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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has opened up about his recent private meeting with New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying he warned the socialist about the risks of poor governance and ideology-driven policymaking.Speaking to Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo on Friday, Dimon described the closed-door meeting as “pleasant” but made clear that he did not hold back during the conversation.“He was very polite. It was very earnest. We had a very good conversation, but I said everything I wanted to say,” Dimon said.The banker said he used the discussion to speak about key issues affecting New Yorkers, including affordable housing and childcare.
However, he said that badly designed policies could create bigger problems instead of solving them.“I got to talk about affordable housing and child care. Most people want it. If you do it badly, it would be a disaster … Do it right. There are studies that can tell you how to do it right. Get people who know what they’re doing and implement proper policies,” he said.Dimon also criticised politicians who focus mainly on taxes and spending rather than fixing systems and administration.
“Good policy is free,” he added. “I feel like telling the politicians, ‘Don’t try to raise more taxes or spend more money, sit down and fix policy.'”The JPMorgan boss also pointed to Mamdani’s lack of executive experience while discussing the challenges of running America’s largest city.“I mean, he’s running the city with 300,000 employees now,” Dimon said ahead of the Reagan National Economic Forum in California.“And I’ve seen mayors who just, they fail abysmally because they can’t administer themselves out of a paper bag, or ideology blinds them to practical, realistic, real-world policy. And so we’ll see.”He added that he would be willing to help if the administration pursued practical solutions.“And, you know, if I can help them do the good stuff, I’d be happy to do that.”The meeting took place on May 18, when Mamdani separately met both Dimon and Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon.
The talks came amid growing concern from business leaders over Mamdani’s proposed economic policies, including a tax on second homes valued above $1 million. The mayor recently faced criticism after filming a promotional video for the proposed tax outside a penthouse owned by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.Griffin later described the move as “creepy” and announced plans to further expand Citadel’s operations in Florida instead of New York. He also suggested the company could reconsider a planned $6 billion development project on Park Avenue.Asked about the controversy, Dimon suggested Mamdani may regret the video.“My guess is he probably regrets that,” Dimon said.He added: “But you got to ask him that.”
