Jamie Dimon Nearly Became CEO Of Home Depot: Report

Ends up Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, nearly became the chief executive of another prominent company instead.

After Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill fired Dimon in 1998 because he wanted to become CEO himself, Dimon contemplated moving into a completely different industry, William D. Cohan and Bethany McLean report in a new Vanity Fair feature. Dimon considered working for Microsoft and Amazon, and, perhaps most notably, he "was seriously considered as the C.E.O. of Home Depot" -- yes, the home improvement company -- according to the report.

Today, Home Depot is the largest home retailer in the world, and the company's stock price has almost doubled over the last year, according to Google Finance. But it wasn't so just a few years ago, when Home Depot's current CEO, Frank Blake, stepped in and turned the company around.

Ultimately, of course, Dimon did not bite. After 18 months adfrift, he became CEO of Bank One in 2000, and, after that bank merged with JPMorgan Chase in 2004, Dimon began his ascent to the top of what is now the biggest bank by assets.

Dimon has emerged as an outspoken defender of the financial industry, stepping up his lobbying in Washington, D.C., against financial regulation reform. JPMorgan has spent about $11 million on lobbying since the beginning of 2011, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Would he have done the same for the home improvement chain? The world will never know.