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The Jamie Dimon Interview

July 16, 2025

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5 min read

The Jamie Dimon Interview

The Unlikely Path to the Top

In 1998, Jamie Dimon was president and COO of Citigroup, the product of a 13-year partnership with mentor Sandy Weill that had built the blueprint for the modern financial conglomerate. He was the heir apparent. Then, at a prearranged meeting, Weill and co-CEO John Reed told him they wanted him to resign. The board had already voted. The press release was written. Dimon went home, told his three young daughters he'd been fired, and the youngest asked if they'd have to sleep on the streets.

What followed was an eighteen-month period of wandering. Dimon explored running Amazon with Jeff Bezos, considered offers from AIG and Home Depot, and fielded calls from subprime mortgage companies he immediately rejected. He eventually took the CEO job at Bank One, a troubled Chicago-based bank with a $20 billion market cap—one-tenth the size of Citigroup. He invested half his net worth in the stock on day one. "I was gonna be the captain of the ship, I was gonna go down with the ship," he said. "I made it clear to everyone I was here permanently."

The Fortress Balance Sheet

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (04:44) **Opening: Welcome and Framing** - Ben and David introduce Jamie Dimon as the longest-serving CEO of a major Wall Street bank, now atop an $800B+ market cap JP Morgan Chase.
  • 2 (05:35) **The Citigroup Breakup: Getting Fired by Sandy Weill** - Jamie recounts the 1998 moment he was fired as president and COO of Citigroup by his mentor Sandy Weill and John Reed.
  • 3 (09:00) **Wandering in the Woods: 18 Months of Reflection** - Jamie explores his options after being fired, including a call from Jeff Bezos about running Amazon.
  • 4 (12:52) **Bank One: The Turnaround Begins** - Jamie buys $60M of Bank One stock on day one, signaling total commitment.
  • 5 (18:47) **The Fortress Balance Sheet: Risk Culture** - Jamie explains his core philosophy: risk consciousness doesn't mean avoiding risk, but properly pricing it and understanding all potential outcomes.
  • 6 (28:50) **The JP Morgan Chase Merger (2004)** - Jamie describes the "merger of equals" where Bank One shareholders got 42% of the combined company.
  • 7 (32:40) **2006: Pulling Back While Others Go All-In** - Jamie sees cracks in the market and starts stockpiling liquidity and pulling back on subprime.

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Guests on this episode

Jamie Dimon

Show Notes

We sit down with Jamie Dimon for a live conversation at Radio City Music Hall, covering the incredible journey from his 1998 firing at Citgroup (where he was widely expected to become CEO) to building the most powerful bank in the world. Today JPMorgan Chase is a juggernaut — the most systemically important non-governmental financial institution in the world, with over twice the market capitalization of its nearest competitor. But it certainly wasn’t always this way! Jamie takes us from his career restart at the struggling Chicago-based Bank One through how he transformed that platform into the foundation for the modern JPMorgan Chase. We dive into the “fortress balance sheet” strategy that has defined his tenure, and cover blow-by-blow Jamie’s approach to the Great Financial Crisis, Bear Stearns, WaMu, First Republic and more. Tune in for an incredible conversation, live from New York City’s most iconic venue!

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Episode image photo credit: Rockefeller Center


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