Who cares if we wreck that million dollar painting? JP Morgan's $19m-a-year boss under fire for 'opulent' Christmas card of him hitting tennis balls around palatial home

Jamie Dimon has been branded 'tone deaf'

Critics say his card implies: 'Hey, we're so rich we can destroy our own stuff'

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, 57, has been branded ‘tone deaf’ after releasing a decadent Christmas card in which he hits tennis balls around his palatial home.



The millionaire chief executive of JPMorgan sent out the photo which critics said was like he was saying: ‘Hey, we’re so rich we can destroy our own stuff’.



In the photo Dimon, of New York, gleefully swings his tennis racket as his wife Judy, their three daughters and their dog laugh and look relaxed in the background.

Jamie Dimon's Christmas card has been branded 'tone deaf' and implies 'hey, we're so rich we can destroy our own stuff'

They seem unconcerned that in the room are expensive ornaments, vases, glass and a Jackson Pollock painting which could easily be ruined if a tennis ball went flying through it.



Critics said that the card was tasteless in a time of economic hardship as Dimon earns $18.7m a year, making him one of the best compensated bosses in America



JPMorgan has also paid out more than $13billion in fines in the past 12 months for a series of damning financial scandals.



The card was sent out to JPMorgan employees in an attempt to generate some festive goodwill at the investment bank.



It is a panorama that looks like a Ralph Lauren advert and features Dimon and his wife more than once, along with son-in-law Joey who is leaping into the air.



After it was leaked onto the Internet, it quickly became an object of ridicule which some said showed how out of touch Dimon was.

In the photo Dimon gleefully swings his tennis racket as his wife Judy, their three daughters and their dog laugh and look relaxed

MSNBC host Chris Hayes said it was as if the Dimon family were saying: ‘Hey, we’re so rich we can destroy our own stuff’, whilst The Atlantic magazine said it was ‘braggy and opulent’



Time magazine said it was ‘maddeningly tone-deaf’ and comedian Stephen Colbert joked that Dimon committed a basic error and that his ‘Christmas card should have been him weeping alone on a pile of money clutching a sled’.



Writing on Salon, David Dayen said the message seemed to be: ‘We play tennis in the house because we’re transgressive and also we have billions of dollars and no accountability.’



In terms of his professional life, Dimon would appear to have little to celebrate in 2013.



In October JPMorgan agreed a $13billion deal with the US government to end investigations into its selling of mortgage investments in the 2008 financial crisis.

Chariman and CEO of JP Morgan Jamie Dimon (pictured) earns $18.7 million a year

During the negotiations Dimon personally met with US Attorney General Eric Holder to thrash out a deal, under which the company admitted to making serious misrepresentations to the public.



The fine is the biggest civil settlement with any single company in US history.



Only the month before JPMorgan agreed to pay $920million to four US government agencies to settle an investigation into the ‘London Whale’ scandal.



Being head of the company during this time has meant that Dimon has become something of a hate figure for unions and left-wing critics.



Alan Towers, a senior adviser at Water & Wall Group, a reputation-management firm, told Marketwatch that he thought that Dimon’s Christmas card was designed to show him as a family man.



He said: ‘The photo shows a surprising side of Dimon many people would respect: creative, unconcerned with formality in his private life and able to enjoy his family even when under intense public scrutiny.



‘This doesn’t look like a ruthless CEO. Instead, it depicts a very human father and husband letting his hair down.’



The Dimon family put out a Christmas card every year but none so far have been so hubristic as the 2013 version.