• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive

3

The pig in the python: Baby Boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive

3

The pig in the python: Baby Boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire

Gordon Gekko revisited

By
Patricia Sellers
Patricia Sellers
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Patricia Sellers
Patricia Sellers
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 8, 2010, 5:45 PM ET

by Patricia Sellers

There’s a lot of deja vu in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the upcoming sequel to Wall Street, which came out in 1987.

At a Fortune-hosted screening last night in Manhattan, we revisited Gordon Gekko, who is now grayer but just as lizardy. (Michael Douglas, 23 years later, is at his most slithery.)

Greed is still good, Gekko tells us, “but now it’s legal.” Free after eight years in prison, he’s back trading for his own account, so to speak. “Money’s a bitch that never sleeps,” he says demonically in the sequel.

Charlie Sheen returns as Bud Fox–in a cameo, one in a lineup that includes Warren Buffett, CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo and Becky Quick, and Fortune Managing Editor Andy Serwer. (Donald Trump’s cameo ended up on the cutting room floor, the film’s director, Oliver Stone, told Serwer in an on-stage interview after the screening.)

Meanwhile, in this new Wall Street, Gekko finds a new crop of youth to mesmerize and corrupt. Feigning rehabilitation, he tells a group of young people: “You’re in the NINJA generation. No income. No jobs. No assets.”

Stone, the famously leftie director, hasn’t changed much either. When asked his view of capitalism today, he responded: “Socialism for the rich.” That’s Stone’s view of the government’s bank bailouts. While the faces of evil on Wall Street have changed, he contends, the game hasn’t. Now the stakes are just a lot bigger.

Well, even Stone couldn’t deny that one thing has radically changed since his original Wall Street. Check out this ad–a Motorola ad–that’s on the back of a mock Fortune cover that appeared in the 1987 film. One day last year when I ran into Michael Douglas at lunch, he offered to sign my vintage cover. Looking at this ad on the back, he and I both realized how far we’ve come–at least in terms of “the best-selling hand-held cellular portable on earth.”



About the Author
By Patricia Sellers
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

g
EnvironmentLaw
You can’t repair your tractor because Hollywood was terrified of the VCR
By Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy and The ConversationMay 25, 2026
6 minutes ago
r
Environmentclimate change
Rice feeds more than half the world. It’s also the climate equivalent of 239 million cars
By Hanqin Tian, Jingting Zhang, Pep Canadell, Shufen (Susan) Pan and The ConversationMay 25, 2026
12 minutes ago
f
EconomyWorld Cup
The economist who wrote the book on sports finance has a number for FIFA’s World Cup haul: $15 billion
By Richard Sheehan and The ConversationMay 25, 2026
30 minutes ago
Antonio Gracias, founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Valor Equity Partners
InvestingSpaceX
Elon Musk’s best friend could make more than $100 billion from SpaceX’s IPO. His firm is also owed billions by SpaceX
By Eva RoytburgMay 25, 2026
3 hours ago
Huawei touts chip breakthrough to shorten gap with TSMC
AsiaChina
Huawei touts chip breakthrough to shorten gap with TSMC
By BloombergMay 25, 2026
4 hours ago
Simon Sinek says the most successful people in the world ‘hit zero’ or came close to it: Failure is ‘the gift’
Successmanagement advice
Simon Sinek says the most successful people in the world ‘hit zero’ or came close to it: Failure is ‘the gift’
By Sydney LakeMay 25, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
4 days ago
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
Lifestyle
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
By Sasha RogelbergMay 24, 2026
1 day ago
The pig in the python: Baby Boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire
Economy
The pig in the python: Baby Boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire
By Nick LichtenbergMay 25, 2026
8 hours ago
Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
Real Estate
Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
By Sydney LakeMay 24, 2026
1 day ago
This 39-year-old quit his lineman job during the pandemic and built a $50 million company in his backyard
Success
This 39-year-old quit his lineman job during the pandemic and built a $50 million company in his backyard
By Nick LichtenbergMay 23, 2026
2 days ago
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
AI
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
By Jake AngeloMay 22, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.