Gordon Gekko
{{short description|Movie antagonist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{redirect|Greed is good|other uses|Greed Is Good (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Gordon Gekko
| image = Gordon Gekko.jpg
| series = Wall Street
| caption =
| first = Wall Street (1987)
| last = Wall Street:
Money Never Sleeps (2010)
| creator = Oliver Stone
Stanley Weiser
| portrayer = Michael Douglas{{cite news |last=Zarroli |first=Jim |date=17 Feb 2008 |title=Gordon Gekko, Preaching the Gospel of Greed |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19105520 |access-date=September 26, 2010}}
| nickname =
| title =
| spouse = Kate Gekko (ex-wife)
| children = Rudy Gekko (older son, deceased)
Winnie Gekko-Moore (younger daughter)
| relatives = Jacob Moore (son-in-law)
Louis Moore (grandson)
| nationality = American
| occupation = Corporate raider
Author
}}
Gordon Gekko is a composite character in the 1987 film Wall Street and its 2010 sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,{{cite magazine |title=The return of Gordon Gekko |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2010/02/wall-street-spotlight-201002 |magazine=Vanity Fair |last=Burrough |first=Bryan |date=February 2010 |access-date=January 16, 2010}} both directed by Oliver Stone.{{Cite web |last=Ramallo |first=Ruben |date=7 Sep 2021 |title=Gordon Gekko, el inescrupuloso y genio de las finanzas del film Wall Street, existe: ¿quién es realmente? |url=https://www.iprofesional.com/finanzas/342942-gordon-gekko-el-villano-de-wall-street-existe-quien-es |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=Iprofesional.com |language=es}} Gekko was portrayed in both films by actor Michael Douglas, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the first film.{{cite book |title=70 years of the Oscar: the official history of the Academy Awards |last=Osborne |first=Robert A. |publisher=Abbeville Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7892-0484-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/70yearsofoscarof00osbo/page/286 286] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/70yearsofoscarof00osbo/page/286}} In 2003, the American Film Institute named Gordon Gekko No. 24 on its Top 50 movie villains of all time.{{cite web |title=AFI 100 years...100 heroes and villains |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-heroes-villians/ |access-date=January 16, 2010 |publisher=American Film Institute}}
Characterization
Co-written by Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser, Gekko is said to be based loosely on several real-life financiers, including Stone's own father Louis Stone,{{cite news |url=http://thefilmstage.com/reviews/review-wall-street-money-never-sleeps/ |title=Review: Wall Street Money Never Sleeps |author=Anthony Vieira |work=The Film Stage |date=September 23, 2010 |access-date=March 14, 2015}} Wall Street broker Owen Morrisey, an old friend of Stone's{{cite book |last=Lavington |first=Stephen |title=Virgin Film: Oliver Stone |year=2011 |publisher=Ebury |isbn=978-0-7535-4766-3 |page=145}} who was involved in a $20 million insider trading scandal in 1985, investment banker Dennis Levine, arbitrageur Ivan Boesky,{{cite magazine |last=Crowdus |first=Gary |title=Personal Struggles and Political Issues: An Interview with Oliver Stone |magazine=Cinéaste |date=1988 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=18–21 |issn=0009-7004 |jstor=41687728 |url=http://www.cineaste.com/articles/stone-interview.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226194916/http://www.cineaste.com/articles/stone-interview.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2008}} corporate raider Carl Icahn, investor and art collector Asher Edelman,{{cite web |last1=Vardi |first1=Nathan |date=4 May 2011 |title=Greed is so-so |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0523/focus-asher-edelman-gordon-gekko-mohawk-data-greed-so-so.html |work=Forbes |access-date=October 2, 2015}} agent Michael Ovitz, and Stone himself.{{cite news |last=Weiser |first=Stanley |title=Repeat After Me: Greed is Not Good |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 5, 2008 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-oct-05-ca-wallstreet5-story.html |access-date=October 17, 2008 |url-access=limited}} For example, Gekko's line "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good" was adapted from a remark by Boesky, who himself was later convicted on insider trading charges.{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,161593,00.html |title=Battling Boeskys |magazine=Time |date=June 24, 2001 |first1=John F. |last1=Dickerson |access-date=December 1, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Sigesmund |first=B. J. |title=The Return of Greed |work=Newsweek |date=19 July 2002 |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2002/07/18/the-return-of-greed.html |archive-date=11 Sep 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911083224/http://www.newsweek.com/2002/07/18/the-return-of-greed.html |url-status=unfit}} Delivering the 1986 commencement address to the School of Business Administration at the University of California, Berkeley, Boesky said, "Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to know that. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself."{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/12/15/a-100-million-idea-use-greed-for-good/ |title=A $100 Million Idea: Use Greed For Good |last1=Greene |first1=Bob |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=December 15, 1986 |access-date=December 1, 2020}}
