Wall Street Quotations

Wall Street was a 1987 film, starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah. The movie has come to be seen as the archetypal portrayal of 1980s excess, with Michael Douglas as the archetypal "Master of the Universe", based loosely on Ivan Boesky and other corporate raiders of the time. Metaphorically, this movie can also be seen as the depiction of a man's inner struggle with his conscience, and making wrong choices due to blinding temptation, despite the consequences.

Written by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone. Directed by Oliver Stone.

Every dream has a price.

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.

Hope you're Intelligent.

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.

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.

Lunch? Aw, You gotta be kidding. Lunch is for wimps.

What else you got besides connections at the airport?

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 fucking body flowing red.

It's not bad for a quant, but that's a dog with different fleas.

Come on pal, tell me something I don't know, it's my birthday. Surprise me.

Blow 'em away, Ollie. Rip their fucking throats out. Stuff 'em in your garbage compactor.

Bud Fox, I look at a hundred deals a day. I choose one.

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?

Relax pal, no one's gonna blow the whistle on ya. Is that legal? You should put that in my account.

Buy a decent suit. You can't come in here looking like this. Go to Morty Sills, tell 'em I sent ya.

Save the cheap salesman talk, will ya, it's obvious.

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.

Bought my way in, now all these Ivy League schmucks are suckin' my kneecaps.

That's the thing you gotta remember about WASPs - they love animals, they can't stand people.

The most valuable commodity I know of, is information

The public's out there throwin' darts at a board, sport. I don't throw darts at a board - I bet on sure things.

Every battle is won before it's ever fought. Think about it.

You ever wonder why fund managers can't beat the S&P 500? Because they're sheep, and sheep get slaughtered.

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.

And if you need a friend, get a dog. It's trench warfare out there pal.

You want another chance? You stop sending me information, and start getting me some.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Well now considering you brought my mother into it, 71.50.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder of Teldar Paper, to speak.

The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men who built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake.

Well, in my book, you either do it right, or you get eliminated.

I am not a destroyer of companies, I am a liberator of them.

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.

Mixed emotions, Buddy. Like, Larry Wildman going off a cliff, in my new Maserati.

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!

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.

We got a stockbroker who wants to run an airline.

I'm up to my ass with more nuts than a fruitcake.

So the falcon's heard the falconer, huh?

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.

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.

It's all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.

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 its finest.

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.

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.

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.

I want zip-locked mouths on the Bluestar deal, or I'm gonna personally come down there and rip out their fucking throats.

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 fucking skull.

Sell it all. What the hell, so we only make ten million.

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?

Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen)

I'm tapped out Marv. American Express got a hit man lookin' for me.

Having sex with her was like reading the Wall Street Journal.

You step out that door, and I'm changing the locks.

Life all comes down to a few moments. This is one of them.

You're only the best money can buy, Darien.

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.

I gotta live in Manhattan to be a player. There's no nobility in poverty anymore.

Good Carolyn, Doing any better would be a sin.

Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook)

Jesus you can't make a buck in this market, the country's goin' to hell faster than when that son of a bitch Roosevelt was in charge. Too much cheap money sloshing around the world. The worst mistake we ever made was letting Nixon get off the gold standard.

Stick to the fundamentals. That's how IBM and Hilton were built. Good things, sometimes, take time.

You can't get a little bit pregnant.

Kid, you're on a roll. Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause it never does.

Man looks into the Abyss, and there's nothin' staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character, and that's what keeps him out of the Abyss.

Carl Fox (Martin Sheen)

Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create, instead of living off the buying and selling of others.

I don't go to sleep with no whore and I don't wake up with no whore. That's how I live with myself. I don't know how you do it.

Money's only something you need in case you don't die tomorrow...

Roger Barnes (James Spader)

Well, you're only the President of the company. What the hell do you know, anyway?

Marv (John C. McGinley)

You've been a real schmuck lately. So go thou and sin no more.

Oh, this is very nice. This is very nice. So what’s it, *Mr.* Cocksucker now?

Come on forget charts, will ya? We’re not fund managers here baby. Churn ‘em and burn ‘em. I am offering you the Knicks, and chicks.

Boy, we sure took a bath on that ugly b#*@!

Sir Larry Wildman (Terence Stamp)

You're a two bit pirate and a greenmailer. Nothing more... Gekko! Not only will you sell your mother to make a deal, you'd send her C.O.D.

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.

Dialogue

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.

Bud: 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.

Bud: 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

Bud: 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.

Bud: Lou, trust me, its a winner. Buy it.

Bud: 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.

Wildman: 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.

Wildman: 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

Wildman: 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.

Wildman: 71?

Gekko: Well now considering you brought my mother into it, 71.50.

Wildman: 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.

Carl: He's using you, kid. He's got your prick in his back pocket, but you're too blind to see it.

Bud: 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!

Carl: What you see is a guy who never measured a man's success by the size of his WALLET!

Bud: That's because you never had the guts to go out into the world and stake your own claim!

[Long Pause]

Carl: Boy, if that's the way you feel, I must have done a really lousy job as a father.

Bud: Why do you need to wreck this company?

Gekko: Because it's wreckable, alright? I took another look at it, I changed my mind.

Roger: Still seeing that sexy french chick?

Bud: No, No. She asked the wrong question.

Roger: What was that?

Bud:"What are you thinking?"

Bud: You frakkin' 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.

Bud: 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.

Bud: 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.

Bud: 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.

Bud: 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?

Bud: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 frakking scumbag cocksucker!

Bud: It's two minutes to closing, Gordon. What do you want to do? Decide.

Gekko: Dump it.

Gekko: Hiya, Buddy.

Bud: 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.

[punches Bud]

Gekko: 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...

[hits him again]

Gekko: a NOBODY!

[hits him harder]

Gekko: 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 fucking pay me back you COCKROACH!

[knocks Bud to the ground]

Gekko: I GAVE you Darien! I GAVE you your manhood I gave you EVERYTHING!

[calms down]

Gekko: You could've been one of the great ones Buddy. I look at you and see myself... WHY?

Bud: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.

Quoternity