Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I loved it at 40, it's an insult at 50. They're analysts, they don't know preferred stock from livestock, alright? When it hits south, we raise the sperm count on the deal.
Most-quoted character in Wall Street (1987): in 62 of its 103 quotes
Most scenes with: Carl Fox (Martin Sheen) (2)
Wake up, will ya pal? If you're not inside, you're outside, OK? And I'm not talking a $400,000 a year working Wall Street stiff flying first class and being comfortable, I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars buddy. A player, or nothing. Now you had what it took to get into my office; The real question is whether you got what it takes to stay.
More lines from Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas)
59 quotes Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Hope you're Intelligent.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) 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 'Persistence', kid.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) 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. If it looks as good as on paper, we're in the kill zone, pal. Lock and load.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Lunch? Aw, You gotta be kidding. Lunch is for wimps.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) What else you got besides connections at the airport?
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) What the hell is Cromwell doin' givin' a lecture tour when he's losing 60 million a quarter? Guess he's giving lectures on how to lose money. Jesus Christ...if this guy owned a funeral parlor, no one would die! This turkey is totally brain-dead! OK, alright, Christmas is over, and business is business. Keep on buying, dilute the son of a bitch! Ollie, I want every orifice in his **** body flowing red.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) It's not bad for a quant, but that's a dog with different fleas.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Come on pal, tell me something I don't know, it's my birthday. Surprise me.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Blow 'em away, Ollie. Rip their **** throats out. Stuff 'em in your garbage compactor.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Bud Fox, I look at a hundred deals a day. I choose one.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Alright Bud Fox, I want you to buy 20,000 shares of Bluestar, at 15 1/8, 3/8 tops. Don't screw it up, sport. Think you can handle that?
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Relax pal, no one's gonna blow the whistle on ya. Is that legal? You should put that in my account.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Buy a decent suit. You can't come in here looking like this. Go to Morty Sills, tell 'em I sent ya.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Save the cheap salesman talk, will ya, it's obvious.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I don't like losses, sport. Nothing ruins my day more than losses. Now you do good, you get perks, lots and lots of perks.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Bought my way in, now all these Ivy League schmucks are suckin' my kneecaps.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) That's the thing you gotta remember about WASPs - they love animals, they can't stand people.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) The most valuable commodity I know of, is information
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) The public's out there throwin' darts at a board, sport. I don't throw darts at a board - I bet on sure things.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Every battle is won before it's ever fought. Think about it.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) You ever wonder why fund managers can't beat the S&P 500? Because they're sheep, and sheep get slaughtered.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Most of these Harvard MBA types - they don't add up to dogshit. Give me guys that are poor, smart, hungry - and no feelings. You win a few, you lose a few, but you keep on fighting.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) And if you need a friend, get a dog. It's trench warfare out there pal.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) You want another chance? You stop sending me information, and start getting me some.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) You see that building? I bought that building ten years ago. My first real estate deal. Sold it 2 years later, made an 800,000 dollar profit. It was better than sex. At the time, I thought that was all the money in the world; now it's a day's pay.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I'm afraid pal, unless your father is on the board of directors of another company, you and I are going to have a very tough time doing business together.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) You work hard? I'll bet you stayed up all night analyzing that dogshit stock you gave me, huh? where'd it get you? My father, he worked like an elephant pushing electrical supplies and he dropped dead at 49 with a heart attack and tax bills.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Showdowns bore me, Larry. Nobody wins. You can have the company. In fact, it's gonna be fun watching you and your giant ego try and make a horse race out of it.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Well now considering you brought my mother into it, 71.50.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Money never sleeps, pal. Just made 800,000 Hong Kong Gold, it's been wired to ya. Play with it. You done good, but you gotta keep doing good. I Showed you how the game works, now school's out.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) No, no, no, no, you don't understand. I wanna be surprised. Astonish me pal. New Info - I don't care where, or how you get it - just get it.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I'm gonna make you rich, Bud Fox. Yeah, rich enough, you can afford a girl like Darien. This is your wake-up call, pal. Go to work.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) We're smart enough not to buy into the oldest myth running - Love. Fiction created by people to keep them from jumping out of windows.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder of Teldar Paper, to speak.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men who built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Well, in my book, you either do it right, or you get eliminated.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I am not a destroyer of companies, I am a liberator of them.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) 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 its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, 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.