Edward R. Pressman, producer of both films, said, "Originally, there was no one individual who Gekko was modeled on", but that "Gekko was partly Milken", the "Junk Bond King" of the 1980s.{{cite news |last=Goodley |first=Simon |title=Brace Yourself, Gekko is Back |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 27, 2008 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2814749/Brace-yourself-Gekko-is-back.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2814749/Brace-yourself-Gekko-is-back.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=January 3, 2009}}{{cbignore}}
According to Weiser, Gekko's style of speaking was inspired by Stone: "When I was writing some of the dialogue [...] I would listen to Oliver on the phone and sometimes he talks very rapid-fire, the way Gordon Gekko does", he said.{{cite book |last=Riordan |first=James |title=Stone: A Biography of Oliver Stone |publisher=Aurum Press |location=New York |date=1996 |page=227 |isbn=978-1-85410-444-1}} However, it has been reported that Gekko's infamous "greed is good" speech was largely inspired by Boesky, who famously once claimed "greed is healthy."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/business/ivan-f-boesky-dead.html|title=Ivan F. Boesky, Rogue Trader in 1980s Wall Street Scandal, Dies at 87|first=Leslie|last=Wayne|work=New York Times|date=May 20, 2024|accessdate=May 20, 2024}}
When creating the character for Gekko, Weiser wrote that "I formed an amalgam of disgraced arbitrageur Ivan Boesky, corporate raider Carl Icahn, and his lesser-known art-collecting compatriot Asher Edelman. Add a dash of Michael Ovitz and a heaping portion of, yes, my good friend and esteemed colleague Stone (who came up with the character’s name) -- and there you have the rough draft of ‘Gekko the Great.’ Gekko’s dialogue actually was inspired by Stone’s own rants." After the film's original character Gordon Gekko began being perceived as a hero instead of a villain, for his line "Greed is good," in 2008, Weiser wrote in op-ed in the Los Angeles Times titled "Repeat After Me: Greed is Not Good." He wrote that when he wrote the screenplay, "I never could have imagined that this persona and his battle cry would become part of the public consciousness, and that the core message of “Wall Street” – remember, he goes to jail in the end – would be so misunderstood by so many."{{Citation |last=Weiser |first=Stanley |date=October 5, 2008 |title=Repeat After Me: Greed is Not Good |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-oct-05-ca-wallstreet5-story.html |access-date=28 April 2024}}
Cultural impact
Gekko has become a symbol in popular culture for unrestrained greed (with the signature line, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good"), often in fields outside corporate finance.{{Cite web |title=Wall Street – Gordon Gekko |url=https://www.ambito.com/economia/wall-street/dialogos-n5241347}}{{Cite news |last1=Lananh |first1=Nguyen |last2=Jeng |first2=Melodie |date=3 Aug 2021 |title=Pandemic changes how Wall Street wolves dress: Polo shirt & sneakers rule Manhattan streets |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/pandemic-changes-how-wall-street-wolves-dress-polo-shirt-sneakers-rule-manhattan-streets/articleshow/85003808.cms |access-date=August 4, 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Upside |first=The Daily |date=July 26, 2021 |title=U.S. Insider Trading Laws Are Getting Reimagined, But Not Without Concerns |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/07/26/us-insider-trading-laws-are-getting-reimagined-but/ |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=The Motley Fool |language=en}} On October 8, 2008, the character was referenced by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in his speech, "The Children of Gordon Gekko" concerning the 2008 financial crisis. Rudd stated "It is perhaps time now to admit that we did not learn the full lessons of the greed-is-good ideology. And today we are still cleaning up the mess of the 21st-century children of Gordon Gekko."