Goldman CEO, others get millions from options

[cory777]

Source: Reuters

Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Friday said several top company officials, including Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, exercised stock options this week and obtained millions of dollars of profits by selling the resulting shares, regulatory filings show.

Blankfein exercised 90,681 stock options at a strike price of $82.875, and obtained a $6.09 million gross profit by selling the resulting shares on Wednesday at prices between $148.97 to $152.00.

In similar options exercises and sales, President Gary Cohn exercised 73,653 options and had a $4.95 million profit, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar exercised 67,326 options and had a $4.52 million profit, and General Counsel Gregory Palm exercised 47,895 options and had a $3.22 million profit.

Goldman said the options were granted in November 2000 and scheduled to expire this November. It disclosed the transactions in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67C4XQ20100813?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29

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Uncensored Activist News http://activistnews.blogspot.com

[Zenlitened]

1. Whew. Now I'll be able to sleep nights, knowing they have...

... more "extra" money than most of us will ever see in a lifetime.

[Joanne98]

2. Goldman Sachs Chief Blankfein Reaps $6.1 Million From Options

Source: Bloomberg

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s chairman and chief executive officer, made $6.1 million by exercising options granted to him in 2000 that were due to expire in November.

The options allowed Blankfein, 55, to buy 90,681 shares for $82.875 apiece and sell them at prices ranging from $148.97 to $152 each on Aug. 11, according to a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gary D. Cohn, Goldman Sachs’s president, made a $4.95 million profit by exercising 73,653 options and David A. Viniar, the chief financial officer, reaped $4.52 million by exercising 67,326 options, separate filings showed.

Goldman Sachs, which set a Wall Street profit record for a securities firm, has dropped 12 percent in New York Stock Exchange Composite trading so far this year. Still, today’s closing price of $148.08 is up 79 percent from the close of $82.875 on Nov. 29, 2000, making the option grants lucrative for senior management at today’s prices.

Blankfein, Cohn and Viniar are restrained from selling more than 10 percent of their stock under the terms of an agreement reached with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. when Berkshire agreed in September 2008 to buy $5 billion of Goldman Sachs preferred stock. All three must hold at least 90 percent of their common stock until Oct. 1, 2011, or until Berkshire redeems its investment, whichever comes soonest.


Read more: http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWSLLN9HQwN4&pos=5

[closeupready]

3. Eh, that's lunch. Big deal.

:sarcasm:

[Catshrink]

4. Criminal

[Zenlitened]

5. Wow! The stock market really is a great place to make money!

I guess I should jump right in. Those GS shares look like a sure thing right about now, up a solid 5 percent in just the past month!









:sarcasm: <---- it's right here

I pity the poor bastards who bought the shares these guys were selling.

[lib2DaBone]

6. Lloyd Blankfein controls the U.S. Govenment...

He is the "Real" POTUS.

[primavera]

7. Get your money for nothing and your chicks for free

Must be nice.

[Anakin Skywalker]

8. Where's the Outrage from Teabaggers?

The silence is deafening. I can't f*cking hear you!

[melm00se]

9. I guess I am going to be in the minority here

according to the article

>>Goldman said the options were granted in November 2000 and scheduled to expire this November. It disclosed the transactions in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings<<

these were granted almost 10 years ago and they were going to expire so they sold them.

So what?

if you were granted 10 shares you'd have done the same rather than sit around and wait for them to expire (and go back to the company). it's akin to not cashing your paycheck.

[SKKY]

10. Another in the minority here...

...Unless they're selling right before a big tank, I don't see the issue. The stock price is (or should be) a reflection of the companies performance. It's not like they were given a bunch of cash in a severance package right after they drove the company in to the ground. Isn't this akin to a professional athlete having a performance based contract? If I'm off base, please tell me.