He's basically using progress, ambition, etc. as a justification for greed. Or saying that those things are greed, and those things are good. What greed actually is, selfishness to the detriment of others, is not very good, clearly.
He said, "Greed, for lack of a better word", but either way, was a phrase no one forgot to this day if they saw this movie. Michael Douglas was awesome and even convincing, a lot of men in the 80s, wanted to be and look like Gordon Gekko.
Joao Domingues - But they wouldn’t have done it in the first place if the government hadn’t screamed about the “racism” of “red lines” and basically forced them to do it.
Phil Miller Actually it is exceptional acting. For those of us who are older (myself and others), we remember Michael Douglas from The China Syndrome and other classics, from before DiCaprio was alive.
I remember reading Michael Douglas got some feedback from real people in investments and banking who told him how inspiration it was and that Gordon Gecko is their role model. And he said he was “disturbed” by that-because Gecko is a liar, thief, and back stabber-not a person anyone should want to emulate.
Once you take over and REALLY understand how a company is organized, operates, you can decide if it’s salvageable or not. But no doubt: it the era this movie came out there were many who only bought to pick clean and kill.
"Destroy"? Where is the profit in that? Companies are not "destroyed", they are broken up with the assets sold to those who want to buy them in the hopes that they can do better with them than the previous owner. To buy something just to destroy it would kill one's stock price, what would be the point?
@@kev3d "they are broken up with the assets sold" The assets of a company are PEOPLE and JOBS, you goddam fool. You dopes miss entirely the point of the film--exactly what Stone knew you'd do.
At least he's honest. Our new feudal lords in Silicon Valley pretend they're humanitarian altruists, when they're really just Gordon Gekko's with a liberal facade
The problem with the modern capitalist system is that the stock owner is passive and not active. In the past there used to be fewer stock owners, those owned fewer companies inbetween them and were involved in them. Before capitalism and corporations we had private business. No they arent the same. Business and mercantelism is different from corporations and capitalism. The state gave the corporation its right to be human and to form a charter. It was done in the past only when you needed to do transnational projects like the railroad companies and one company or the state couldnt finance everything itself. Now its the norm. And you get these CEOs and and banks involved and they buy up the freakin government, then they take too big risks because the stock owners are both too passive and too greedy and then they fail and either the companies go bust or the people have to bail them out with their taxes as if its some kind of socialism for the rich. Its a club of a bunch of interconnected people. The Silicon Valley types are in most cases self made or at least had ideas to begin with. They are all creators. They are doers. They made something rather than just bought something and resold it. The Silicon Valley people at least try to point out the mess this is. And try to engage in some socially progressive projects, face value or not. So no, I wouldnt say its that simple. Something is rotten and anyone with a nose can smell the stench.
“In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women” -also Oliver Stone
"Man’s desire knows no bounds. Man will never and can never be satisfied. Man’s existence is defined by his greed. Man is in essence a greedy being” - This is the view of the sixteenth century thinker Thomas Hobbes
@@vari2d347 given the current climate I see in the world today, man is only interested in one thing, money, the accumulation of wealth and the need to feed his or her desires. I see greed beyond belief, every single day. Very soon, the whole aystem will collapse and humanity will go through a period of petulance and suffering. They will only have themselves to blame for what is around the corner.
Yeah so true expecially leaders in the world and people who want power then again it's probably the reason why we made it this far greed can give you drive to do more and create more but everything has it's down side
When it comes to money, this speech, Danny deVito's speech in Other People's Money, and Francisco d'Anconia's speech about money in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" - unfortunately not included in the movie, as it is too long - are the best ever written.
A little greed is good and healthy. Too much greed is destructive to oneself and everyone around them. it's the same thing with anything: eat too much get fat, etc.
@@diegomartinez9785 Yes, that's true. Successful people are not always rich. But all rich people are successful. Remember tho, money is just a thing the usually follows after all the success. It's not money that defines you, it's the person you are that defines your wealth.
This movie is so awesome!! The dialogue in this movie flows like poetry! And each scenes flows perfectly from scene to scene and has such great cautionary themes. Michael Douglass and Charlie Sheen killed it!!
My understanding is that the dialogue was almost a verbatim recitation from Junk Bond Trader Ivan Boesky in a similar situation. Boesky was later fined $2,000,000.00 for insider trading that he paid that day out of his pocket.
