Shareholders Sue Goldman Sachs for Overpaying Execs

Shareholders are losing out because Goldman Sachs executives are "unreasonably overpaid," a lawsuit filed by a union pension fund charges. The suit from the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers fund seeks to block Goldman from spending almost half of its net revenue on executive compensation and to recover some of the cash for shareholders, Reuters reports.

Allocations of a huge portion of revenue to "vastly overcompensate management" constitutes "corporate waste," the suit says. It also calls for management instead of shareholders to be responsible for charitable contributions the firm is making as an apology for its excesses. A Goldman spokesman said the company believes the suit is totally without merit. (More Lloyd Blankfein stories.)