Wall Street Quotes

[In Bud's new office]

Marv: Very nice. So what is it, *Mr.* Cocksucker now?

Bud Fox: How much is enough?

Gordon 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.

Darien Taylor: When you've had money and lost it, it can be much worse than never having had it at all!

Bud Fox: That is BULLSHIT!

[throws a whiskey bottle destructively; Darien starts to leave]

Bud Fox: HEY! HEY! You step out that door, and I am *changing the locks*!

Gordon Gekko: [at the Teldar Paper stockholder's meeting] 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 luncheons, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.

Cromwell: This is an outrage! You're out of line, Gekko!

Gordon Gekko: Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I'll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents. The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated. In the last seven deals that I've been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. Thank you. I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! 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. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.

[Bud is just finding out about a meeting concerning Blue Star]

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

[Blue Star has gone from 24 to 16 1/2 in a very short time]

Gordon Gekko: Fox, where the hell are you? I am losing MILLIONS! You got me into this airline and you sure as hell better get me out or the only job you'll ever have on the Street is SWEEPING IT! You hear me, Fox?

Bud Fox: 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.

Gordon Gekko: Yeah. Well you TAKE IT!

[shouts]

Gordon Gekko: *Right in the ass you fucking scumbag cocksucker!*

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

Gordon Gekko: [calms down] Dump it.

Marv: [Bud has been ignoring him] What the hell is the matter with you? Things are so bad out there even the lifers are complaining, but not you. No. You're pulling in big money. So what's the score huh...

Bud Fox: Hey LOOK! I am SICK and TIRED of playing wet nurse to you all the time! Will you do your own homework, Marv?

Marv: [leaves] What an asshole!

Bud Fox: This is really a nice club, Mr. Gekko.

Gordon Gekko: Yeah, not bad for a City College boy. I bought my way in, now all these Ivy league schmucks are sucking my kneecaps.

Gordon Gekko: [meeting alone together in Central Park] Hiya, Buddy.

Bud Fox: [nods as the both walk up to face one another] Gordon.

Gordon Gekko: [with a smirk on his face] 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 and grabs him by the coattails]

Gordon 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? No. 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]

Gordon Gekko: A NOBODY!

[and again]

Gordon 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! Geodynamics! And this is how you fucking pay me back you COCKROACH?

[hits him once again and Bud falls to the ground]

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

[calms down, then takes out his handkerchief and throws it to Bud to clean off the blood]

Gordon Gekko: You could've been one of the great ones Buddy. I looked at you and saw myself. Why?

Bud Fox: [getting up] I don't know. I guess I realized that I'm just Bud Fox.

[firmly]

Bud Fox: As much as I wanted to be Gordon Gekko, I'll *always* be Bud Fox.

[tosses back the handkerchief and walks away]

Bud Fox: Hi, Marv.

Marv: [sarcastically] Oh, hi. Say, why don't YOU get the hell out of MY office!

Bud Fox: 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 Fox: Let me make it up to you.

[types on computer]

Bud Fox: Bluestar. Put *all* your clients in it.

Marv: [pause] Ok, Buddy Buddy. We are back in business on Bluestar.

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

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

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

[Long Pause]

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

[after Bud lost $100,000 on a 'dog' stock]

Gordon Gekko: I guess your Dad isn't on the Board of Directors of *that* company, is he?

Bud Fox: About average yield... very attractive.

Hooker: Mmm...

[while unzipping Bud's pants]

Bud Fox: Rising profits... strong balance sheet.

Hooker: I'm hot on this stock.

Bud Fox: It's ready to take off. I'd jump all over it if I were you.

Carl Fox: "There came into Egypt a Pharaoh who did not know."

Gordon Gekko: I beg your pardon, is that a proverb?

Carl Fox: No, a prophecy. The rich have been doing it to the poor since the beginning of time. The only difference between the Pyramids and the Empire State Building is the Egyptians didn't allow unions. I know what this guy is all about, greed. He don't give a damn about Bluestar or the unions. He's in and out for the buck and he don't take prisoners.

[Bud just got a promotion]

Lynch: The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you had what it took.

[Bud just got arrested]

Lynch: The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you were no good.

Gordon Gekko: You gonna tell me the difference between this guy and that guy is luck?

[points at a bum and businessman]

Bud Fox: What's the matter? Did somebody die?

Marv: Yeah...

Darien Taylor: I don't want him to ever know, you understand?

Gordon Gekko: Mum's the word.

[after a pause]

Gordon Gekko: You and I are the same, Darien. We are smart enough not to buy in to the oldest myth running; love. A fiction created by people to keep them from jumping out of windows.

[laughs]

Darien Taylor: You know sometimes I miss you, Gordon; you're really twisted.

Lou 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 Fox: I think I understand.

Bud Fox: [after Gordon calls back and buys Bluestar]

[Loudly]

Bud Fox: Yeah! Woooo! I just bagged the elephant!

Bud Fox: Did mom give you fish for dinner?

Carl Fox: Spaghetti! Your mother still makes lousy spaghetti.

Bud Fox: It's called "pasta" now, dad. "Spaghetti" is out of date.

Carl Fox: So am I.

[first lines]

Businesswoman #1: [a crowd of businessmen stampede into an elevator] Excuse me.

Businessman #1: Easy!

Businesswoman #2: Excuse me!

Businessman #2: Thank you.

Businesswomen #3: Sorry!

Businessman #3: Easy!

Businessman #4: Easy!

