Who is Gordon Gekko?
Gordon Gekko is the villain in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film “Wall Street” and its 2010 sequel, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.” The “Wall Street” figure, a cutthroat investor and business raider, symbolizes greed with the famous remark, “Greed is good.”
Understanding
In “Wall Street,” Bud Fox, a young stockbroker, wants to work with financial superstar Gordon Gekko. Predatory, amoral Gekko is only impressed when Fox compromises his ethics to reveal his father’s company’s secrets. Fox becomes wealthy thanks to Gekko but later regrets his actions and turns the state’s evidence against him, leading to his imprisonment for securities fraud and insider trading.
Michael Douglas won an Oscar for playing Gordon Gekko in the original film.
Gordon Gekko’s Character Influences
Gordon Gekko was based on several real-life financiers. According to screenwriters Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone, Gekko was based on corporate raider Carl Icahn, disgraced stock trader Ivan Boesky, and investor Michael Ovitz.
In his 1985 Berkeley School of Business Administration address, Boesky remarked, “I think greed is healthy.” The Gekko saying “Greed is good” is a paraphrase. You may be greedy and confident.”
Art collector Asher Edelman inspired Gekko’s penthouse office and beautiful attire. Weiser says some of Gekko’s gruff, workaholic speech comes from Oliver Stone’s phone conversations and work sessions.
Film producer Ed Pressman cited Michael Milken as an inspiration for Gordon Gekko. Milken, known as the “Junk Bond King,” faced fraud and racketeering charges after his arrest in 1989. For “Wall Street,” Oliver Stone drew inspiration from his broker father, who lamented the absence of decent business movies.
Imitation
Although Gordon Gekko was a villain in “Wall Street,” many ambitious financiers regarded him as a mythological antihero. They looked to the persona for advice on surviving in the harsh investment banking world. In 2012, Michael Douglas and the FBI produced a documentary on inside trading to counter this perception. Gordon Gekko’s actor worried that people would regard him as a criminal, not a role model.
Conclusion
- In the Oliver Stone film “Wall Street,” the villain Gordon Gekko represents greed.
- Famous for his slogan “Greed is good,” Gekko is modeled on Wall Street figures, including corporate raider Carl Icahn, disgraced stock trader Ivan Boesky, and investor Michael Ovitz.
- He was a villain in “Wall Street,” yet many ambitious financiers regarded him as a mythological antihero and imitated him.
