Episode summary
David Rubenstein Show: Jamie Dimon (Full Show)
The David Rubenstein Show
· · Hosts: David Rubenstein · Guests: Jamie Dimon
Summary
Jamie Dimon argues that U.S. policy needs to shift from short-term fixes to long-term growth, security and resilience. He says JPMorgan’s push to invest a trillion and a half dollars over ten years in security-related industries grew out of concerns about dependence on adversaries for critical inputs like rare earths, pharmaceuticals, military production, drones, cyber and satellites. He also says many problems in housing, education and workforce training are driven by policy failures, not an absence of demand or effort.
Dimon is sharply skeptical of the current mix of deficits, debt and regulation. He says the U.S. deficit is nearing $2 trillion, the debt path is unsustainable, and too many rules have made the system costlier and more litigious while hurting growth. He links weak growth to lower living standards and says better policy could raise GDP, create jobs and improve affordability.
He also defends the Federal Reserve’s independence, saying any attempt to chip away at it would push rates higher, not lower. On his own career, he says he would never take the Fed chair job, would only consider Treasury, and plans to remain at JPMorgan for at least five more years if the board wants him.
Key takeaways
- Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan’s long-term security investment plan reflects concern that the U.S. became too reliant on foreign suppliers for critical national-security inputs.
- Dimon says the U.S. debt and deficit trajectory is unsustainable, with the deficit near $2 trillion and debt moving rapidly higher.
- Dimon argues overregulation has reduced the number of public companies and made banking and growth more expensive.
- Dimon says independence at the Federal Reserve matters because chipping away at it would likely push interest rates higher.
- Dimon says he would not take the Fed chair job under any circumstances, but would consider a Treasury call from a president.
Notable quotes
“our deficit is almost $2 trillion this year. Total debt is 30 trillion”
“It is not sustainable. It will not work eventually”
“we will stand by. Good clients. The thicker thin that we always try to be better, that we are strong”
How the episode opens
This is my kitchen table and also my filing system. Over much of the past three decades, I've been an investor the highest calling of mankind I've often thought was private equity. And then I started interviewing.
While I watch your interviews, Coach, I know how to do something. I've learned in doing my interviews how leaders make it to the top. I asked him how much he wanted.
He said to 50. I said, Fine. I didn't negotiate with him.
I didn't know due diligence to have something I'd like to sell and how they stay there. You don't feel inadequate now because being only the second wealthiest man in the world, is that right? The world's best known banker is Jamie Dimon, the long time CEO of JPMorgan.
I had a chance to meet with Jamie Dimon recently to talk about what's going on in the financial world. He said he didn't want to be chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, but maybe he would take the call to be secretary of the Treasury. So recently you've been talking about the importance of the United States and our celebrate our 250th, but also investing in things that are security related.
What made you focus on that? And you're now going to commit to build a trillion a half dollars over next ten years for this kind of investment? Why did you decide to do that?
Yeah, So I've always been a patriot. And like, you know, you talk here about growth. You know, growing the economy and the grievances of America, which has a lot of legitimate we got to deal with and get policy right.
But one of them was this notion that we ended up being so reliant on other people, some potential adversaries, for things critical to the security of the United States.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- fed independence
- banking regulation
- us debt
- geopolitical risk
- ukraine
Companies and tickers mentioned
- JPM
- JPMorgan Chase
Watch the episode
Watch “David Rubenstein Show: Jamie Dimon (Full Show)” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The David Rubenstein Show, this episode and its artwork belong to Bloomberg. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
