Updated on: March 31, 2026 / 8:23 PM EDT / CBS News
Jamie Dimon defended capitalism in an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, calling critiques that the system no longer benefits many Americans “dead wrong.” He acknowledged capitalism’s flaws but said it has lifted “billions” out of poverty. His remarks come amid polls showing declining positive views of capitalism and widespread concern that it’s harder today to buy a home, raise a family and get a good job than for past generations.
Dimon spoke after launching JPMorgan Chase’s “American Dream” initiative, which will funnel tens of billions of dollars into local communities to back small businesses, affordable housing and job growth. “Some people are selfish. Some are self-centered. Some are this. Some are that,” he said. “That’s true in a communist society or in a capitalist society. Some businesses do bad things, and it’s not because of capitalism.”
He agreed the bottom third of income earners have seen little progress: “Their incomes didn’t really go up very much. They struggle more.” A recent CBS News poll found 62% of Americans think opportunities are increasing for wealthy people versus 16% for the middle class, reflecting a so-called “K-shaped” economy with diverging fortunes.
Dimon blamed part of affordability challenges on “bad policy” that has left U.S. economic growth averaging around 2% for the last two decades. “Had it been 3%, we [would have had] $20,000 per person more GDP. That would’ve paid for an awful lot,” he said, adding that growth creates capital formation, R&D, investment and productivity.
He urged more affordable housing and investment in local schools to boost growth. To increase affordable housing supply, Dimon said the nation must reform mortgage rules and remove local barriers such as zoning and costly permitting that make building expensive. “The reason we’re not building more affordable housing is because of local zoning requirements and mortgage origination — mortgage rules that made it so expensive to get a mortgage. We could reduce the cost of that mortgage,” he said. Mortgage rates stood at about 6.38% at the time of the interview. A RAND report noted higher development fees and longer permitting in states like California can double multifamily construction costs compared with other states.
Asked about President Trump’s proposal to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes, Dimon called it “basically irrelevant,” noting only about 1% of homes are owned by large companies. “I don’t think it’s gonna change any calculus,” he said.
On prediction markets, Dimon said JPMorgan is evaluating demand and that “it’s possible one day we’ll do something like that,” but the bank would avoid sports and political betting and has strict rules on insider information. When asked if prediction markets are investing or gambling, he said, “I think for the most part, it’s more like gambling. But there are areas where you could say, ‘No, it’s investing.’ You are deeply knowledgeable. You’re taking the other side of a bet. And you think … you know better than the other person.”
Dimon also discussed artificial intelligence, predicting it will bring “huge benefits for society” — including medical advances, better materials, fewer car crashes and potentially a shorter work week — while warning of short-term job disruption and urging coordinated public-private policy responses. “AI’s gonna cure cancers. It’s gonna come up with better materials. It’ll stop a lot of car crashes,” he said. “If it causes problems in the short run, let’s be prepared.”
On the international front, with the Iran war entering its fifth week, Dimon said he wasn’t sure the conflict would trigger a U.S. recession and emphasized the importance of a successful resolution. He called higher gas prices “very unfortunate” and said they will hurt many Americans: “The gas prices are gonna hurt some folks. The sooner it gets properly resolved, the better.”
