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Kathy Romeler Gets Rewards Over 25 Million in 2025 (AP)
Two Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan executives, Kathy Romler and Mary Erdös, received more than $50 million in salaries and bonuses last year, despite exposing their close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender accused of running a network of sexual exploitation of minors.
According to Goldman Sachs’ financial statements, Kathy Romler, the bank’s senior lawyer and former White House adviser during former President Barack Obama’s administration, received a total of $25 million in payments in 2025, making her among the highest-paid executives in the U.S. financial sector.
The Financial Times reported that Goldman Sachs’ earnings rose 20% in 2025 to $17.2 billion, while Romler received a bonus of $23.5 million, in addition to a base salary of $1.5 million.
The bank said Romler continued to provide legal advice to the bank’s management through 2025 and provided “exceptional advice on a wide range of legal, risk management and personnel matters.”
Close ties with Epstein
Romler announced in February that she would leave the bank this summer, after U.S. Justice Department documents revealed a close relationship she had with Epstein between 2014 and 2019, when she was a partner in the law firm of Latham & Watkins.
The documents, which the U.S. Department of Justice has allowed to be released, show that Romler received exorbitant gifts from Epstein and provided him with legal advice related to media cases.
Romler confirmed to the Financial Times that she would formally resign from her position on June 30, saying the media attention associated with her and her previous work “has become a source of distraction.”
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, who has supported Romler since media reports about her relationship with Epstein began, confirmed she would leave her position.
Mary Erdös’ relationship with Epstein
The Banker magazine explained that a number of senior U.S. bank officials have been linked to Epstein, including Mary Erdös, the chief executive of wealth and asset management at JPMorgan.
According to the bank’s financial statements, Erdos earned $28.5 million in salaries and bonuses last year, becoming JPMorgan’s third-highest-paid executive after Jamie Dimon and Daniel Pinto.
Emails exchanged between Erdos and Epstein via her professional email at JPMorgan show a close personal relationship, with one message wishing him a “wonderful birthday weekend” in January 2012.
In another letter, Epstein’s assistant asked Erdös to get in touch with Kathy Romler, explaining that Epstein wanted to help her open an account with J.P. Morgan and deal with her personally, which was quickly welcomed by Erdös.
The documents also revealed extensive ties between Epstein and a number of U.S. tech leaders, including Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Reid Hoffman.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on charges related to sexual abuse and exploitation of minors, before he was found dead in his cell in New York, an incident that sparked widespread speculation about the circumstances of his death.