Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon jetted off to Paris this week for the Olympics, just three months after he effectively banned employees from flying to the sporting events at company expense, according to information obtained by The Washington Post.
Publicly available flight records show the company’s private luxury jet – a Gulfstream G650ER purchased new and valued at $66 million – took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday.
The Air Force Sol, which can seat up to 16 passengers comfortably in cream-colored leather seats, landed at Paris’ ultra-luxury Le Bourget airport just seven hours later, on Thursday morning, according to flight records posted on the ADS-B Exchange website.
“Yes, he’s going to Paris. The height of hypocrisy,” one Goldman banker fumed last week. “And sure enough, he’ll be using the corporate jet.”
Mr Solomon’s schedule included a series of “client meetings” as well as a lunch hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, with the menu and wine list shrouded in secrecy and prepared by award-winning chef Fabrice Desvigne.
The Wall Street titan was also invited to a lavish party for the rich and famous, co-hosted by Bernard Arnault, the billionaire chairman of luxury goods giant LVMH.
The house DJ will also be one of the VIP guests at Friday’s opening ceremony in central Paris.
Goldman’s top brass in April told its staff not to entertain or host clients at the Paris Olympics without prior approval from the firm’s accountants, and Mr. Solomon’s trip is likely to anger rank-and-file employees at the firm.
Bank executives were concerned that the meeting would be set up as an excuse to watch world-class athletes compete at the company’s expense, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr Solomon has already faced criticism in recent years over his DJ career and frequent use of corporate jets, and some have said the Paris trip could put him at risk.
“It seems like David Solomon has one rule and other rules for other people,” one Wall Street source said. “Maybe they should call him King Solomon.”
Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Fratto defended Solomon’s stay and denied complaints of double standards.
“That’s ridiculous. Everything we do here is with national customers and a growing team,” Flatt told The Post on Friday.
Solomon, 62, was invited by Macron to lunch at the Elysee Palace, France’s presidential residence, on Thursday, where he mingled with other executives including Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, Alibaba’s Tsai Ing-wen, TikTok CEO Shaw Zhu-Chu and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, according to two sources.
He then headed to the lavish Louis Vuitton Comcast NBCUniversal “Prelude” party that evening at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, a Frank Gehry-designed museum on New York City’s west side, the people added.
In addition to Arnault, hosts included Pharrell Williams (pictured left) and celebrity guests such as actress Charlize Theron, tennis legend Serena Williams (pictured top right) and French TV star Omar Sy.
Solomon also plans to attend a sporting event where he will host some of the company’s clients, as well as a corporate party with a group of Olympic gold medallists.
“Like many other Fortune 100 CEOs, he’s in Paris meeting with clients and local employees,” Flatt said.
The bank’s CEO will be staying in a luxury hotel within the VIP security area set up for the opening ceremony, which is expected to draw a billion spectators from around the world.
Multiple sources told The Post that he had booked a room at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, an iconic 244-room resort just off the Champs-Elysees and a short walk from Goldman’s offices.
Rooms at George V start at $2,500 per night, and many feature private balconies overlooking famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides. The cheapest suite is $5,300 per night, while the most expensive is $27,000 per night.
Built in 1928, the building has previously hosted guests including Bill Gates, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelcy, and the late Queen Elizabeth, and is home to three Michelin-starred restaurants.
Mr Flatt denied that Mr Solomon ever booked a room at the George V Hotel.
A company source told The Post that “dozens” of executives were in Paris to host clients, but stressed it was normal for top executives to attend the Olympics.
They included Goldman President John Waldron, Dan Deess, co-head of international investment banking, and Richard Gnoss, CEO of Goldman Sachs International, according to a Paris source.
Solomon’s use of the bank’s aircraft has been controversial in the past, coming under fire in 2022 for flying from Japan to Chicago to perform a DJ set at the Lollapalooza music festival.
A Business Insider exposé last year said the G650ER is Solomon’s aircraft of choice, while the smaller G280 Goldman Jet is primarily used by Chief Operating Officer John Waldron.
The gas-guzzling G650ER jets are the sole choice of America’s ultra-rich, who are popular with celebrities and top executives, including Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Kim Kardashian.
In its most recent proxy statement, published in April, Goldman argued that the 62-year-old had not violated any rules.
The bank said Solomon “will use the bank’s corporate aircraft, including for personal business travel, for security reasons and to maximise the efficiency of travel time and response time to company business.”
Dr. Steven M. Davis, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School’s Program on Corporate Governance, said such luxury jet travel represents “a classic warning sign of CEO greed, often at the expense of shareholders.”
Added Charles Elson, founding director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware: “You could walk down the street with David Solomon and no one would recognize him. The board’s case is weak. He makes millions of dollars a year and could probably charter his own plane.”
Solomon will receive $31 million in compensation in 2023, up 24% from $25 million in 2022, according to the bank’s investor filing.
