Malcolm Gladwell says JPM’s Dimon acting like ‘11-year-old’ in financial squabble: report

Malcolm Gladwell is furious at JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon over their handling of a heated dispute with the famed author’s well-connected wealth manager, according to a report Monday.

The financial adviser, Gwen Campbell, has a roster of powerful clients that includes Gladwell and ex-baseball star-turned-entrepreneur Alex Rodriguez, The Financial Times reported. Campbell has filed suit against JPMorgan, alleging breach of contract and accusing co-workers within its private bank of trying to take over Rodriguez’s business.

Gladwell personally penned a letter to Dimon in defense of Campbell – but the bank CEO did not respond and had other executives address his concerns. The frustrated best-selling author then blasted Dimon in a scathing interview with FT.

“I thought he was supposed to be a statesman, Jamie Dimon. This is like a game an 11-year-old would play,” Gladwell told the outlet. 

“Quite apart from what he’s doing to Gwen, I’m a client. My life savings are with JPMorgan. My financial adviser has been exiled like Napoleon on Elba. Is that the way you treat your clients? I’m small-fry but a lot of her clients are not small-fry,” Gladwell added.

Campbell has been employed at JPMorgan Advisors since 2020 and works out of San Francisco. Aside from seeking damages through arbitration, she reportedly filed a complaint accusing the bank of gender discrimination.

“What JPMorgan is doing is not only hurting Gwen but having a direct adverse impact on her clients which are JPMorgan’s clients. This is something that’s known by Jamie Dimon, and the board,” Campbell’s lawyer, Wigdor LLP partner Michael Willemin, told the Financial Times.

When Gladwell emailed Dimon in a bid to resolve the dispute, he reportedly received a response from another executive who said the bank could not comment due to pending litigation but was “exploring” a response to the “issues” Campbell raised.

“It just strikes me that they’re torturing her,” Gladwell added in the interview with FT. “I don’t understand why someone would willingly make someone’s life miserable for no reason.”

Gladwell was reportedly one of multiple clients who contacted the bank on Campbell’s behalf.

A JPMorgan spokeswoman told the FT that the bank was “putting significant focus and investments” into JPMorgan Advisors. The spokeswoman added that JPMorgan has “set in place rules for situations where clients are served by more than one line of business.”

“These rules allow us to bring clients the expertise they need while ensuring that they and our financial professionals are treated fairly,” the spokeswoman added.

When reached by The Post, JPMorgan Chase declined to further comment on the report.

Campbell was already managing millions of dollars for Rodriguez when she joined the bank. However, Rodriguez was reportedly designated a shared client between her and the private bank, since the ex-baseball star had money also had money tied up with that division and had previously worked with the bank on a failed bid to buy the New York Mets.

The financial adviser claims her colleagues in the private bank nevertheless tried to encroach on her relationship with Rodriguez – at one point providing him with a loan to help fund his acquisition of a stake in the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves after Campbell said JPMorgan Advisors wouldn’t back the request.

The bank also reassigned coverage of celebrity Jennifer Lopez – who was still engaged to Rodriguez at the time – to the same bankers who handled his business. The move was purportedly meant to help secure more of Rodriguez’s business over time.

The Post has reached out to reps for Rodriguez and Lopez for comment.

Gladwell isn’t one to shy away from controversial public remarks. Earlier this year, the “Outliers” author sparked an online uproar after he ripped the trend toward remote work as having a negative impact on society.