Top Goldman Sachs executive Jon Winkelried will be barred from selling most of his shares in the bank when he steps down as one of its presidents at the end of this month because of a provision in the 2008 deal to sell a stake to Warren Buffett.
Only days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September, Mr Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, agreed to invest $5bn in Goldman in return for 50,000 preferred shares, granting it a 10 per cent annual dividend, and warrants to purchase $5bn in common stock at $115 per share.
According to a provision of the deal, Goldman's top four executives are forbidden from selling more than 10 per cent of their stakes in the bank until October 2011, or such time as Berkshire's preferred stock is bought back by Goldman. The agreement with Mr Buffett was noteworthy because Mr Winkelried – who remains co-chief operating officer and president until he steps down – will still be bound by the contract after he leaves Goldman. The other Goldman executives bound by the contract are Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive; Gary Cohn, co-chief operating officer and president; and David Viniar, chief financial officer.