Jon Winkelried was one of Goldman Sachs' wealthiest employees on paper, with over $350m (€264m) in the bank's shares and funds, a Nantucket estate and a ranch in Colorado. By the time he retired as the bank's co-president and co-chief operating officer on March 31, he had been bought out of funds to the tune of $19.7m as long-term investments tied up cash and a bonus disappeared.

Winkelried had been paid $67.5m in 2007, but his cashflow diminished after Goldman Sachs - one of the least afflicted by the downturn - said it would withhold 2008 bonuses from its chief executive and six others, including Winkelried, who had been slated to take home about $71m.