares in Goldman rose 13 per cent on Wednesday following the election results.
The bank is set to make an official announcement on the new partner class later on Thursday. Goldman declined to comment on the promotions.
The 95 new partners is up from 80 the last time the bank conducted its round of promotions in 2022. At the time, that was the largest class since David Solomon took over as chief executive in 2018.
Solomon has talked about reducing the number of new partners to preserve the group’s “aspirational nature”, as well as promoting a more diverse slate of candidates.
Goldman has about 400 partners against a total workforce of just over 46,000, meaning the partners represent fewer than 1 per cent of the bank’s employees.
The fact that partners are selected only once every two years, when most companies promote new senior employees annually, makes it all the more precious for those selected and even more painful for candidates who miss out.
Being a partner at Goldman typically guarantees a salary of at least $1mn, plus a bonus, access to an annual private gathering with splashy speakers which have included former presidents and prime ministers, and funds to donate to charity through the bank’s philanthropic arm.
New partners are selected in what is known inside Goldman as “cross ruffing” — a nod to a play in the card game bridge — where current partners are tasked with vetting candidates through interviews with their senior colleagues.
“If there’s any negative feedback you don’t make it,” said one former Goldman partner. “It’s like a beauty pageant. And if there are any blemishes it’s bad.”
Before the most recent partner class, only 19 per cent of Goldman’s partners were women.
Many former Goldman partners have gone on to public service, including Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler, Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury secretary in the first Trump administration, and Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s former prime minister.
https://www.ft.com/content/27086150-5834-4273-afa2-5de785c1cb35
