JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stepped back on Wednesday after declaring a day earlier that his bank would outlast China’s authoritarian government.
CNBC reported that Dimon was at a business event in Boston on Tuesday when he broke a joke at the expense of the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary. So does JPMorgan,” said Dimon. “I bet we’ll last longer.”
“I can’t say that in China,” the billionaire banker added. “They might be listening anyway.”
Dimon quickly apologized.
“I am very sorry and should not have made that comment. I am trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company,” he said in a statement released by JPMorgan.
A spokesman for the bank said Dimon knew he “should never speak lightly or disrespectfully about another country or its leadership”.
“During the discussion, Jamie made it clear that China and its people are smart and very thoughtful,” the spokesperson said.
According to CNBC, JPMorgan has a major interest in China. In August, the bank was approved by Beijing as the first foreign-owned stockbroker in the country.
This month, Dimon was granted an exemption allowing him to enter Hong Kong without the need for quarantine. Most visitors to the city must quarantine in hotels for two to three weeks at their own expense.
Dimon was criticized on Twitter for apologizing for his comments.
it’s a quick 24 hours https://t.co/VWL9Wz1jci
– Catherine Ngai (@catkngai) November 24, 2021
A communist dictatorship opposed to the joke? Shocked. A certain Empire said it would last a thousand years and so did the Soviet Union, but while the CCP is unique, in slaughtering more of its own people than both of them combined, the trend is towards self-reliance. do still be clear. https://t.co/q0yMtKmQ3N
– Hank Campbell (@HankCampbell) November 24, 2021
Jamie Dimon’s net worth is $1.9 billion, and he still has to look for the Chinese Communist Party.
China forces companies to respect that, and the US does not. https://t.co/03zbIuhzsS
– Max (@MaxNordau) November 24, 2021
However, another peon called out to his true lord for help.
LeBron James. John Cena. It’s Jamie Dimon now.https://t.co/NyZBH1QgJ1
– Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 24, 2021
This is not the first time Dimon has profited, according to CNBC.
In 2018, he said while speaking at a conference that he could beat the then President Donald Trump in an election because he’s smarter than Trump. He added that he earned his fortune rather than taking it from his father.
Within an hour, he issued a statement saying he should not have made the comment.
https://www.westernjournal.com/ceo-giant-us-bank-cowers-china-making-mild-joke-regret-comment/ ‘I’m so sorry… That comment’