The £112m King of Wall Street

As Jamie Dimon becomes the best-paid bank boss for fifth year in a row, he is . . .

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon will be Wall Street’s best-paid banking chief for a fifth year in a row after scooping £24.1m.

The 63-year- old’s package for 2019, up from £23.7m in 2018, takes his pay in the past five years to a staggering £112.3m.

The latest pay bonanza comes in a year JP Morgan posted the biggest annual profit of any US bank in history – £27.8bn.

The bank, America’s biggest by assets, also saw its shares climb by more than 40pc during 2019.

Having fallen as low as $15 during the financial crisis, they are now trading at $133.

City commentator David Buik, of Core Spreads, said: ‘Jamie Dimon is the King of Wall Street. His stewardship of the bank has gone from strength to strength.’ Dimon ( pictured with his wife

Judith) has been running JP Morgan since 2005 and was credited with guiding it through the financial crisis relatively unscathed, building what he described as a ‘ fortress balance sheet’. But he has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent years.

JP Morgan lost £4.3bn after trades by the so- called ‘ London whale’ Bruno iksil turned sour in 2012.

Dimon initially dismissed the mounting losses at the bank’s London offices as a ‘tempest in a teapot’.

But despite his troubles, Dimon is the only boss of a major bank to have kept his post since the 2008 crash and has been the best-paid Wall Street bank chief of the past four years. And although others are yet to have their packages confirmed, he is expected to retain the crown this time as well.

His closest competitor previously was James Gorman, 61, the boss of Morgan Stanley who received £22.2m.

But Gorman’s annual pay was cut to £20.6m last week.

Santander UK boss Nathan Bostock was the best-paid bank chief in Britain with £6.4m in 2018.

JP Morgan has said Dimon’s pay, which includes a fixed £1.2m salary and £3.8m annual bonus is largely tied to his performance.

The Harvard University graduate, who is chairman and chief executive of the bank, delivered a 12pc increase in profits and 43pc share price rise last year. The stock ended 2019 at a record high of $140, giving the bank a market value of more than £335bn.

Despite previously saying he expected to step down in 2023, Dimon has recently hinted he could stay beyond that date.

British single mother Marianne

Lake, JP Morgan’s finance chief, has long been considered a leading contender to succeed Dimon when he retires. But after 15 years at the helm, some have suggested the executive has deliberately frustrated succession plans.

Speaking at the World economic Forum in Davos earlier this week, he said: ‘When and if we ever set an actual retirement date, we’ll let you know.’

Dimon, who began his career at American express in 1982, shielded JP Morgan from much the financial crisis by unloading £9bn of risky sub-prime mortgages in 2006, before they sent markets into meltdown.

And the married father-of-three was later dubbed Barack Obama’s ‘favourite banker’, after the former president repeatedly sought his advice.

When another banking boss tried explaining the sector to Obama during a 2009 meeting, the weary president was said to have cut him off and replied: ‘i’ll talk to Jamie.’