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Dimon Talks Rough: Wall Street’s Most Influential CEO Says “Get Over” Tariffs

The leader of America’s largest bank also cautioned bullish optimists that US stock markets are overvalued.

Photo of Jamie Dimon
Photo by World Economic Forum via CC BY-SA 2.0

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It’s an encapsulating moment, to be sure: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, speaking on Wednesday at Davos, birthplace of Davosman, telling the tariff-loathing globalists in attendance to “get over it.” 

The leader of America’s largest bank also cautioned bullish optimists that US stock markets are overvalued and said there’s no guarantee inflation will go anywhere. We hope we can get over that. 

Dishing from Davos

Dimon’s credibility with markets is rooted in his actions in advance of the 2008 recession: He noticed that underwriting standards on Wall Street were declining and instructed his firm to trim its exposure to subprime mortgages beginning in late 2006. That helped JPMorgan avoid the worst of the crisis.

And he was especially chatty Wednesday because, like many other global leaders in finance, politics, and academia, he’s in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum. It’s there that he told CNBC of his straightforward thinking on a host of economic issues that have been shrouded in uncertainty:

  • Dimon’s tariff proclamation — that business leaders should “get over it” — was especially notable, as economists have debated how much levies on foreign goods could impact the supply chain and consumer costs. “I would put it in perspective: If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it,” he said of President Donald Trump’s pledge to slap taxes of 10% on Chinese imports and 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports as of February 1.
  • His pointed remark that markets are “kind of elevated” — the S&P 500, with back-to-back gains over 20%, just had its best two years since the late 1990s — echoes Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, who has expressed similar concern, which means some investors might be wise to temper their expectations. “You need fairly good outcomes to justify those prices,” Dimon said, noting asset prices are in the top 10% to 15% of historical ranges.

Dimon noted one more major issue, which he said could prolong inflation: “What I’m a little cautious about is the deficit spending; it’s a global issue, not just an American issue.” According to the IMF, global public debt was hovering around $100 trillion, or about 93% of global GDP, at the end of 2024 and will be near 100% of GDP by 2030.

Showing Love: In happier news, Dimon did say that he and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had resolved some of their differences. The two had feuded on and off after JPMorgan sued over claims the electric car company breached the terms of a stock warrant deal when Tesla share prices fluctuated after Musk said he was considering taking the automaker private. “Elon and I hugged it out,” he said.