What do you during your downtime if you’re a 55 year-old Goldman Sachs banker with a house on the upper west side and a salary (before bonus) of $1.85m a year? Let David Solomon, co-COO of Goldman Sachs be your guide.
Firstly you have parties. Solomon is reportedly one for hosting soirees for his “varied social network”, including his wife’s dog walking friends. Secondly, you eat out at fancy restaurants “more than some food critics,” and even invest in your favourite eateries. Thirdly, you fly around the world being an international DJ at clubs in the Bahamas (possibly unpaid). Fourthly, you get yourself a house in the Hamptons. And lastly, you invest in some of the finest wines known to man and a domestic assistant to transport them about for you.
This final spending habit has got Solomon into a spot of bother. In an episode reminiscent of Joyti DeLaurey, the Goldman secretary who stole millions from managing director Scott Mead (now a fine art photographer) in 2005, Solomon says he has been frisked by his 40 year-old personal assistant, Nicolas De Meyer, whom he says robbed him of wine worth $1.2m whilst taking it to his house in East Hampton. The wines De Meyer stands accused of pilfering include seven bottles from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti worth a combined $134k. It’s not clear whether – like Mead – Solomon didn’t even notice the disappearance of some of his wealth for a while, but the fact that the thefts continued over a two year period suggest he has more on his mind than the state of his wine cellar.
Separately, after all the rumblings about Barclays making redundancies, it seems they’re actually happening. Bloomberg reports that Barclays is making 100 layoffs at director and managing director in London and New York.
Meanwhile:
Stefan Hoops, head of Deutsche’s capital market division in Germany, told reporters: “Not thousands will move from London, but rather hundreds…the lion’s share of traders will remain in London.” (Sky)
Kathryn McLeland is running a newly combined treasury and investor relations unit at Barclays, making her one of the most important women in British banking. (Bloomberg)
MifID II is here and Evercore has closed its equities execution desk. (Financial News)
UBS is using artificial intelligence to manage its travel spend. (Computer Weekly)
David Einhorn’s hedge fund rose by…1.6% last year. (NYPost)
The former head of FX trading operations at Barclays in NY stands accused of orchestrating a multi-million front-running scheme.(The Trade News)
Consolidation comes to High Frequency Trading as Hudson River acquires Sun Trading. (The Trade News)
Goldman’s bankers outperformed its traders for the first time since 2000. (Bloomberg)
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