@Gubba Bump you do know every time the stock goes up they loose money right? doesn't matter if it went down if it goes up again by 30 dollars they loose 1 billion, these same dudes bought 140 percent meaning 40 percent more than they owned lol the only way for them to make their money back is by manipulating the stock to fall to 1 dollar or something yeah sure greed is good, until you decide to. be a an idiot, ruin people's lives and bite Moore than you can handle
The point is, ladies and gentleman, 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.
@@shinseiki2015 Not once, but _if._ Such technology is still in the realms of science fiction at this point, and we aught to take care of what limited resources we have if we're to have any hope of reaching the point were we can master such tools. You're not incorrect, though.
there is no if my friend we are not here to take part, we are here to take over, you living under a rock if you not aware of the exponential progress of nanotechnologies, within the next 10 years we will progress by 1000 years according to ray kurzweil
You forgrt the point of the scene is that he's a con artist. It's good-sounding pablum but by the end of the film we realize he's an inside trader who produces nothing and cons the audience. When Fox does it to him he even savagely beats him. His speech is a load of barnacles.
Probably my top favorite Michael Douglas performance. Along with Falling Down Behind The Candelabra Wonder Boys Basic Instinct Romancing The Stone Fatal Attraction The War of the Roses
This is a great speech. Almost brings tears to my eyes. In that respect, Stone may have fallen into Milton's trap of making his villain more attractive than his hero.
@@EyeMixMusic No, it went over your head and, ironically, maybe over Stone's head, too. Greed is part of human nature, and although it has pitfalls, it's produced a lot of good. Is it a coincidence that capitalism has produced so much more innovation than other systems?
Went to the school (The Hill, outside Philly) where director Stone went. Fond of this particular scene from his movie. Small world. Mr. Douglas's brother recently sold my childhood home across from Lee Liberace's place in Palm Springs. When I watch this, it makes me just want to watch more Ayn Rand and read more about her. Miss Rand's institute is located nearby in Irvine. Enjoy this great speech by MD.
"Greed is good'" is always taken out of context. He says: "Greed, *_for lack of a better word,_* is good." I think those six extra words do make a difference. Still don't agree with him, though.
Why not? People in Chicago can eat bananas and pineapples in the middle of winter because farmers are greedy for Chicagoan's money. If humanity had stuck with "don't be greedy, be happy with what you have" or "only have what you absolutely need and no more" then we'd have never left the caves.
I teach public speaking and I use this speech all the time. It's fantastic. Greed for life, etc is so great bc you think he's just talking about the company.
Michael Douglas & the team said: we made this Oliver Stone movies to denounce people's greed, but they've all wanted to become greedy ever since, the other side of the coin.
He's absolutely right, he's a business man who makes his investors profit because it benefits him, there are so many people in business nowadays that do nothing and seem to get paid very large salaries who do care wether that company or organisation are making profits as long as they are, greed is good.
I agree with what he's saying, although "greed" is not the right word. I don't know if there is a single word for what I think he's trying to say. Ambition? Drive? If humanity's philosophy was "be content with what you have, it's enough, why do you need more?", we would have never progressed. We always want more, we want to advance, we want to go further, we want to improve, "we choose to go to the Moon" and we climb Everest "because it's there". Of course, we shouldn't take it to the extreme and let that make us unhappy or obsessed about having more. That's what the word "greed" brings to mind. But otherwise, it's great that we have that drive, that ambition, that competitiveness that pushes us forward.
Greed is the right word. Meaning the desire to take more than your due, to aim to have more than the other guy. In a sense, to be a thief, not toward anyone in particular, but toward reality itself. And Greed isn't so much good as... intrinsic to everything, as Shakespeare said- everything is greedy, from the sun to the moon to the sea to the earth. Greed is good in the same way oxygen is 'good': it's inevitable and necessary. " I'll example you with thievery: The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction Robs the vast sea; the moon's an arrant thief, And her pale fire she snatches from the sun; The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves The moon into salt tears; the earth's a thief, That feeds and breeds by a composture stol'n From general excrement: each thing's a thief: The laws, your curb and whip, in their rough power Have uncheck'd theft."
"Greed may not be good, but it's not so bad, either. You humans think greed is just for money and power! But everyone wants something they don't have." greedling
Ordinary Username Facism? on the contrary, it's the beautiful free market allowing the people decide what works and what doesn't work in the private sector rather than authoritarian governments take control. please look up the definition of a word before spouting or unknowingly
A Scam Involving Corndogs funny, I got this defenition Definition of fascism 1often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism
A Scam Involving Corndogs I agree, and the left is no better. my main point is that in order to avoid authoritarian governments we should have its size limited as much as possible while maintaining our basic infrastructure
Connor O'Hare Limited how though is the question limiting social nets, education and healthcare? or limiting spending money or wars, war on drugs, and a large military and prison complex? Cause it is possible to have the former and still not be greedy.
the problem with this ideology is that greed breeds attachment. if you are attached, and you lose that which you are attached to, then you are broken. but if you are detached, then you are free.
