Yet Dimon has established a reputation beyond his profession by commenting publicly on any number of political and social issues from infrastructure spending to immigration policy. In September last year, Dimon famously told a public audience that he was smarter than U.S. President Donald Trump, and just as tough, sparking rumors that he might run for president. About this, Dimon claimed: \u201cHe could punch me all he wants, it wouldn\u2019t work with me. I\u2019d fight right back. And by the way, this wealthy New Yorker actually earned his money. It wasn\u2019t a gift from daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump naturally struck back. \u201cThe problem with banker Jamie Dimon running for President is that he doesn\u2019t have the aptitude or \u2018smarts\u2019 & is a poor public speaker & nervous mess\u2014otherwise he is wonderful,\u201d the most powerful man in the world tweeted in response.<\/p>\n
That same night, Dimon insisted he had no intentions of embarking on a political career, jokingly saying that the outburst was proof \u201che wouldn\u2019t make a good politician.\u201d Yet the fact remains: this is one of America\u2019s more outspoken CEOs who isn\u2019t afraid to express his opinions and has some surprisingly progressive views on the U.S. economy and the \u201cfuture of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Surviving the crisis<\/b><\/h1>\n
In 2010, The New York Times described Jamie Dimon as \u201cAmerica\u2019s least-hated banker.\u201d That may sound like damning with faint praise, but upon taking charge at JPMorgan Chase six years earlier, Dimon gained a reputation as a tough leader averse to the type of risks that would shortly come to wrack the U.S. financial sector.<\/p>\n
He became known for analyzing hundreds of pages of raw financial data and schooling himself in the complex techniques employed by his traders, reeling in lending sooner than his rivals and warning shareholders of impending trouble.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States and as of 2018 was ranked by S&P Global as the sixth largest bank in the world by total assets, amounting to $2.535 trillion. In its current form, JPMorgan Chase is the result of several large U.S. banks since 1996, including Chase Manhattan, JP Morgan & Co., and Bear Stearns; the company\u2019s oldest predecessor institution, the Bank of the Manhattan Company, established by Aaron Burr in 1799, was the third oldest banking corporation in U.S. history.<\/p>\n
Naturally, given the scale of the 2008 Financial Crisis, neither Dimon nor JPMorgan Chase were immune to its fallout\u2014to the tune of $51 billion in faulty mortgages, unpaid credit cards, and other bad loans.<\/p>\n
Bankers subsequently became the bad guys of the U.S. economy, and Dimon was no exception, yet in 2010 he would tell a roomful of corporate clients: \u201cI\u2019m not embarrassed to be a banker. I\u2019m not embarrassed to be in business.\u201d Furthermore, JPMorgan Chase survived the crisis in large part due to Dimon keeping a large chunk of capital aside for a rainy day. The bank not only remained solvent, it stayed profitable during the crisis\u2014and the U.S. government turned to JPMorgan twice to bail out failing rivals.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the crisis, Dimon rapidly became the most well-known face on Wall Street. He stated publicly that bankers not only had a responsibility to help rebuild the economy, but also in coming up with reforms to the financial sector. Yet inevitably, he also had his critics, who accused him of taking advantage of the crisis to acquire Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.<\/p>\n
Indeed, JPMorgan Chase is now larger than ever, and in 2010 U.S. senators pushed for an amendment that would force big banks to dismantle. Dimon fought back, telling The New York Times that the demonization of the banking industry was harmful, unfair, and \u201cleads to bad policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The progressive banker<\/b><\/h1>\n
What truly distinguishes Dimon from his contemporaries is his willingness to speak out on any number of social and political issues. He has said publicly that the U.S. economy is \u201cfundamentally anti-poor\u201d and systematically rolls over ethnic minority groups and the economically disadvantaged, making it difficult or impossible for them to compete.<\/p>\n