Today as we consumers gorge on holiday sales, I thought how appropriate to feature this famous speech from the movie Wall Street (1987). The setting: The annuals shareholder’s meeting for a corporation called Teldar. The speaker: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) who has been allowed to take the floor to make his pitch to the shareholders against the current corporate leadership represented by Cromwell (Richard Dysart). This monologue, along with the rest of the script, was written by Stanley Weiser & Oliver Stone, and features one of the most famous movie lines in the 80′s: “Greed is good.”
Gekko is now at floor level with a microphone. He's calmer,makes his pitch to the stockholders, looking up at themanagement. GEKKO...I appreciate the chance you'regiving me, Mr. Cromwell, as thesingle largest stockholder inTeldar, to speak. (gets some laughter and applause, loosens)On the way here today I saw abumper sticker. It said, "Life is abitch... then you die". (gets another laugh)...well ladies and gentlemen, we'renot here to indulge in fantasies,but in political and economicreality. America has become asecond rate power. Our tradedeficit and fiscal deficit are atnightmare proportions. In the daysof the 'free market' when ourcountry was a top industrial power,there was accountability to theshareholders. The Carnegies, theMellons, the man who built thisindustrial empire, made sure of itbecause it was their money at stake.Today management has no stake inthe company. Altogether these guyssitting up there own a total ofless than 3% and where does Mr.Cromwell put his million dollarsalary? Certainly not in Teldarstock, he owns less than 1%.You own Teldar Paper, thestockholders, and you are beingroyally screwed over by thesebureaucrats with their steaklunches, golf and hunting trips,corporate jets, and goldenparachutes! Teldar Paper has 33different vice presidents eachearning over $200,000 a year. Ispent two months analyzing whatthese guys did and I still can'tfigure it out. (a big laugh) Cromwell is pissed. CROMWELLThis is an outrage Gekko! You'refull of shit! GEKKOOne thing I do know is this papercompany lost $110 million lastyear, and I'd bet half of that isin the paperwork going back andforth between all the vicepresidents... (increased laughter, he's getting them)The new law of evolution incorporate America seems to be'survival of the unfittest'. Wellin my book, you either do it rightor you get eliminated. Teldar Paperis doomed to fail. Itsdiversification into casualtyinsurance has not worked. Its crownjewels are its trees, the rest isdross. Through wars, depressions,inflations and deterioration ofpaper money, trees have always kepttheir value, but Teldar is choppingthem all down. Forests areperishable, forest rights are asimportant as human rights to thisplanet, and all the illusoryMaginot lines, scorched earthtactics, proxy fights, poisonpills, etc. that Mr.Cromwell is going to come up withto prevent people like me frombuying Teldar Paper are doomed tofail because the bottom line,ladies and gentlemen, as you verywell know, is the only way to staystrong is to create value, that'swhy you buy stock, to have it go up.If there's any other reason, I'venever hear it. (laughter)That's all I'm saying...it's youpeople who own this company, notthem, they work for you and they'vedone a lousy job of it. Get rid ofthem fast, before you all get sickand die. I may be an opportunist,but if these clowns did a betterjob, I'd be out of work. In thelast seven deals I've been in,there were 2.3 million stockholdersthat actually made a pretax profitof $12 billion. When I bought theIxtlan Corporation it was in theexact same position Teldar istoday -- I turned three of itscompanies private and I sold fourothers -- and each of thesecompanies, liberated from thesuffering conglomerate hasprospered. I am not a destroyer ofcompanies, I am a liberator of them.The point is, ladies and gentlemen,greed is good. Greed works, greedis right. Greed clarifies, cutsthrough, and captures the essenceof the evolutionary spirit. Greedin all its forms, greed for life,money, love, knowledge, has markedthe upward surge of mankind -- andgreed, mark my words -- will savenot only Teldar Paper but thatother malfunctioning corporationcalled the USA...Thank you. Much applause as he sits. Now a standing ovation; shouts ofapproval. Cromwell knows he has lost the day, tries tocontinue the meeting by calling for "order". Bud watches, impressed.
And here’s the actual scene, a tour du force performance by actor Michael Douglas.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaKkuJVy2YA]