{{cite news |title=Edited extract of the speech: The children of Gordon Gekko |author=Kevin Rudd |work=The Australian |date=October 6, 2008 |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24450662-7583,00.html |access-date=October 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116120126/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24450662-7583,00.html |archive-date=January 16, 2009 |url-status=dead}} On July 28, 2009, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone cited Gekko's "Greed is good" slogan in a speech to the Italian Senate, saying that the free market had been replaced by a greed market, and also blamed such a mentality for the 2008 financial crisis.{{cite news |last=Krause-Jackson |first=Flavia |title=Vatican Slams 'Greed Is Good' Wall Street Mantra |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQl9pmfRaeAQ |access-date=August 9, 2010 |newspaper=Bloomberg News |date=July 28, 2009}} The FBI has used Gekko for an anti-insider trading campaign.{{cite news |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/michael-douglas-tackles-greed-for-the-f-b-i/ |work=The New York Times |first1=Ben |last1=Protess |first2=Azam |last2=Ahmed |title=Michael Douglas Tackles Greed for F.B.I |date=February 27, 2012 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331202624/https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/michael-douglas-tackles-greed-for-the-f-b-i/ |archive-date=2012-03-31}}{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/02/27/gordon-gekko-is-cooperating-with-the-fbi/ |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Joe |last=Palazzolo |title=Gordon Gekko Is Cooperating with the FBI |date=February 27, 2012 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |author= |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/02/27/gordon-gekko-greed-is-bad/ |work=The Wall Street Journal |title=Gordon Gekko: Greed Is Bad |date=February 27, 2012 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203833004577249710504638728 |work=The Wall Street Journal |first1=Jenny |last1=Strasburg |first2=Reed |last2=Albergotti |title=Insider Targets Expanding |date=February 28, 2012 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kevin |date=February 27, 2012 |title=Michael Douglas, aka Gordon Gekko, helps FBI fight fraud |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/story/2012-02-27/gordon-gekko-michael-doiuglas-fbi-psas/53275070/1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303093655/https://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/story/2012-02-27/gordon-gekko-michael-doiuglas-fbi-psas/53275070/1 |archive-date=2012-03-03 |work=USA Today}} Gekko is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of gecko, Cyrtodactylus gordongekkoi.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("Gordon Gekko", p. 104).
On September 25, 2008, Douglas, acting as a UN ambassador for peace, was at the 2008 session of the United Nations General Assembly. Reporters sought to ask him off-topic questions about Gekko. He was asked whether he "bore some responsibility for the behavior of the greed merchants who had brought the world to its knees". Trying to return to topic, Douglas suggested that "the same level of passion Wall Street investors showed should also apply to getting rid of nuclear weapons."{{cite news |title=Michael who? It's Gekko we're after |first=Phillip |last=Coorey |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=September 26, 2008 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/michael-who-its-gekko-were-after/2008/09/25/1222217431660.html}} Douglas was also asked to compare nuclear Armageddon with the "financial Armageddon on Wall Street". After one reporter inquired, "Are you saying, Gordon, that greed is not good?" Douglas stated, "I'm not saying that. And my name is not Gordon. It's a character I played 20 years ago."{{Cite news |last1=Nguyen |first1=Lananh |last2=Jeng |first2=Melodie |last3=Murray |first3=Brent |date=August 2, 2021 |title=A Wall Street Dressing Down: Always. Be. Casual. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/business/wall-street-casual.html |access-date=August 4, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited}}{{cite news |title=Douglas goes nuclear: I'm not Gordon Gekko! |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=September 25, 2008 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/people/douglas-goes-nuclear-im-not-gordon-gekko/2008/09/25/1222217386443.html}} In 2013, psychiatrists Samuel Leistedt and Paul Linkowski published a study of the portrayal of psychopaths in film, and cited the Gekko character as a realistic portrayal of the successful, "corporate psychopath": "In terms of a 'successful psychopath{{'"}}, they write, "Gordon Gekko from Wall Street (1987) is probably one of the most interesting, manipulative, psychopathic fictional characters to date."{{cite web |first=Susan |last=Perry |url=https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/01/why-psychopathic-film-villains-are-rarely-realistic-and-why-it-matters |title=Why psychopathic film villains are rarely realistic — and why it matters |website=Minnpost |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |date=January 17, 2014 |access-date=June 21, 2018}}