JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is worried about countries’ “axis of evil”.

Dimon has previously warned that geopolitical tensions are the biggest threat facing the US economy, and his opinion has not changed.

In fact, global tensions are now so important that they “dwarf” any other issues on the table.

Speaking at the Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) 2024 Conference in Washington yesterday, the billionaire banking boss said: “The most important thing above all other things, this is … much more important today than it probably has been since 1945, it is this war in Ukraine. , what’s happening in Israel, in the Middle East, America’s relations with China.”

The Wall Street veteran described these situations as a “fundamental attack on the rule of law that was established after World War II.”

The 68-year-old also highlighted the human cost of conflicts such as the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Since Russia’s invasion of the European nation of Ukraine in February 2022, an estimated one million people have died or been injured.

Ukrainian authorities also believe that more than 19,000 children have been deported or forcibly relocated to Russian territory, with fewer than 400 being returned to their families. Russian authorities have insisted that the children are being sent to their nation for protection.

“Iran, North Korea and Russia, I think you can legitimately call them (an) evil axis,” he continued.

The phrase axis of evil was first used by President George W. Bush in 2002, used to describe trends in Iran, North Korea, and Iraq that “threaten world peace.”

Dimon added that this axis is “working every day (on) how to make things worse for the Western world and for America.”

The China Question

Dimon has previously said he believes America and China must continue to work together and hopes both nations come to the negotiating table knowing what they have to offer.

The 68-year-old banker added that China is not part of the axis of evil but is currently on the “wrong side” of the tension as far as he is concerned.

Dimon’s analysis echoes that of NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who told the BBC that China is “trying to have it both ways”, supporting both Putin’s war in Ukraine and trying to continue trade with Europe, and this thing “cannot continue”.

China “shares a lot of technologies, (such as) microelectronics, which are essential for Russia to build missiles, weapons that it uses against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said, adding that “at some point, we should take into account some sort of economic cost. unless China changes its behavior.”

Global tensions may affect “the free and democratic world for hundreds of years to come,” Dimon continued.

“This is the most important thing. People are too focused on (will we have) a soft landing, a hard landing. Honestly, most of us have been through all this stuff before,” said Dimon, who was paid $36 million for his work in 2023. “It doesn’t matter that much.”

Geopolitics “could very well” impact the economy, he continued, citing oil and food supply issues as well as migration.

“It encourages people,” Dimon added. “And it takes strong American leadership and the leadership of the Western world to do something about it. That’s my number one concern, which exceeds any other, and it exceeds any other I’ve had since I’ve been working.”