Dimon: Why the Dollar Stays the Top Reserve Currency

TL;DR: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the dollar will stay the world's top reserve currency as long as the U.S. keeps the strongest military and the strongest economy, according to Moneywise. He spoke at the Economic Club of Chicago on October 14. If either weakens, he said, reserve status would come down.

For an investor holding dollar assets, that sets a condition rather than a promise. The dollar's position rests on two things Dimon named, and both can change.

What did Jamie Dimon actually say about the dollar?

Dimon tied the dollar's reserve status to two things: military strength and economic strength. Moneywise quotes him at the Economic Club of Chicago panel: "If we have the strongest military in the world and the strongest economy in the world, we will be the preeminent reserve currency."

The same report gives the other side of that sentence. Dimon said that "if we are not the preeminent military, the preeminent economy, you will see our reserve status come down." The University of Illinois Chicago confirms the Economic Club of Chicago conversation took place on October 14.

The argument is not new for him. In August he told PBS, as Fortune reported, "If we're not the strongest military in 25 years and the strongest economy, we won't be the reserve currency either."

Why would a military matter to a currency?

A reserve currency is one that foreign governments and businesses trust to hold its value, and Dimon argues that trust has a security component. Moneywise reports him saying that when you give someone $1 and the U.S. preserves its value, "you can do whatever you want with it."

He also made the point about gold. Moneywise quotes him as saying, "You have three armies within 400 miles who can come take your gold." That was part of his case against foreign businesses and institutions moving gold out of the U.S.

An outside economist gave Fortune a more measured version. Daniel McDowell, associate director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs at Syracuse University, said economic strength is the strongest indicator of dollar strength: "If you think of the economy as being the underlying foundation of dollar dominance, the military is the icing on the cake." He also described scenarios where allies doubt U.S. defense capacity and start worrying about their dollar-denominated assets there.

How dominant is the dollar right now?

Still dominant, but less than it was. Business Insider reported that the dollar accounts for about 57% of global foreign-exchange reserves, down from around 70% at the turn of the century.

The same report notes that the freezing of Russian central-bank assets after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine fueled concern that sanctions could speed a shift away from the dollar. It adds that Federal Reserve research has found no notable post-2022 shift out of dollar reserves.

Question	What the reporting says	Source
What keeps the dollar on top?	Strongest military and strongest economy	Moneywise, quoting Dimon
Share of global FX reserves	About 57%, down from around 70%	Business Insider
Any recent shift away?	Fed research found no notable post-2022 move	Business Insider
What could weaken it?	Loss of economic or military edge, or allies doubting U.S. defense	Fortune

The long decline in reserve share and the absence of a recent break are both true at once. Neither source says the dollar is about to lose its position, and Dimon's own claim is that it will not, if the conditions hold.

What does this mean for accredited investors?

It means currency is a risk you hold whether or not you chose it. Most U.S. investors keep their private holdings in dollars, so a dollar that stays dominant is the baseline. Dimon's comments are a reminder of what that baseline depends on.

The practical read is narrow. Reserve status is slow-moving, and the sources cited here describe no near-term change. Dimon did say the U.S. should be careful with its power. Moneywise quotes him: "we have to be a little careful how we use our power sometimes."

For liquidity and structure questions that sit next to this one, see our coverage of how Blackstone gated BCRED, the private credit market in 2025, and hedge fund strategies for accredited investors.

Common mistakes

The first mistake is treating a CEO's forecast as a measurement. Dimon runs the largest U.S. bank and has a view, and a view is not a data series. Check it against reserve-share data like the figures above.

The second is reading "could lose status" as "will lose status." Dimon said the dollar keeps its position if the U.S. keeps its edge. The conditional matters.

The third is making a portfolio change because of one headline. A gold purchase, for example, should rest on a diversification reason you can state in a sentence, not on a quote from a panel discussion.

FAQ

Who is Jamie Dimon and where did he say this? Dimon is chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. He spoke at The Economic Club of Chicago on October 14, in a conversation moderated by Club Chair Brett Hart, according to the University of Illinois Chicago.

What two reasons did Dimon give? He named the strongest military and the strongest economy. Moneywise quotes him saying that if the U.S. has both, it will be the preeminent reserve currency, and that reserve status would come down if it is not preeminent in both.

Is the dollar losing reserve status now? No source cited here says so. Business Insider reports the dollar holds about 57% of global reserves, down from around 70%, and that Federal Reserve research found no notable post-2022 shift out of dollar reserves.

Does the military really affect currency? Economist Daniel McDowell told Fortune the economy is the foundation and the military is "the icing on the cake." He said allies doubting U.S. defense could make them worry about dollar-denominated assets held in the U.S.

What to do today

List your holdings by the currency they are denominated in, and note which private funds and platforms could change that without asking you. That list shows how much of your portfolio depends on the dollar's position and where a currency move would reach your statement.

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