Epstein-Linked Goldman Legal Chief to Exit With $25 Million (1)

Kathy Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top lawyer, secured a $25 million pay package and new security perks in 2025 before she announced her resignation this year amid scrutiny of her past association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Ruemmler, who will leave Goldman in June, saw her annual compensation increase 11% from the $22.5 million she received in 2024, according to a company filing Friday.

She said in February she will step down as the chief legal officer and general counsel at Goldman, which she joined in 2020. Her name appeared thousands of times in records the Justice Department released about Epstein. He was facing federal sex-trafficking charges when he died by apparent suicide in jail in 2019.

Ruemmler accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from Epstein, whom she called “Uncle Jeffrey” and “sweetie,” the DOJ documents show. She interacted with the disgraced financier in a “professional capacity,” according to a Goldman spokesperson.

She has said she regrets having known Epstein. She came to Goldman from Latham & Watkins, LLP, where she was a partner. She also served as White House counsel during the Obama administration.

Ruemmler received a base salary of $1.5 million in 2025 and almost $8.5 million in additional cash, according to the new corporate filing from Goldman. She was the only woman among the bank’s five highest-paid executives.

Goldman also mentioned Ruemmler on a list of top executives who received personal security in 2025; she wasn’t included on that list the previous year. The company spent $10,569 on those services for the year, according to the filing.

The pay package Goldman reported for Ruemmler was $2.7 million more than the $22.3 million in annual compensation it disclosed for her elsewhere in its filing. That’s because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to include summary compensation tables with metrics that depart from Goldman’s preferred calculations. Goldman’s summary compensation table required by the SEC doesn’t include equity awards the bank reports in its other pay package data.

Ruemmler was a “key advisor to firm leadership during 2025, providing exceptional judgment and advice across a broad range of legal, risk management, regulatory and people matters,” according to the company’s filing.

A Goldman representative could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.