"The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder." ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
This is the most intelligent quote and comment I've seen in a long time. It's the kind of quote I would have given if I had read the same book. Thanks.
Essentially he is convincing all the shareholders to either dissolve or greatly downsize the company by being greedy and ignoring the plight of the employees and the company’s mission.
For all of you who hate a speech like this, if it weren't for greed we wouldn't have the technological marvels we have in our homes today. Cell phones, lap tops or computers in general, nice cars, etc wouldn't exist.
1:11 greed is good and all but in a market that is shrinking 40% anually(newspapers) god can't save u against that headwind. even with the greadiest of sales people/employees.
Such a classic scene from a classic movie. Michael Douglas's character Gordon Gekko taking over the floor at the TELDAR PAPER annual shareholder's meeting. Oliver Stone's original Wall Street movie perfectly captures the uninhibited excessive greed and hedonistic culture and lifestyle of the 1% er's and others that ran in those circles during the 80's. Junk bonds ruled the day and eventually led to, along with other factors like early unregulated computerized trading, the biggest stock market crash at that time on Black Monday OCT 19, 1987. Markets lost over 20% of their total value in a single day. This movie, along with Wall Street 2 , Margin Call, and The Big Short are some of the best movies depicting how Wall Street operates. All just great movies to watch.
@@euroStrategos Inside Job*, that was a good one imo. Just watched it recently, i think id classify it as more of a doc, than a 'movie' like wall street is. Wolf of wall st + boiler room are both worth a watch. Glengarry Glenn Ross, American psycho, while we're at it. But those aren't as focused on business as much as others. I want to see 'dumb money' when it comes out. These are some of my favorite movies besides comedies, i cant watch sci fi or comic book movies. Edit: inside job is on yt (at least for the moment).
And how do you determine how much they're worth? Customers determine in part by that by how much services provided by people in charge are worth (other being costs of production or providing service, maintenance of entire structure etc) by their willingness to pay for those based on several factors (in corporations shareholders being at top of the food chain, followed by board of directors, chairman and CEO).
Cope. And bitterness. You don’t know what you don’t know. The CEOs have no lives; they work incredible hours, have to make decisions that determine the fate of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands (millions if you incl the supply chain) of jobs. Yes, there are incompetents, there are corrupt ones.
Greed is good, until you are on a death bed , then you question yourself , do I deserve heaven or hell? Did I make other people miserable because of my own greed ?
I think he's confusing greed with ambition. Greed is having enough of something and still wanting more, an insatiable black hole. Ambition can lead to amazing things and that doesn't mean you want to hoard more and more money. You can be an ambitious rich philanthropist.
@@Ma_Zhongying it's not biased it's efficient and there's no place for morals in pure capitalism. Although people aren't efficient and our economy is not pure capitalism.
Greed discounts the human costs. Grind up people because they currently don't have a place in the economy. Greed can lead to terrible consequences. Monopolies are the logical conclusion of corporate competition. Grind down your competition until you're the only player. Ruthlessly stomp on any who might try to rise up and compete against you. Great for the owners and shareholders of the monopoly. Truely terrible for the consumer.
Lenard Segnitz - Preaching to the converted here. The illusion of capitalism is... 'everybody can be a successful player if they work hard enough', whilst diametrically asserting... 'the weak fail, the strong survive'. People buy into it and end up in wage slavery with no retirement fund. Time for something better.
Let me put it this way, greed is good for those who are greedy….and those who are not, suffer from their greed, it’s just moving money from many pockets into a few…
Michael Douglas was phenomenal In this , Deserved that Oscar that year easily.
Great actor!
He was also fantastic in Falling Down
“For lack of a better word”
Idk, but I find that small phrase really made the speech glow. Very well written
💯. Great observation. Greed has such a negative connotation in our society. This phrase creates a bridge for acceptance for the audience.
Great catch! It’s so good because if the man had a good spirit, the "better word" would have been "love"
He's basically using progress, ambition, etc. as a justification for greed. Or saying that those things are greed, and those things are good.
What greed actually is, selfishness to the detriment of others, is not very good, clearly.