[last lines]

Carl Fox: [Bud is being dropped off in front of the courthouse] We'll park the car and catch up with you.

Bud Fox: Alright.

[BlueStar stock has gone from 19 to 22 7/8 very quickly]

Marv: Whew! Stock's going to Pluto, man.

Bud Fox: Start unloading!

Marv: What? SELL?

Bud Fox: Dump it! Dump it all! Where's Lou?

Marv: He's over there.

[Marv gets on the phone]

Marv: Ken, this is Marvin at Jackson-Steinem. We've gotta DUMP this baby! Yeah, you've got to take the money and RUN on BST! Yeah, we're pulling out now.

[Lynch is firing Dan]

Dan: We go way back, Harry. You know, I-I've put a lot of money into this firm over the years, and I've brought in a lot of businesses.

Lynch: You've taken enough out, too. You know that. You should have something put aside, for chrissake.

Dan: Well, I don't. With the divorces and everything, I haven't had a chance. And the kids...

Lynch: The bridges are burned.

[Bud walks by Lynch's office]

Dan: When you fire me, I'm finished, Harry, finished on the street.

Lynch: How do think I feel about this?

Dan: How do you think I feel? I've got a lot of responsibilities.

Bud Fox: [to Marv] What's goin' on?

Marv: Lynch is giving him the boot. He's not pulling his quota. We're all just one trade away from humility, Bud.

[Early in the morning, Bud's phone rings]

Bud Fox: [answers the phone] Yeah.

Gordon Gekko: Money never sleeps, pal. Just made 800,000 in Hong Kong gold. It's been wired to you. Play with it. You've done good, but you gotta keep doing good. I've showed you how the game works. Now School's out.

Bud Fox: Mr, Gekko, I'm there for you 110%.

Gordon Gekko: 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. My wife tells me you made a move on Darien. Well, here some inside info for you: That euro-flash G.Q.-type she's going out with has got big bucks, but he's putting her feet to sleep. Exit Visas are imminent, so I don't want you losing your place in line.

[take a look at the sunrise]

Gordon Gekko: Ah, Jesus. I wish you could see this. Light's coming up. I've never seen a painting that captures the beauty of the ocean at a moment like this. 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.

[Bud arrives at his to see Lynch, agents from the SEC and USPS, an lawyer from the U.S. Attorney's Office, and and an NYPD uniformed officer ready to arrest him]

Bud Fox: [shocked] I guess you're not here to open an I.R.A.

Postal Inspector: Mr. Fox, I'm Henry Patterson with the Postal Inspection Service. This is Mr. Ebanhopper from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Evan Morrissey from the Securities and Exchange Enforcement Office.

SEC Man: You're under arrest, Mr. Fox, for conspiracy to commit Securities fraud and for violating the Insider Trader's Sanction Act.

Lynch: [furious] The minute I've laid eyes on you, I knew you were no good.

U.S. Attorney: [as the cop places the handcuffs on Bud, he is read the Miranda warning] You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Do you understand? Anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during any questioning now or in the future.

[Bud, now fired and disgraced from Jackson-Steinem, is led away from the office in tears amongst onlookers]

Bud Fox: [sobs to Carolyn] So long, Carolyn.

[In the last scene, The Foxes are driving down FDR Drive towards the U.S. Court House downtown]

Carl Fox: You told the truth and gave the money back. All things considered in this cockamamie world, you're shooting par.

Mrs. Fox: You helped saved the airline, and the airline people are gonna remember you for it.

Carl Fox: That's right. If I were you, I'd think about the job at Bluestar that Wildman offered you.

Bud Fox: Dad, I'm going to jail and you know it.

Carl Fox: 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. You stop going for the easy buck and produce something with your life. Create instead of living off the buying and selling of others.

[drops Bud off at the Supreme Court House]

Carl Fox: We'll park the car and catch up with you.

Bud Fox: All right.

Bud Fox: Why do you have to wreck this company...

Gordon Gekko: Because it's WRECKABLE, that's why!

Gordon Gekko: What the hell do you want?

Bud Fox: I just found out about the garage sale down at Bluestar. Why?

Gordon Gekko: [GG looks surprised for a split second, then quietly chuckles] Last night, I was reading Rudy the story of Winnie-the-Pooh and the honeypot... You know what happened: he stuck his nose in the pot once too often, and he got stuck.

[GG lights a cigarette]

Bud Fox: Maybe you oughta read him Pinocchio, Gordon.

[GG chuckles while exhaling smoke]

Bud Fox: I thought that you were gonna turn Bluestar around, not upside-down! You fucking used me.

Gordon 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 Fox: But why do you need to wreck this company?

Gordon Gekko: Because it's *wreckable*, all right? I took another look at it, and I changed my mind.

Bud Fox: If these people lose their jobs, they got nowhere to go! My father has worked there for 24 years! I gave him my word.

Gordon Gekko: It's all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation... Hey, Buddy, you're still gonna be president, all right? And when the time comes, you're gonna parachute out, a rich man. With the money you're gonna make, your dad's never gonna have to work another day in his life.

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

Gordon 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, uh, transferred from one perception to another. Like magic.

Bud Fox: What about hard work?

Gordon Gekko: What about it? You work hard?

[Bud nods]

Gordon Gekko: Bet you worked all night researching that dog stock you sold me, and look where it got you? My father worked like an elephant selling electrical equipment until he keeled over at 49 from a massive heart attack and tax bills.