EMPIRE SCENE - WALL STREET

"Greed is good..."

SETTING THE SCENE Gordon Gekko, the voice of the '80s, takes the floor at the annual shareholders' meeting of the Teldar Paper, the latest corporation that he intends to take over and brutally strip of its assets...

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’re not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality... I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them. The point is, ladies and gentlemen, 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 (The audience rise to give him an ovation). Thank-you very much!”