Money at the top of Wall Street isn't just about a paycheck. It’s about staying power. If you’ve looked up david m. solomon net worth recently, you’ve probably seen a bunch of wild numbers ranging from $100 million to nearly a quarter-billion. Most of those guesses miss the mark because they don't account for how Goldman Sachs actually pays its kingpins.
David Solomon isn't just "rich" in the way a lottery winner is rich. He’s rich in a way that’s tied to the very survival of one of the world's most powerful investment banks.
The Math Behind the Millions
Let’s get the hard numbers out of the way. As of early 2026, David Solomon’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $180 million to $210 million.
Is he a billionaire? No. Not even close. People often assume that leading Goldman Sachs automatically puts you in the three-comma club, but that’s a common misconception. Goldman isn't a tech startup; it's a legacy institution where the wealth is spread across a massive partnership.
His wealth is basically a giant pile of Goldman Sachs (GS) stock. According to SEC filings from late 2025 and early 2026, Solomon holds approximately 142,347 shares of GS. With the stock price hovering around $960 recently, that slice alone is worth more than **$137 million**.
Then you have to look at the cash.
In 2024, his total compensation jumped to $39 million, a 26% raise from the previous year. That made him the best-paid CEO among the "Big Six" U.S. banks. But here’s the kicker: only about $2 million of that is base salary. The rest is a mix of cash bonuses and performance-linked stock that he can't even touch for years.
The $80 Million Golden Handcuff
The most interesting part of the david m. solomon net worth story isn't what he has now—it's what’s waiting for him.
In January 2025, the Goldman board did something bold. They handed Solomon an $80 million retention bonus. This wasn't a "good job" gift. It was a lock. To get that money, Solomon has to stay at the helm until at least 2030.
If he leaves early? He loses the bag.
This $80 million is composed of restricted stock units (RSUs). Because of this, his "paper" net worth looks significantly higher than his "liquid" net worth. He’s essentially tied to the desk. This move was clearly designed to signal stability to investors after a few rocky years involving the bank's retreat from consumer banking and some internal grumbling about his leadership style.
🔗 Read more: Karen Firestone Net Worth: What the Public Figures Actually Reveal
Beyond the Bank: DJing and Real Estate
We have to talk about DJ D-Sol.
For a while, Solomon was the only CEO of a major bank who spent his weekends spinning EDM at clubs and festivals like Lollapalooza. It was a massive branding thing—until it wasn't. By late 2023, he mostly retired from the DJ booths because the hobby became a "distraction" for the bank's board.
Did he make money from it? Sorta.
He had over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify at his peak. However, Solomon famously donated his DJ proceeds to charity. So, while it added to his public profile, it didn't really move the needle on the david m. solomon net worth calculation.
Real estate is where the "quiet" money sits.
- The Manhattan Pad: He owns a massive apartment at the San Remo on the Upper West Side, which he reportedly bought for around $24 million years ago.
- The Hamptons Estate: He has a spread in Aspen and a place in the Hamptons. These properties alone likely represent $40 million to $50 million in asset value, though precise current valuations are kept private.
Why His Wealth is Different From Jamie Dimon's
If you compare Solomon to JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, the gap is huge. Dimon is a billionaire. Why? Because Dimon has been the CEO for nearly two decades and held significant equity through the bank's massive growth cycles.
Solomon took over in 2018. He’s a "working" CEO in the sense that most of his wealth was built through a high-salary partnership over 25 years rather than a single massive ownership stake.
The Impact of 2025-2026 Performance
Right now, Goldman is leaning heavily into private credit and asset management. The board recently tied executive pay, including Solomon’s, to the success of these specific divisions.
If Goldman’s private credit push hits its targets, that $180 million figure could easily swell past $250 million by the time his retention bonus vests. But if the market turns? His net worth is uniquely vulnerable because it is so heavily concentrated in a single ticker symbol: GS.
Most financial advisors tell you to diversify. David Solomon can’t. He’s required by firm policy to hold a massive amount of his wealth in the company he leads.
Actionable Insights for Tracking Executive Wealth
When you're trying to figure out the true wealth of a CEO like David Solomon, don't just trust the "Net Worth" websites. Follow these steps to get the real picture:
- Check the Form 4s: The SEC requires insiders to file a Form 4 every time they buy or sell stock. This is the only way to see how many shares they actually own today.
- Look for the Proxy Statement: Every year, public companies release a DEF 14A (Proxy Statement). This document breaks down exactly how much the CEO was paid, including the "hidden" perks like personal travel on the company jet.
- Differentiate Between Total Pay and Realized Pay: Just because a CEO is "awarded" $30 million doesn't mean they have $30 million in the bank. Most of it is usually restricted stock that doesn't "count" as cash for years.
- Factor in "Carried Interest": For private equity and investment bank heads, "carry" (a share of profits from investments) can be a massive, invisible part of their wealth that isn't always captured in standard salary reports.
David Solomon’s financial story is a classic Wall Street tale: high risk, high reward, and a lot of golden handcuffs keeping him in the game.