Note: ranked #57 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Mixed emotions, Buddy. Like, Larry Wildman going off a cliff, in my new Maserati.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) You tell those spineless assholes we'll self-insure if they don't write it. I can't believe you can fire half the management, nothing changes!
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Look I.. I have no illusions about winning a popularity contest, with any of you. I got roasted the other night - friend of mine asked, "Why are we honoring this man, have we run out of human beings?" I mean it's not always the popular guy who gets the job done.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) We got a stockbroker who wants to run an airline.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I'm up to my ass with more nuts than a fruitcake.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) So the falcon's heard the falconer, huh?
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Sure now what's worth doing, is worth doing for money. If it's a bad bargain, nobody gains, and if we do this deal, everybody gains.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Well you were walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) It's all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a Zero Sum game - somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred - from one perception to another. Like magic.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) This painting here? I bought it ten years ago for sixty thousand dollars, I could sell it today for six hundred. The illusion has become real, and the more real it becomes, the more desperately they want it. Capitalism at its finest.
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.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, price of a paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat when everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you, Buddy? It's the free market, and you're part of it. Yeah, you got that killer instinct. Stick around pal, I still got a lot to teach you.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) I want zip-locked mouths on the Bluestar deal, or I'm gonna personally come down there and rip out their **** throats.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) When I get a hold of the son of a bitch who leaked this, I am going to tear his eyeballs out and suck his **** skull.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Sell it all. What the hell, so we only make ten million.
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Where the hell are you? I am losing MILLIONS! You got me into this company and sure as hell better get me out or the only job you'll have on the Street is SWEEPING IT! You hear me, Fox?
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) [Pointing to a homeless man and a businessman standing on a street corner]
You gonna tell me the difference between that guy and this guy is luck?
Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Ever wonder why fund managers can't beat the S&P 500? 'Cause they're sheep, and sheep get slaughtered. I been in the business since '69. Most of these Harvard MBA types, they don't add up to dog shit. Gimme guys who are poor, smart and hungry. And no feelings. You win a few, you lose a few, but you keep on fighting . . . and if you need a friend, get a dog.
Scenes with Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas)
2 scenes Gekko Money never sleeps pal. 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.
Mr. Gekko, I'm there for you 110%.
Gekko No, no, no, no, you don't understand. I want to be surprised. Astonish me, pal, new info, don't care where or how you get it, just get it. My wife tells me you made a move on Darien. Here's some inside info for ya. That Euroflash GQ type she's going with? He's got big bucks but he's putting her feet to sleep. Exit visas are imminent. I don't want you to 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. I'm going to make you rich Bud Fox, rich enough, you can afford a girl like Darien. This is your wake up call, pal. Go to work.
Lou, I got a sure thing. Anacott Steel.
Mannheim
No such thing except death and taxes. No fundamentals, not a good company any more. What's goin' on, Bud? You know something? Remember there are no shortcuts, son. Quick buck artists come and go with every bull market, but the steady players make it through the bear market. You're a part of something here, Bud. The money you make for people creates science and research jobs, don't sell that out
You're right, Lou, you're right. But you gotta make it to the big time first, then you can be a pillar and do good things.
Mannheim
You can't get a little bit pregnant, son.
Lou, trust me, its a winner. Buy it.
I guess you're a decorator.
Darien You got it. Great spender of other people's money.
Gekko The rarest pistol in the world, Larry. A .45 Luger. Only six of them were ever manufactured.
Congratulations. Rarer still is your interest in Anacott Steel.
Gekko My interest is the same as yours, Larry. Money. I thought it'd be a good investment for my kid.
No this time I'm in for the long term, its not a liquidation. I'm going to turn it around. You're getting a free ride on my tail, mate. With the dollars you're costing me to buy back the stock, I could modernize the plant. I'm not the only one who pays here, Gordon. We're talking about lives and jobs, three and four generations of steelworkers.
Gekko Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you acquired CNX Electronics you laid off, what, 6000 workers? Jemson Fruit, 4000? That airline you bought..umm
I could break you, mate, in two pieces over my knees. You know it, I know it. I could buy you six times over. I could dump the stock just to burn your arse. But i happen to want the company, and I want your block of shares.
