Wall Street
From BillionQuotes
Wall Street was a 1987 movie. The movie has come to be seen as the archetypal portrayal of 1980s excess, with Michael Douglas as the archetypal "Master of the Universe".
- Directed by Oliver Stone
- Starring Michael Douglas
- Written by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas)
"The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It's bullshit. You got ninety percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. "
"If something's worth doing it's worth doing for money. "
"The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. "
"This is the kid. Calls me 59 days in a row. Wants to be a player. Oughta be a picture of you in the dictionary under 'Persistant', kid."
"Now, listen, Jerry, I'm looking for negative control. Okay? No more than 30, 35 percent. Just enough to block anybody else's merger plans and find out from the inside if the books are cooked. Looks this good on paper, we're in the kill zone, pal. Lock and load."
Lunch? Aw, You gotta be kidding. Lunch is for wimps.
"The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of it's forms - greed for life, for money, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed - you mark my words - will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you."
"What about it? You work hard. I'll bet you stayed up all night analyzing that dog you bought. And where'd it get you? My father worked hard too, like an elephant pushing electrical supplies. And he dropped dead at 49 with a heart attack and a tax bill and the bank pissed on his grave and took the house; my mom ended up working in a dish factory. Wake up pal, if you're not inside you're outside. And I'm not talking a $200,000 a year working Wall Street stiff flying first class and being ‘comfortable’, I'm talking rich pal, rich enough to fly in your own jet, rich enough not to waste time, 50-100 million, a player Bud -- or nothing. You had what it takes to get through my door. Next question: You got what it takes to stay?"
"Money never sleeps pal. When I came in in '69, they traded six hours a day, now the clock don't stop, London's deregulated, the Orient is hungrier than us. Just let the money circle the world, sport, buying and selling, and if you're smart it comes back paying. I just made $800,000 in Hong Kong gold. It's been wired to you -- play with it. You done good, but you gotta keep doing good. I showed you how the game works, now school's out." BUD: "Mr. Gekko, I'm there for you 110%." GEKKO: "You don't understand. I want to be surprised. Astonish me, sport, new info, don't care where or how you get it, just get it. My wife tells me you put a move on Darien. Here's some inside info for you. That Euroflash GQ guy she's going with's got big bucks but he's putting her feet to sleep. Exit visas are imminent. So don't lose your place in line. (gazing at the surf) Oh, jeez, I wish you could see this... the lights coming up over the water. I've never seen a painting that captures the beauty of the ocean at this moment. (suddenly fatigued) An old Russian proverb: ‘a fisherman always sees another fisherman from afar.’ I like you sport, I ever tell you that? Gordon, call me Gordon from now on."
Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen)
I'm tapped out Marv. American Express' got a hit man lookin' for me.
I don't know. I guess I realized that I'm just Bud Fox... and as much as I wanted to be Gordon Gekko, I'll always be Bud Fox.