He said, "Greed, for lack of a better word", but either way, was a phrase no one forgot to this day if they saw this movie. Michael Douglas was awesome and even convincing, a lot of men in the 80s, wanted to be and look like Gordon Gekko.
@@JMarieCAlove corrected, thanks!
“You get it right, or you get eliminated”
Or you get a bailout.
Survival of the unfittest.
True capitalism would have let those idiot bankers fall on their swords and made way for better blood.
Joao Domingues - But they wouldn’t have done it in the first place if the government hadn’t screamed about the “racism” of “red lines” and basically forced them to do it.
@@GamerFromJump What are you talking about? What does racism have to do with City Bank getting a bailout?
@TradingKid1998 Most shareholders hold a handful of shares of a stock. Most of the money (like 10 billion) would go to the largest shareholders.
Ah, the 80s the decade of plenty. I can guarantee that every lawyer and stock broker watched and memorized that speech.
Every Republican.
Every business student (like myself)
+Zachary Zarko Go back to reading the communist manifesto.
Phil Miller Actually it is exceptional acting. For those of us who are older (myself and others), we remember Michael Douglas from The China Syndrome and other classics, from before DiCaprio was alive.
I remember reading Michael Douglas got some feedback from real people in investments and banking who told him how inspiration it was and that Gordon Gecko is their role model. And he said he was “disturbed” by that-because Gecko is a liar, thief, and back stabber-not a person anyone should want to emulate.
the face Michael Douglas makes at 1:27 is perfect. like a kid getting back to his seat after killing a class presentation
"I am not a destroyer of companies! I am a liberator of them!"
_destroys every company he absorbs_
@Akshay Natu Remember, Gekko says he wrecks anything that is wreckable whether it does good or bad.
Once you take over and REALLY understand how a company is organized, operates, you can decide if it’s salvageable or not.
But no doubt: it the era this movie came out there were many who only bought to pick clean and kill.
"Destroy"? Where is the profit in that? Companies are not "destroyed", they are broken up with the assets sold to those who want to buy them in the hopes that they can do better with them than the previous owner. To buy something just to destroy it would kill one's stock price, what would be the point?
@@kev3d "they are broken up with the assets sold"
The assets of a company are PEOPLE and JOBS, you goddam fool. You dopes miss entirely the point of the film--exactly what Stone knew you'd do.
The breakup value is higher. Pretty self-explanatory. Hence, liberator of capital.
At least he's honest. Our new feudal lords in Silicon Valley pretend they're humanitarian altruists, when they're really just Gordon Gekko's with a liberal facade
EXACTLY
@Mr unknown I agree classical liberalism is very diferent from this weird new stuff.
And the proliferation of hand held devices has given them an unprecedented amount of power.
The problem with the modern capitalist system is that the stock owner is passive and not active. In the past there used to be fewer stock owners, those owned fewer companies inbetween them and were involved in them.
Before capitalism and corporations we had private business. No they arent the same. Business and mercantelism is different from corporations and capitalism. The state gave the corporation its right to be human and to form a charter.
It was done in the past only when you needed to do transnational projects like the railroad companies and one company or the state couldnt finance everything itself.
Now its the norm. And you get these CEOs and and banks involved and they buy up the freakin government, then they take too big risks because the stock owners are both too passive and too greedy and then they fail and either the companies go bust or the people have to bail them out with their taxes as if its some kind of socialism for the rich.
Its a club of a bunch of interconnected people. The Silicon Valley types are in most cases self made or at least had ideas to begin with. They are all creators. They are doers. They made something rather than just bought something and resold it.
The Silicon Valley people at least try to point out the mess this is. And try to engage in some socially progressive projects, face value or not.
So no, I wouldnt say its that simple. Something is rotten and anyone with a nose can smell the stench.
Well put.
“In this country, you gotta make the money first.
Then when you get the money, you get the power.
Then when you get the power, then you get the women” -also Oliver Stone
Keep forgetting he wrote Scarface.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women." -Homer Simpson guarding his pile of highway sugar
"That's why you gotta make your own moves."
@Akshay Natu or unless you're packing a humongous Ding ding🥒
@Akshay Natu I'm screwed than buddy
One of Douglas best performances along with his role in Falling Down.
Defense!
"Dont forget me."
Both villain roles that frightening many don't recognize as villains.
Mcd should have all day breakfast still
Why are you showing me this? I'm not you can keep that, that's just for fun.