71?
Gekko Well now considering you brought my mother into it, 71.50.
Done. You'll hear from my lawyers tomorrow, 8 AM. Good Night. [leaves]
Gekko [to Bud]
He's right, I had to sell. The key to the game is your capital reserves, If you haven't got enough, you can't piss in the tall weed with the big dogs.
He's using you, kid. He's got your prick in his back pocket, but you're too blind to see it.
No. What I see is a jealous old machinist who can't stand the fact that his son has become more successful than he has!
What you see is a guy who never measured a man's success by the size of his WALLET!
That's because you never had the guts to go out into the world and stake your own claim!
Why do you need to wreck this company?
Gekko Because it's wreckable, alright? I took another look at it, I changed my mind.
Still seeing that sexy french chick?
No, No. She asked the wrong question.
What was that?
"What are you thinking?"
You ****in' used me!
Gekko Well you're walkin' around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.
How much is enough, Gordon? When does it all end, huh? How many yatchs can you water-ski behind? How much is enough, huh?
Gekko It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a Zero Sum game - somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply, transferred - from one perception to another. Like magic. This painting here? I bought it ten years ago for sixty thousand dollars, I could sell it today for six hundred. The illusion has become real, and the more real it becomes, the more desperately they want it. Capitalism at it's finest.
How much is enough, Gordon?
Gekko 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.
Bluestar, Mr. Mannheim. Put all your clients on it. It's gonna move.
Mannhiem
I don't know where you get your information, son, but I don't like it. The main thing about money, Bud, it makes you do things you don't wanna do.
Good morning Chuckie. Morning, Lou.
Mannheim
Bud, I like you. Just remember something. Man looks into the abyss. There's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character, and that's what keeps him out of the abyss.
Gekko Where the hell are you? I am losing MILLIONS! You got me into this company and sure as hell better get me out or the only job you'll have on the Street is SWEEPING IT! You hear me, Fox?
You once told me, don't get emotional about stock. Don't! The bid is 16 1/2 and going down. As your broker, I advise you to take it.
Gekko Yeah. Well you TAKE IT! Right in the ass you **** scumbag ****!
It's two minutes to closing, Gordon. What do you want to do? Decide.
Gekko Dump it.
Gekko Hiya, Buddy.
Gordon.
Gekko Sand bagged me on Bluestar huh? I guess you think you taught the teacher a lesson that the tail can wag the dog huh? Well let me clue you in, pal. The ice is melting right underneath your feet.
Gekko [punches Bud]
Did you think you could've gotten this far this fast with anyone else, huh? That you'd be out there dicking someone like Darien? Naw... you'd still be cold calling widows and dentists tryin' to sell 'em 20 shares of some dog shit stock. I took you in...
Gekko [hits him again]
a NOBODY!
Gekko [hits him harder]
I opened the doors for you... showed you how the system works... the value of information... how to *get it*! Fulham Oil, Brant Resources, Geo Dynamics and this is how you **** pay me back you COCKROACH!
Gekko [knocks Bud to the ground]
I GAVE you Darien! I GAVE you your manhood I gave you EVERYTHING!
Gekko [calms down]
You could've been one of the great ones Buddy. I look at you and see myself... WHY?
I don't know. I guest I realized that I'm just Bud Fox... and as much as I wanted to be Gordon Gekko, I'll always be Bud Fox.
"There came into Egypt a pharaoh who did not know."
Gekko I beg your pardon, is that a proverb?
No, a prophecy.
Other characters in Wall Street
Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen)
Charlie Sheen
Wall Street (Oliver Stone's Commentary, 2000)
Carl Fox (Martin Sheen)
Martin Sheen
Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook)
Hal Holbrook
Marv (John C. McGinley)
John C. McGinley
Sir Larry Wildman (Terence Stamp)
Terence Stamp
Panos Marsala (Yanni Sfinias)
Yanni Sfinias
Roger Barnes (James Spader)
James Spader
More Michael Douglas characters
President Andrew Shepherd
Nick Curran
Grady Tripp
Jack Colton
Nick Conklin
Gordon Gekko
Zach
Tom Sanders