Article: Was Gordon Gekko Based On A Real Wall Street Character?

If there is one movie which epitomises the 1980s and the booming stock markets it is the first instalment of “Wall Street”. The main character, who perfectly reflected the “greed is good” mantra at the time, was played by Michael Douglas who had the starring role of Gordon Gekko. Critics suggest that the movie glamorised the villains and the crooks of the time but in reality it was a perfect reflection of what was going on.

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Gekko appeared to be a combination of Carl Icahn ("If you need a friend, get a dog!"), Michael Milken, and especially Ivan Boesky.

Icahn always seemed to know how to push the limits without crossing the line into illegal behavior.

Milken was a very hardworking, brilliant guy who built an empire that was built upon very tough business practices that often crossed the lines of unethical and occasionally even illegal behavior.

Boesky was the worst of all - a pure crook who married money, borrowed $ from them, and used their assets as leverage for his insider trading.

Gekko may have also been based upon others, but those are the 3 people who come immediately to mind.

 

I have watched Wall Street many many times and I never get bored of it. I have also read a book about Michael Milken which made for fascinating reading!