"Man’s desire knows no bounds. Man will never and can never be satisfied. Man’s existence is defined by his greed. Man is in essence a greedy being” - This is the view of the sixteenth century thinker Thomas Hobbes
He's wrong
@@vari2d347 given the current climate I see in the world today, man is only interested in one thing, money, the accumulation of wealth and the need to feed his or her desires. I see greed beyond belief, every single day. Very soon, the whole aystem will collapse and humanity will go through a period of petulance and suffering. They will only have themselves to blame for what is around the corner.
Yeah so true expecially leaders in the world and people who want power then again it's probably the reason why we made it this far greed can give you drive to do more and create more but everything has it's down side
@@taylorknight3577 Greed is ambition's evil cousin! A greedy person will do anything at all costs.
"my dad says greed is bad"
"your DAD wouldnt know how to pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel!"
Greed is still bad
MrBlueD3V1L Greed causes poverty
Robot chicken joke. I like it
@bumdog This is not authentic
@@chaddy2409 no it’s not.
Fly me to the moon...let me play among the stars.
I always liked that song.
Gekko hardly blinks during his speech. Helps really drive his point through
I believe they cut the blinks.
Industry secret. 👀
Michael Douglas was very charismatic in this movie. Sometimes actors just shine.
This is the CEO of EA, right?
More like Gaben from Steam. Because Steam usually make hundreds of millions of dollars if not billions.
Nope, CEO of Apple. Tim Cook just said that selling a $1,500 iPhone is 'serving everyone' What a scumbag.
@@thomasanderson5929 hahaha
"Gfeed is not good ".😎
@@LibertarianGamer-ff5tg Steam brought affordable gaming to us. Thanks to their sales. Decades ago a video game would cost you 50$ to 60$+ no sales.
Is this Dan Bilzerians dad?
I love how DB claims he won all his money in poker and just happens to have a trust fund
@Kieli Mies Perhaps. But it's his life to live.
🤣
He is a failure of a man.
This speech is so legendary greed is good it probably got him the academy award alone.
80s movies had the best speeches
When it comes to money, this speech, Danny deVito's speech in Other People's Money, and Francisco d'Anconia's speech about money in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" - unfortunately not included in the movie, as it is too long - are the best ever written.
His performance is incredible!
He was supposed to be the villain, yet he ended up inspiring a whole generation of stockbrokers.
And look at how our economy turned out. 2001, 2008, Crypto, NFT, Outsourcing, bringing cheaper immigrants
Been broke trying to be a good person. Let's try this greed thing...
Read up on the Ferengi of Star Trek
Make sure to put money in a Cook islands trust
Be nice
Placebo being a good person has nothing on making money.
Provide a high in demand skill/service or sell/resell/drop ship a badass product
Never sell your soul....
A little greed is good and healthy. Too much greed is destructive to oneself and everyone around them. it's the same thing with anything: eat too much get fat, etc.
chief tp That’s not greed, that’s success.
Ambition is a better word. Greed implies excess.
@@michaeldob7861 "What you see is a guy who never measured a man's success by the size of his wallet"
@@diegomartinez9785 Yes, that's true. Successful people are not always rich. But all rich people are successful. Remember tho, money is just a thing the usually follows after all the success. It's not money that defines you, it's the person you are that defines your wealth.
Trying to make more money at 88 when you won't even get to spend it, that doesn't sound like success to me
This movie is so awesome!! The dialogue in this movie flows like poetry! And each scenes flows perfectly from scene to scene and has such great cautionary themes. Michael Douglass and Charlie Sheen killed it!!
My understanding is that the dialogue was almost a verbatim recitation from Junk Bond Trader Ivan Boesky in a similar situation. Boesky was later fined $2,000,000.00 for insider trading that he paid that day out of his pocket.
This movie must see every single generation...
what?
@James Thomson Oh thanks, his accent threw me off
These are the same old men losing money shorting GameStop.
@Gubba Bump you do know every time the stock goes up they loose money right? doesn't matter if it went down
if it goes up again by 30 dollars they loose 1 billion, these same dudes bought 140 percent meaning 40 percent more than they owned lol
the only way for them to make their money back is by manipulating the stock to fall to 1 dollar or something
yeah sure greed is good, until you decide to. be a an idiot, ruin people's lives and bite Moore than you can handle
A lot of people became very rich shorting GameStop!
"Growth for the sake of Growth is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey
Wow amazing never heard that one before!
The point is, ladies and gentleman, 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.
But earth is a finite resource
no, earth is an infinite resource, once we start producing what we need atom by atom, we'll liberate infinity and beyond...
@@shinseiki2015 Not once, but _if._
Such technology is still in the realms of science fiction at this point, and we aught to take care of what limited resources we have if we're to have any hope of reaching the point were we can master such tools.
