What's the niftiest way to vault to the top ranks of banks that earn fees from leveraged buyouts? Pay yourself. 

That would take a page right out of Goldman Sachs' (nyse: GS - news - people ) playbook. Last year, the bank raked in $1.5 billion in buyout-related revenue, tops among Wall Street firms. At the same time, its financial sponsor unit, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, paid out in fees the second-highest amount among buyout groups: $617 million.

Goldman was both acquirer and adviser to the acquirer on many of the biggest buyout deals of 2007, including the $44 billion takeover of TXU (nyse: TXU - news - people ) by a group including itself, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific Group. It was also acquirer and adviser on the $28 billion take-private of Alltel (nyse: AT - news - people ), and the $7 billion transaction for Dollar General (nyse: DG - news - people ), among other deals.