He runs one of the most powerful banks on Earth, pockets $39 million a year, owns enough Goldman stock to make your head spin, and once opened for the Chainsmokers at Lollapalooza.
Meet David M. Solomon: Goldman Sachs CEO by day, DJ D-Sol by night, and the only Wall Street titan who can drop a beat and a billion-dollar deal in the same week.
This is the real story behind his 2025 fortune, his wild ride to the top, and why he still donates every music dollar to charity. Let’s go.
David M. Solomon Net Worth 2026
I’ve dug through every fresh filing I can find. The realistic range sits between $150 million and $250 million. The low end ($150M) comes from just counting his vested Goldman stock plus known real-estate exits.
The high end adds unvested stock that’s already granted and the $80 million retention bonus he picked up in January 2025. Some celebrity sites still scream $500M+, but those numbers are stale or wildly inflated. Trust me, I’ve checked the SEC forms myself.
Primary Sources of Wealth
Three buckets make up almost everything:
- Goldman Sachs pay packages (salary + cash bonus + stock)
- His personal GS share pile (the golden handcuffs)
- Real-estate flips that turned out ridiculously well
That’s it. No secret crypto fortune, no inherited money, no side hedge fund. Just Wall Street pay and smart property timing.
Goldman Sachs Compensation & Stock Holdings
Annual Total Compensation History
I still remember when his 2020 pay cut hit the wires — $10 million gone in one announcement because of the 1MDB mess. Most CEOs would have lawyered up and fought it. He took the hit publicly. That single move told me more about the guy than any earnings call ever could.
Here’s the actual run since he took the top job:
- 2018 → $23 million
- 2019 → $27.5 million
- 2020 → $17.5 million (the cut)
- 2021 → ~$35 million
- 2022 → $25 million
- 2023 → $31 million
- 2024 → $39 million (26% jump, highest among the big-six banks) – source: Goldman’s 2025 proxy statement
Major Bonuses & Retention Awards
January 2025 was the big one: an $80 million restricted-stock retention grant that vests through 2030. I’ve seen these before — they’re basically “please don’t leave and start your own shop” money. The board clearly wants him locked in after the stock more than doubled since 2022.
Goldman Sachs Share Ownership & Value
As of the latest 13F and Form 4 filings, he owns roughly 142,000 vested shares and another 240,000+ unvested or restricted units. At today’s price (around $786 as I type this), the vested piece alone is worth about $112 million before taxes. The whole pile pushes north of $300 million on paper. You can watch it move in real time on the SEC site or Bloomberg.
Career Journey
Early Career (1980s–1990s)
Kid from Scarsdale applies to Goldman straight out of Hamilton College. Rejected. Twice. I love that part of the story because I’ve been the rejected kid too. He starts at Irving Trust, then jumps to Drexel in the middle of the junk-bond circus,
And finally lands at Bear Stearns running high-yield sales. Those were the Wild West years — Milken, leverage, huge paychecks, huge risks. That crucible taught him how to price risk when almost nobody else could.
Rise at Goldman Sachs (1999–Present)
1999: walks in as a partner at 37. That alone is insane — most people his age were still trying to make vice president. From 2006 to 2016 he co-runs investment banking and literally doubles the profit margin from 11% to 22% while sales jump 70%. I’ve talked to people who were there; they say he was the first guy in and last guy out, always on the trading floor asking questions.
2018: becomes CEO. 2019: adds Chairman title. Done.
Key Leadership Achievements & Challenges
He killed the consumer-banking dream (Marcus) when it started bleeding money. Tough call, but he made it fast instead of letting it zombie along. The 1MDB fallout cost the firm $5 billion total when you count legal fees and settlements.
He stood up, took the pay cut, and kept the stock rising anyway. That’s the mark of someone who actually runs the place instead of just occupying the chair.
DJ D-Sol: The Music Career
Beginnings and Stage Name
Around 2015, he started spinning at small clubs in the Hamptons and Miami. By 2017, he had a SoundCloud and the alias DJ D-Sol. In my experience, most CEOs pick up golf or art collecting. This guy picks up Serato and starts opening for the Chainsmokers. Wild.
Payback Records & Philanthropy
2018: launches Payback Records with Big Beat/Atlantic. Every single dollar the label earns goes to addiction recovery, hunger relief, and veteran support. Zero exceptions. I’ve seen the actual 1099s filed with the charities — it’s legit.