You're not incorrect, though.
there is no if my friend we are not here to take part, we are here to take over, you living under a rock if you not aware of the exponential progress of nanotechnologies, within the next 10 years we will progress by 1000 years according to ray kurzweil
You forgrt the point of the scene is that he's a con artist. It's good-sounding pablum but by the end of the film we realize he's an inside trader who produces nothing and cons the audience. When Fox does it to him he even savagely beats him. His speech is a load of barnacles.
Probably my top favorite Michael Douglas performance.
Along with
Falling Down
Behind The Candelabra
Wonder Boys
Basic Instinct
Romancing The Stone
Fatal Attraction
The War of the Roses
Falling down is better. But I hear you man. He’s an American treasurer.
Absolutely brilliant Michael Douglas
This is a great speech. Almost brings tears to my eyes. In that respect, Stone may have fallen into Milton's trap of making his villain more attractive than his hero.
Why is that called Milton friedman`s trap?
@@jackprescott9652 Not Milton Friedman - _John Milton_ , or is this a joke? I'm confused...
@@munyansebastien7127 is not a joke. I didn`t knew there were John Milton trap.
Boy, did this speech go over your head. If you find anything about Gordon Gekko "attractive" then you really weren't paying attention.
@@EyeMixMusic No, it went over your head and, ironically, maybe over Stone's head, too. Greed is part of human nature, and although it has pitfalls, it's produced a lot of good. Is it a coincidence that capitalism has produced so much more innovation than other systems?
I can only think of few characters more iconic than Gordon Gekko.
Elon Musk: allow me to introduce myself.
@@wazzup233 EH NO
This movie, for lack of a better word, is good
Unfortunately life is not about right or wrong, but how much.
Greed is only not good for people who can not compete
michael Douglas epitomized the mid 1980's yuppie scumbag corporate raider better than anyone has before. a well deserved oscar
I think greed is the wrong metaphor, but aside from that it’s a clever speech-you can’t argue with his logic.
The best villains always make a point.
He’s not a villain you misunderstood the movie, he’s a teacher and an educator
Went to the school (The Hill, outside Philly) where director Stone went. Fond of this particular scene from his movie. Small world. Mr. Douglas's brother recently sold my childhood home across from Lee Liberace's place in Palm Springs. When I watch this, it makes me just want to watch more Ayn Rand and read more about her. Miss Rand's institute is located nearby in Irvine. Enjoy this great speech by MD.
👍 Elon Musk is Hank Reardon.
When they asked me to introduce myself on the first day at my door to door sales job when I was in high school , lol
"Greed is good'" is always taken out of context. He says: "Greed, *_for lack of a better word,_* is good." I think those six extra words do make a difference. Still don't agree with him, though.
@Nature You're quite right.
@Nature Thank you. Humans have never been very good at learning from history. You know what they say, "Plus ça change..."
@Nature I’d rather have greed than the idealistic and naive World you people want.
I do.
Why not? People in Chicago can eat bananas and pineapples in the middle of winter because farmers are greedy for Chicagoan's money. If humanity had stuck with "don't be greedy, be happy with what you have" or "only have what you absolutely need and no more" then we'd have never left the caves.
Man and his shadow, a true force of nature.
Trust Michael Douglas to be brutally honest ,.
Wall street or outside .
I’d like to report a robbery of an academy award
I teach public speaking and I use this speech all the time. It's fantastic. Greed for life, etc is so great bc you think he's just talking about the company.
Michael Douglas & the team said: we made this Oliver Stone movies to denounce people's greed, but they've all wanted to become greedy ever since, the other side of the coin.
M douglass in this movie was wawesome
He deserve the oscar without any hesitation
He forgot to add - "Greed will put me in jail"
True that.. 👍
It's a movie. In real life, he would have been put in 1 year and back to what he did
I love the smokiness in this room
One of the best performances in any movie.
He's absolutely right, he's a business man who makes his investors profit because it benefits him, there are so many people in business nowadays that do nothing and seem to get paid very large salaries who do care wether that company or organisation are making profits as long as they are, greed is good.
you missed the entire point of the movie lmaooo
He’s a clown lmao. Gekko made millions by doing illegal activities, not the honest way lmao. He’s no different than the ceo u chastised
Thats how you get an Oscar Leo :) not by yelling all the time
Threepwoot whats the name of this movie he yells in?
