Goldman Sachs to Pay Out $111.3 Million of Stock to Executives

Goldman Sachs Group's (GS) top executives will receive about $111.3 million worth of stock next month in delayed compensation for their work in 2009 and 2007.

CEO Lloyd Blankfein will receive about $24.3 million in January, Bloomberg News reported. Gary D. Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs, will get about $24 million.

The figures are based on the stock's closing price of $167.33 on Dec. 14.

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Goldman Sachs gave its top executives bonuses of restricted stock in 2009 after accepting massive assistance from the federal government to stay afloat. In 2007, investment bankers received record bonuses, including restricted stock.

A recent poll carried out by Bloomberg News showed that more than 70% of Americans believed that banks that received government assistance should not pay out bonuses.

"Clearly we now look back and say, 'Were things fine? Should they have paid? Maybe not,'" said Jeanne Branthover, a managing director at recruitment firm Boyden Global Executive Search. "There's nothing you can do about it. The payouts were in stone. But hopefully, in the future, they won't be."

Wall Street bonuses, traditionally a large portion of an employee's take-home pay, are expected to decline this year. For trading and investment banking-employees, total compensation will drop by as much as 28% from last year according to Options Group.