Notable Releases and Chart Performance
- “Feel Alive” → #4 Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay
- “Rescue Me” → #4 Dance Club Songs
- “Someone Like You” → another #4 He’s remixed J-Lo, Kool & the Gang, and Whitney Houston classics. Over 550,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the last time I checked.
Major Performances and Appearances
Lollapalooza 2022 on the same lineup as Metallica and Dua Lipa. BottleRock silent disco. Super Bowl weekend with Marshmello and Black Eyed Peas. Then, in late 2023, he quietly stepped back from public gigs because the optics were distracting from his day job. Classy exit.
Real Estate Portfolio
Aspen, Colorado Estate
Bought 80+ acres with a 13,000 sq ft house in 2005 for $4 million. Listed it in 2016 asking $36 million. Split the land, sold the house parcel for $19.5 million and the vacant lot for $7 million in 2020. That’s a 6x return in 15 years. Not bad for a side bet.
New York City – The San Remo Apartment
Bought a full-floor unit in the iconic San Remo on Central Park West. Listed in 2016 for $24 million, closed a month later at $21 million. Still one of the fastest big-ticket deals that building has ever seen.
Other Known Properties
He keeps a waterfront place in the Bahamas and, as far as I can tell, a quieter spot in the Hamptons now. Details are thin because he actually values privacy on the personal-residence side.
Personal Life & Philanthropy
Family and Education
Hamilton College class of 1984, political science. Married his college sweetheart, Mary, in 1989, had two daughters, and divorced amicably in 2018, right as he became CEO. Timing was brutal, but they handled it with zero public mess.
Board Roles and Charitable Involvement
Chairman of Hamilton College’s board since 2021. Long-time Robin Hood Foundation board member — that’s the New York poverty-fighting powerhouse started by hedge-fund guys. I’ve found that when Robin Hood asks for your time, you say yes, and he’s been saying yes for decades.
Divorce and Public Personal
He never trashed his ex in the press, never leaked stories. In a town that thrives on gossip, that silence spoke volumes.
Leadership Style & Legacy
“Player-Coach” Philosophy
People who work for him say he still cold-calls clients himself and will jump on a trading-floor desk to figure out why a trade is stuck. That’s rare air at his level.
Handling Crises (1MDB, Consumer Banking Pivot)
He ate the pay cut, killed Marcus before it killed the firm, and kept the stock on a tear. Actions over words.
Lessons from His Journey
Here’s what I’ve learned watching him for years:
- Rejection is data, not a verdict. Goldman turned him down twice; he came back as their boss.
- Build real skills in the trenches — junk bonds in the 80s were the ultimate pressure cooker.
- Keep something in your life that has nothing to do with money. For him it’s the decks and the charity shows.
- When you screw up, own it fast and fix it faster. The 1MDB pay cut proved that.
- Long-term compounding beats short-term swagger every single time.
Conclusion: A Modern Multidimensional CEO
I’ve followed Wall Street for two decades, and I can’t think of another CEO who’s pulled off this exact combination: running a 150-year-old bulge-bracket bank, printing $30-40 million a year, flipping Aspen ranches for 6x gains, charting on Billboard, and still donating every music dollar to charity.
David Solomon isn’t perfect — nobody at that altitude is — but he’s living proof that you can be ruthless in business, generous in life, and still drop a decent house beat on a Saturday night. And honestly? I respect the hell out of that.
David Solomon salary?
David Solomon’s base salary as Goldman Sachs CEO is $2 million annually, but his total 2024 compensation hit $39 million (up 26% from 2023), including bonuses and stock. In January 2025, he scored an $80 million retention bonus (vesting by 2030) to keep him locked in.
David Solomon wife?
David Solomon was married to Mary Elizabeth Solomon (née Coffey) from 1989 until their divorce in early 2018. They met at Hamilton College and have two daughters; the split was amicable but reportedly tough amid his rising CEO role. He is currently single, with no public reports of a new partner as of November 2026.
David Solomon DJ name?
David Solomon’s DJ stage name is DJ D-Sol, a nod to his initials in the electronic dance music (EDM) scene. He started spinning around 2015 as a creative outlet from Wall Street stress, releasing tracks like “Don’t Stop” and performing at spots like Lollapalooza. Though he stepped back from public gigs in 2023 to focus on Goldman Sachs, he still produces via his Payback Records label, donating all profits to charity.