Threepwoot Moron
CESAR ARTEAGA wall street p 1
This wasn't great acting, it was great dialogue
Ethan Nguyen. This was monumental acting
I agree with what he's saying, although "greed" is not the right word. I don't know if there is a single word for what I think he's trying to say. Ambition? Drive? If humanity's philosophy was "be content with what you have, it's enough, why do you need more?", we would have never progressed. We always want more, we want to advance, we want to go further, we want to improve, "we choose to go to the Moon" and we climb Everest "because it's there". Of course, we shouldn't take it to the extreme and let that make us unhappy or obsessed about having more. That's what the word "greed" brings to mind. But otherwise, it's great that we have that drive, that ambition, that competitiveness that pushes us forward.
Greed is the right word. Meaning the desire to take more than your due, to aim to have more than the other guy. In a sense, to be a thief, not toward anyone in particular, but toward reality itself. And Greed isn't so much good as... intrinsic to everything, as Shakespeare said- everything is greedy, from the sun to the moon to the sea to the earth. Greed is good in the same way oxygen is 'good': it's inevitable and necessary.
" I'll example you with thievery:
The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction
Robs the vast sea; the moon's an arrant thief,
And her pale fire she snatches from the sun;
The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves
The moon into salt tears; the earth's a thief,
That feeds and breeds by a composture stol'n
From general excrement: each thing's a thief:
The laws, your curb and whip, in their rough power
Have uncheck'd theft."
This is a classic scene.
Love that positive uplifting attitude😅 Gordon fought with nepotism in some major corporation ; )
Gamestop for lack of a better word, is good.
"Greed may not be good, but it's not so bad, either. You humans think greed is just for money and power! But everyone wants something they don't have." greedling
Legendary speech
When your speech is so iconic that it essentially becomes gospel for economics going forward
He's right though, you have to acknowledge the fact that people have an inherent sense of greed.
Greed destroys everything. Greed, for a lack of a better word, is Social-Darwinism and therefor Fascism.
Ordinary Username Facism? on the contrary, it's the beautiful free market allowing the people decide what works and what doesn't work in the private sector rather than authoritarian governments take control. please look up the definition of a word before spouting or unknowingly
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funny, I got this defenition
Definition of fascism
1often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism
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I agree, and the left is no better. my main point is that in order to avoid authoritarian governments we should have its size limited as much as possible while maintaining our basic infrastructure
Connor O'Hare Limited how though is the question limiting social nets, education and healthcare? or limiting spending money or wars, war on drugs, and a large military and prison complex? Cause it is possible to have the former and still not be greedy.
Greed only feed's one's Ego.
So true. Especially the part "Greed in all of its forms..."
That element of truth in the lie to make it palatable. Chilling.
Iconic speech forever in American culture
the problem with this ideology is that greed breeds attachment. if you are attached, and you lose that which you are attached to, then you are broken. but if you are detached, then you are free.
"The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder."
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
This is the most intelligent quote and comment I've seen in a long time. It's the kind of quote I would have given if I had read the same book. Thanks.
Best speech I ever heard
Had to rewatch this speech after seeing the “Math is Good” speech on the Alien Institute channel. Douglas was made for the Wall Street role.
That quote Reminds me of that greed song from toxik and they used that pt
Essentially he is convincing all the shareholders to either dissolve or greatly downsize the company by being greedy and ignoring the plight of the employees and the company’s mission.
capitalism
So what if he is? I don't want to live in a communist hellhole where government regulates the markets and individuals to their fake egalitarian whims.
This lines was inspired on Ivan Boesky (the real life Gekko) Speech in 1985
For all of you who hate a speech like this, if it weren't for greed we wouldn't have the technological marvels we have in our homes today. Cell phones, lap tops or computers in general, nice cars, etc wouldn't exist.
Would that be a bad thing tho.
1:11 greed is good and all but in a market that is shrinking 40% anually(newspapers) god can't save u against that headwind. even with the greadiest of sales people/employees.
What a magnificent character!!!
Unironically correct, it is a shame that free self interest has been demonized in favor of false altruism.
Such a classic scene from a classic movie. Michael Douglas's character Gordon Gekko taking over the floor at the TELDAR PAPER annual shareholder's meeting. Oliver Stone's original Wall Street movie perfectly captures the uninhibited excessive greed and hedonistic culture and lifestyle of the 1% er's and others that ran in those circles during the 80's. Junk bonds ruled the day and eventually led to, along with other factors like early unregulated computerized trading, the biggest stock market crash at that time on Black Monday OCT 19, 1987. Markets lost over 20% of their total value in a single day. This movie, along with Wall Street 2 , Margin Call, and The Big Short are some of the best movies depicting how Wall Street operates. All just great movies to watch.
