It's not just that Goldman Sachs has fared really well. It's that it has done so when its competitors are really struggling. The bonus pool tells the story. This year, by one estimate (Options Group), the collective bonus pool at the top five firms will be $38 billion. Of that amount Goldman Sachs will split $20 billion, or 53 percent. Last year, it took home about 45 percent of the collective pool. This year, we'll see a lot of variation in bonus payouts. So it matters where you work and what you do. Fixed-income folks will suffer the most. Managing directors in MBS could see declines of up to 60 percent. Commodities folks will fare better.    

For more:
- here's the CNBC article [1]

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