Quotes

Others

Lynch: [After Bud gets promoted] The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you had what it took. Lynch: [When Bud gets arrested] The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you were no good. Darien: You know, sometimes I miss you, Gordon. You're really twisted. Marv: We're all just one trade away from humility, Bud. Marv: [Sees Bud's new corner office] Very nice. So what is it, "Mr. Cocksucker" now?

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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. I've never seen a painting that captures the beauty of the ocean in a moment like this. 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.

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Bud: Lou, I got a sure thing. Anacott Steel. Mannheim: No such thing except death and taxes. No fundamentals, not a good company anymore. What's going 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, it's a winner. Buy it.

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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; it's 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 … 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 wa

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Gekko: Well, I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me Mr. Cromwell as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak. Well, ladies and gentlemen we're not here to indulge in fantasy but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company! All together, these men sitting up here own less than three percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock. He owns less than one percent. You own the company. That's right - you, the stockholder. And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their, the

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Carl: "There came into Egypt a pharaoh who did not know." Gekko: I beg your pardon, is that a proverb? Carl: No, a prophecy.

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

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Bud: You fucking used me! Gekko: Well, you're walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place. Bud: But why do you need to wreck this company... Gekko: Because it's WRECKABLE, all right?! I took another look at it and I changed my mind.

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Bud: Tell me, Gordon, when does it all end, huh? How many yachts can you water-ski behind? How much is enough? 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 its 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

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Bud: Look Marv, I know I've been a bit of a schmuck lately, and I just want to apologize. Marv: You've been a real schmuck lately. So, go thou and sin no more! Bud: I want to make it up to you.[types on Marv's computer] Bluestar. Put all your clients in it. Marv: ...Okay, Buddy-Buddy. We're back in business on Bluestar!

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Mannheim: Bud... Bud I like you. Just remember something. Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss. Bud: I think I understand.

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Gekko: Hiya, Buddy. Bud: Gordon. Gekko: Sandbagged 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. [He punches Bud] Do 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 trying to sell them 20 shares of some dog shit stock. I took you in … [He hits him again] A nobody! [He 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 fucking pay me back, you cockroach! [He knocks Bud to the ground] I gave you Darien! I gave you your manhood, I gave you everything! [calms down] You could've been one of the great ones, Buddy. I look at you and I see myself. Why? Bud: I don

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Carl: You told the truth and gave the money back. All things considered in this cockamamie world, you're shooting par. Mrs. Fox: You helped save the airline, and the airline people are gonna remember you for it. Carl: That's right. If I were you, I'd think about the job at Bluestar that Wildman offered you. Bud: Dad, I'm going to jail and you know it. Carl: Yeah, well, maybe that's the price, son. It's gonna be hard on you, that's for sure. But maybe in some kind of screwed-up way, it's the best thing that could've happened to you. Stop going for the easy buck and produce something with your life. Create instead of living off the buying and selling of others.

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Lisa: Hello, Bud! I'm Lisa, a friend of Gordon... Bud: Lisa? Gordon? Oh, Mr. Gekko. Sure. Would you - uh - like to come in? Lisa: Didn't he tell you!? [sighs] That's so like Gordon... Get dressed, we're going out! Bud: 'We' are? Lisa: Mmm... Bud: So, where are we going? Lisa: Wherever you like: 'Lutece', '21', the 'River Cafe'... Or maybe we can just drive around for a while... [provocatively] Work up an appetite... [crosses her legs] Want some!? Bud: Sure. [nods] Lisa: Gordon tells me you're a very talented broker. What do you like? Bud: Like? Uh...hmmm. Well... Lisa: I got this guy who should know tells me buy 'Hewlett Packard' but I've been burned on tips. What do you think, Bud!? Bud: Let's see, it closed at - uh - 41 1/8... Up a quarter... Very attractive... About average yield... Lisa: [unzips his fly] Bud: Rising profits..., strong balance sheets, good earnings per share... Lisa: [removes her blouse] So you're 'hot' on this stock!? Bud: It's ready to take off... I'd jump all ove