In Our Book, Goldman-Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfeld Was a Much Better Buy Than Panthers' QB Jake Delhomme.....
While we weren't happy with the Golden Parachutes and excessive bonuses that were thrown around before TARP, it makes us laugh to see just how Anti-Capitalist some people can be. We don't react to other bloggers too often, but seeing Waldo's one sentence comment on Goldman-Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfeld's $9 million pay for 2009 was great. As usual, his analysis was about as in-depth as the comment....
Yeah, $9 million is a lot of money. But, a look around at exactly what $9 Million gets you nowadays makes Blankfeld seem like a good deal. Need an example? You don't need to go far, just drive up I-77 from Columbia for 90 miles, and there's a great example: Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme....
The Cajun QB signed a 5 year/$42.5 million extension before this year, of which $20 Million is guaranteed , or as Jake might say, GAR-ON-TEED !! What did Panther fans get for that $8.5 mil per? Delhomme threw 8 TD's and 18 Interceptions. Only once did he throw 2 TD's in a game, which is five times less than the number of times he threw 2 Ints in a game. Matt Miller then took over and showed them how to win again. That's a pretty poor return on investment, or ROI....
As for Blankfeld, let's check out his year.. In all honesty, he was a good example of what was wrong with Wall Street. In 2007, Blankfeld was given a whopping $68 million bonus. Short of owning a company, no one should earn that much, but when the shit hit the fan, he was one of the few to actually get it. Last year, he wasn't paid. How did Goldman-Sachs do in 2009? First off, they paid all the TARP money they borrowed ($10 Billion) back with interest fully in June, so they owe Barack Obama nothing. Besides that, they did pretty well... They earned a profit of $13.3 Billion, which earned their stockholders dividends of over $66 million last year. Most of those people are middle class citizens who have stock as part of their 401(k) to save for college, retirement, etc.
Now for the part that Waldo didn't mention, or probably didn't even notice: Blankfeld didn't even actually make $9 million. He got only $600,000 in cash, and $8.1 million in stock that he can't sell for at least 5 years. Yeah, you probably gagged when I said 'only', but $600k for running a Wall Street Multinational is nothing. That kind of money won't even get you a Co-Op in Manhattan. That $8.1 could be more if the stock price rises, but with the current price at $154 a share, it could be worth way less too...
So, how do guys make $9 million a year? Maybe a little luck, but the right guy in the right spot is worth it. I know a guy who bills clients $550 an hour. Last week, he went into a company currently losing about $4 million a year, went through their books, and made recommendations that will turn that $4 million loss into a $4 million profit - without firing anyone, or cutting pay. Think that $22,000 was a good investment for the company? You bet. Just like paying Blankfeld .0067% of the profit was a good idea. Real talent is worth that much....
But the real question is this: Can he throw a football?
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4 comments:
most definitely that goldman douchebag.
If Big Ben had that kind of year, you'd think otherwise...
The suit. Here's how we know his situation is the more ridiculous one. Delhomme will never get another contract like the ridiculous extension the Panthers gave him. The suit could fuck shit up every year and his fellow suits would continue to give him the coin.
"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." -Abe
You guys are crazy !! ;)
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