Add "Insider job" as a movie
@@euroStrategos Inside Job*, that was a good one imo. Just watched it recently, i think id classify it as more of a doc, than a 'movie' like wall street is. Wolf of wall st + boiler room are both worth a watch. Glengarry Glenn Ross, American psycho, while we're at it. But those aren't as focused on business as much as others. I want to see 'dumb money' when it comes out.
These are some of my favorite movies besides comedies, i cant watch sci fi or comic book movies.
Edit: inside job is on yt (at least for the moment).
Read the "early life" section of Michael Douglass's Wikipedia page for better context
I feel like everyone knows "Greed is good," without the context of this speech.
everyone except well behaved children and any person with a soul
"any person with a soul" lol
Gonna use this when I ask for a salary raise.
😂
Gordon Gekko doesn't ask for a raise, he just takes it.
@@Patrick-pv9pe Keep in mind that they gave him a prison bid.
This is in my textbook lmao
Evil calling itself good again. Greed is the most prominent aspect of humans though, that much is true.
And greed is what prompted those in charge to pay themselves more than they are worth. The argument is vacuous.
And how do you determine how much they're worth? Customers determine in part by that by how much services provided by people in charge are worth (other being costs of production or providing service, maintenance of entire structure etc) by their willingness to pay for those based on several factors (in corporations shareholders being at top of the food chain, followed by board of directors, chairman and CEO).
Cope. And bitterness. You don’t know what you don’t know. The CEOs have no lives; they work incredible hours, have to make decisions that determine the fate of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands (millions if you incl the supply chain) of jobs. Yes, there are incompetents, there are corrupt ones.
That right there is an incredible film actor. Cheers, Michael Douglas.
One may smile a smile and be a villain.
Damn is he good.
But I can smile, and murder while I smile. - Richard III
Greed is good, until you are on a death bed , then you question yourself , do I deserve heaven or hell? Did I make other people miserable because of my own greed ?
Douglas does a great job here portraying the greased back hair and fancy suit stock manipulator.
He's right only in the sense that human greed enables us to reach higher in our evolution.
They missed half the speech. That previous half was insightful amd relevant.
The dig on the Gov is fantastic!
I think he's confusing greed with ambition. Greed is having enough of something and still wanting more, an insatiable black hole. Ambition can lead to amazing things and that doesn't mean you want to hoard more and more money. You can be an ambitious rich philanthropist.
Philanthropy is dangerous. If your rival is not philanthropist good chance is he will beat you.
@@TomSmith-li5se Wow, it's almost as though our current economic situation is biased against being a good person.
@@Ma_Zhongying it's not biased it's efficient and there's no place for morals in pure capitalism. Although people aren't efficient and our economy is not pure capitalism.
@@TomSmith-li5se Do you believe in the abolition of inheritance?
@@Ma_Zhongying no I believe in a market free of such constraints.
This is perhaps,the best speech and acting
Greed discounts the human costs. Grind up people because they currently don't have a place in the economy.
Greed can lead to terrible consequences. Monopolies are the logical conclusion of corporate competition. Grind down your competition until you're the only player. Ruthlessly stomp on any who might try to rise up and compete against you. Great for the owners and shareholders of the monopoly. Truely terrible for the consumer.
Lenard Segnitz - Preaching to the converted here. The illusion of capitalism is... 'everybody can be a successful player if they work hard enough', whilst diametrically asserting... 'the weak fail, the strong survive'. People buy into it and end up in wage slavery with no retirement fund.
Time for something better.
@Sam Erens yes there is, look at europe
A little something of regulated capitalism
Rapper 50 cent: Get Rich or Die Tryin’
Let me put it this way, greed is good for those who are greedy….and those who are not, suffer from their greed, it’s just moving money from many pockets into a few…
This film was way ahead of its time!!
Still less evil than your average Hollywood actor or Silicon Valley dork
He's not just honest, he's right.
I swear I'll make my Corpo character in Cyberpunk 2077 look like Gordon Gekko and always ask myself "What would Gekko do in this situation" as I play.
Enjoying the game?
@@Ghaztoir After seeing how buggy the release was, I've decided to wait a few years for the edition with all the DLC and most of the bugs fixed.
2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
Gordon Gekko: "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." - #57
Who else is here after WallsteetBets making billionaires cry?
The only guy who could let yuppies look cool...when they are not in reality.
BOY was that a good character-actor.