For Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, an embarrassment of riches has turned into embarrassing riches.

Goldman’s bonus pool is expected to swell to an estimated $16 billion after what’s expected to be another stellar quarter, and Blankfein is struggling to figure out how to pay his employees in a way that keeps them happy while avoiding another round of populist and political outrage like the bank experienced over the summer.

According to people familiar with the matter, Goldman’s human-resources department is toying with a number of changes to employee compensation, including imposing longer vesting periods for stock options.

Also under consideration is paying top executives’ bonuses almost entirely in stock to keep from making the biggest cash payments. Sources speculated that the cash cut out of the bonus pool might be used to buy back stock.

A Goldman spokeswoman declined to comment.

While the end of the third quarter isn’t until Wednesday, and Goldman’s not expected to report earnings until mid-October, sources tell The Post that a resurgence in the capital markets and renewed deal volume have bolstered what was already shaping up to be one of the bank’s best years ever.

And while a typical CEO would be cheering such news, for Blankfein another gold-plated quarter represents a huge headache, as the firm’s success has been greeted with intense scorn on both Wall Street and Main Street.

In an attempt to beat back the tide of bad press, Blankfein has publicly advocated that the industry should make a number of changes to compensation on Wall Street, including adding clawbacks and moving away from making salary guarantees to new hires. He’s also called for employees to hold more stock until they retire.

Goldman’s bonus payments have been a hot-button issue since the summer, when a strong second quarter inflated the bank’s bonus pool to $11.3 billion.

The eye-popping figure spawned a p.r. nightmare for the bank, and led Blankfein to repeatedly admonish workers to forgo making big-ticket purchases in order to keep a low profile.

Now with the bonus bucket potentially reaching $16 billion, and another quarter to go before the year is out, Goldman quite possibly could beat 2007’s bonus-pool record of $18.8 billion, leaving the CEO to find a balance between motivating his employees and sidestepping more public angst, said one source.

Goldman has endured a withering barrage of negative press reports over the past few months over its uncanny ability to make mountains of money both in good times and in bad.

A Rolling Stone article referred to the firm as “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity.” Another article in New York magazine suggested that Goldman might have benefited from Uncle Sam’s rescue of giant insurer American International Group.

Goldman accepted $10 billion in government rescue funds to help it stay afloat last year as the credit crisis roiled the entire market. The bank, however, bounced back sooner than its rivals, leading some observers to think the bank leveraged its government subsidies to churn out bigger profits. mark.decambre@nypost.com

