Head of Goldman Sachs to net $207m from flotation

Goldman Sachs' chief executive officer Mr Hank Paulson will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Wall Street investment bank's decision to become a public company, owning shares valued at $206.6 million, following the initial public offering in early May.

According to the final prospectus for the offering published yesterday, Mr Paulson will own 4.1 million shares after the company goes public, less than one per cent of the total.

As expected, the prospectus set a new pricing range of $45-55 following a recent surge in financial stocks. Assuming that the shares are priced at the middle of that range, co-chief operating officers Mr John Thain and Mr John Thornton will own shares worth $155 million and $151 million each.

Two other senior officers, Mr Robert Hurst and Mr David Viniar, chief financial officer, will net $192 million and $85 million respectively. Former senior partner Mr John Weinberg will net $22 million because he is a limited partner. Mr Weinberg will have a seat on the board, as will two external directors, Sir John Browne of BP Amoco, and Mr James Johnson, former head of Fannie Mae.

Mr Jon Corzine, the firm's co-chairman, who was ousted as co-chief executive officer earlier this year, is not listed in the prospectus because he has said he will leave the firm just before the IPO. He is expected to net around $200 million. The distribution of shares to partners is based on the size of stakes in the partnership, while for other Goldman staff, it is calculated according to a formula based on compensation and length of service, but includes a discretionary element.

Among the major beneficiaries will be Mr Peter Sutherland, a former GATT director general and EU commissioner, who is now a senior partner and chairman of Goldman Sachs International.

Goldman also said that its proforma net earnings for the first quarter - that is, its earnings if it had been a public company - were $520 million, after a $361 million tax payment. Goldman had reported pre-tax earnings of $1.19 billion before payments to partners.

Goldman also disclosed in its prospectus that it has set up an online trading business called GSOnline, which will underwrite securities offerings on the Internet.