Jamie Dimon - The Most Powerful Banker in America | Full Documentary | FINAiUS

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
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**SPEAKER_3** (1:01)
It's the end of the 2008 housing crisis. The once in a lifetime financial storm has caused dozens of banks to fail. But there's one bank, not only surviving the crisis unscathed, but also capitalizing on this opportunity to become the largest bank in America, JP Morgan Chase. Sitting on the throne of this financial empire is the Wall Street banker, Jamie Dimon.
Jamie Dimon is born into the finance business. In 1921, his grandfather came to New York with nothing. But soon built a successful career as a banker, and then as a stockbroker. By the time Jamie is born, his father Theodore Dimon also has become a wealthy stockbroker.

**Jamie Dimon** (2:14)
Well, you know, my parents were real moralists, so they, you know, you do the right thing, you only do the right thing, you treat people, everyone equally and fairly. My mom was one of the earliest women's liberals around after reading, you know, some of those books and stuff like that.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:29)
Dimon's childhood is almost too perfect, attending private schools and spending summers in the mountains in Colorado. His life has been the envy of other children of the same age, but to the young Jamie, it isn't enough. From day one, Jamie has an unwavering ambition. He wants to make a fortune, more than that of his father and grandfather. He recognized early on that to succeed achieving this goal, he should be in the finance industry. But first, he should go to a great college. But to his dismay, he is rejected by his dream school, Brown University.
After graduating fourth in his class and being rejected by Brown University, Dimon goes to Tufts University instead. Jamie Dimon grew up having most things handed to him. Deep down, he believes Tufts doesn't deserve a student of his caliber. During his freshman year, he applied to be transferred to Princeton University, but Dimon is rejected again by the Ivy League school. Jamie Dimon feels he's entitled to go to the best school in America. He decides the best way to prove his worth of greatness is by becoming the number one student at Tufts. Jamie Dimon always seemed to have this supreme confidence and sometimes comes off as cocky. His plan worked. By 1978, Dimon graduated some commode from Tufts and is accepted to the Harvard Business School. He finally achieved his goal, and his self-worth is validated. At Harvard, Dimon proves once again he's in the league of his own. In business school, Dimon was a non-conformist. He didn't live on campus like other students, and he wore jeans and leather jackets. Other students wore suits. In a class full of Republicans, he was the only Democrat, and a very vocal one. Jamie Dimon graduates Harvard as a Baker Scholar, an honor only bestowed on the top 5% of his class. Dimon is flooded with job offers by many prestigious investment banks on Wall Street. His future is bright. Surprisingly, Dimon turns them all down and instead decides to take one-third of his salary by working for a family friend, the legendary financier Senni Wav.

**Jamie Dimon** (4:55)
I got to know him a little bit. My dad was a broker at Shearson Hamel. I'd had a summer job there. He liked the fact that I went to Arbor Bysical.
And his pitch was this, I'm not going to pay you the same. But he said, come join me here. I don't know what it's going to be, but at least you'll see what a big company works like.

**SPEAKER_3** (5:11)
Senni Wav is an accomplished dealmaker in the finance industry. During his long career, he changed the fate of many iconic Wall Street brands, like Primarica, Solomon Brothers, and Citibank. Born in a Jewish neighborhood in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, Senni Wav always wanted to get rich, not by working a nine-to-five job, but by creating his own company and leveraging other people's money. By 1986, he sold his brokerage firm, Shearson, to American Express for $900 million. He becomes the president of American Express. He takes a liking to the young Jamie Dimon and offers to hire him as his personal assistant.