More on compensation at Goldman Sachs

People seem fixated on Goldman Sachs's great year, and how much the employees are making. Here's an interesting fact: As a percentage of revenue, the amount spent on compensation actually declined to 43.7 percent from 46.6 percent last year. That's lower than at Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. Its $623,418 compensation per employee, however, is basically double that of its nearest competitors. But the average is not really meaningful, when you consider that one--one!--employee, a trader, was said to have made $98 million. He was later stalked by the British paparazzi. The press in general is having a field day, with stories about the holiday party for which managing directors paid $10,000 each and the like.

For more:
- here's a New York Times article
- here's some commentary from the New York Post
- More on this story here.