--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of…" description: "\"“instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of moral restraint and excessive greed and overarching narcissism, Gekko's \"greed is good\" creed became the marching..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/anonymous-1_greed-is-good_instead-of-dismay-at-gekko-s-lack-of-mor_626585.jpg" --- # instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of moral restraint and… ![“instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of moral restraint and excessive greed and overarching narcissism, Gekko's "greed is good" creed became the marching anthem of an entire generation of U.S. finance professionals (as well as subsequent generations of finance professionals in the U.S.). The wide…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/anonymous-1_greed-is-good_instead-of-dismay-at-gekko-s-lack-of-mor_626585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/anonymous-1_greed-is-good_instead-of-dismay-at-gekko-s-lack-of-mor_626585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/anonymous-1_greed-is-good_instead-of-dismay-at-gekko-s-lack-of-mor_626585.jpg) > ““instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of moral restraint and excessive greed and overarching narcissism, Gekko's "greed is good" creed became the marching anthem of an entire generation of U.S. finance professionals (as well as subsequent generations of finance professionals in the U.S.). The wide acceptance of this as a mantra for success in America explains, to a large extent, what has happened to the U.S. economy in the intervening years”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how Gekko's "greed is good" mantra shaped finance culture, linking moral laxity to broader economic outcomes. **In simple terms:** Greed was celebrated, influencing finance and the economy. Key Takeaway Recognize how cultural narratives shape economic behavior. Themes ethics economics culture finance leadership Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - investment banking - corporate strategy - policy making - public discourse Key Concepts Moral relativism capitalism social influence Questions to Reflect On - How do media portrayals affect professional ethics? - Can a single mantra truly drive national economic change? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize complex economic trends to a single cultural factor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Greed is good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-is-good/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [Gordon Gekko was right: greed is good. Because, the potty-trained Republicans have now stepped forward - like the Koch brothers - to say, 'You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/gordon-gekko-was-right-greed-is-good-because-the-potty-trained/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Greed is good! Greed is right! Greed works! Greed will save the U.S.A.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/greed-is-good-greed-is-right-greed-works-greed-will-save-the-u-s-a/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Greed is good to most economists. It's greed that makes people work harder, be more productive and helps the economy grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-m-blank/greed-is-good-to-most-economists-it-s-greed-that-makes-people-work/) Rebecca M. Blank > [“I used to love that movie Wall Street and the line ‘Greed is good.’ Honestly, the only thing greed got me was five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-wohl/i-used-to-love-that-movie-wall-street-and-the-line-greed-is-good/) [Phil Wohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-wohl/) > [Someone reminded me I once said, 'Greed is good.' Now it seems it's legal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/someone-reminded-me-i-once-said-greed-is-good-now-it-seems-it-s-legal/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Greed is good. Sex is easy. Youth is forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/greed-is-good-sex-is-easy-youth-is-forever/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Mysticism has often been misunderstood as the attempt to escape this simple, phenomenal world to a more pure existence in heaven beyond. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wink/mysticism-has-often-been-misunderstood-as-the-attempt-to-escape-this/) [Walter Wink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wink/) > [The ethos on Wall Street has not changed, and that's not going to come from the corner office. That's going to come, for better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ross-sorkin/the-ethos-on-wall-street-has-not-changed-and-that-s-not-going-to-come/) [Andrew Ross Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ross-sorkin/) > [“I disagree. You want to bring back someone that you've lost. You might want money. Maybe you want women. Or, you might want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromu-arakawa/i-disagree-you-want-to-bring-back-someone-that-you-ve-lost-you-might/) [Hiromu Arakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromu-arakawa/) > [If your desire for 'good' is based on greed, it is not good, but greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/if-your-desire-for-good-is-based-on-greed-it-is-not-good-but-greed/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [The best I played with? Alan Shearer and Henrik Larsson for being the most ruthless. Shearer had that mindset, that greed - in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sutton/the-best-i-played-with-alan-shearer-and-henrik-larsson-for-being-the/) [Chris Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sutton/) > [It didn´t occur to me until later that there´s another truth, very simple: greed in a good cause is still greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-didn-t-occur-to-me-until-later-that-there-s-another-truth-very/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > ['Eureka' was very bad timing. The early 1980s: Reagan and Thatcher were in, greed was good, and here was a film about the richest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/eureka-was-very-bad-timing-the-early-1980s-reagan-and-thatcher-were/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [Greed may not be good, but it’s not so bad either. You humans think greed is just for money or power, but everyone wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromu-arakawa/greed-may-not-be-good-but-it-s-not-so-bad-either-you-humans-think/) [Hiromu Arakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromu-arakawa/) > [Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/greed-for-lack-of-a-better-word-is-good/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Greed quotes > [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“The fact that they viewed their wealth as a result of their own hands, without any honor other than lip service being given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-goff/the-fact-that-they-viewed-their-wealth-as-a-result-of-their-own-hands/) [Lee Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-goff/) > [“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/be-fearful-when-others-are-greedy-and-be-greedy-when-others-are/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-a-similar-way-the-art-of-war-pinpoints-anger-and-greed-as/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [''And one day when all is gone and mankind is lost, all he leaves is the desert.'' ''For man is his own demise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/and-one-day-when-all-is-gone-and-mankind-is-lost-all-he-leaves-is-the/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“Wisdom teaches us that our real enemies are never other living beings. They are ignorance and its minions, including greed, hatred, anger, pride, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-newland/wisdom-teaches-us-that-our-real-enemies-are-never-other-living-beings/) Guy Newland > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [“Thankfulness acknowledges that we can’t own anything, but we can experience everything. And just knowing that makes me thankful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/thankfulness-acknowledges-that-we-can-t-own-anything-but-we-can/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Con men look for human frailty to exploit. This is most often greed. Trump found a different vice: anger. The emotional are always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-meyer/con-men-look-for-human-frailty-to-exploit-this-is-most-often-greed/) [Pamela Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-meyer/) [Browse all 2,232 Greed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of moral restraint and excessive greed and overarching narcissism, Gekko's \"greed is good\" creed became the marching anthem of an entire generation of U.S. finance professionals (as well as subsequent generations of finance professionals in the U.S.). 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