The new class will join Goldman's elite at a time when a partnership at the firm is no longer a guarantee of a multi-million payday. By the end of this year, the firm's current 349 partners stand to divvy up the smallest bonus pool that Goldman has produced, on a per capita basis, since going public in 1999.
And while Goldman was willing to confirm the announcement of the new class of partners, the firm would not comment on the other biannual tradition that goes hand-in-hand with the process: the “de-partnering” of a comparable number of its partner-managing directors.
The bank tries to keep the number of partners in the range of 1 per cent of employees.