--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Greed is right. Greed works. Greed…" description: "\"“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 l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/gordon-gekko-101760_greed_greed-is-right-greed-works-greed-clarifi_2121072.jpg" --- # Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies,cuts through… ![“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, for knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind. - Wall Street Journal 1987 by Gordon Gekko” quote by Gordon Gekko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/gordon-gekko-101760_greed_greed-is-right-greed-works-greed-clarifi_2121072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/gordon-gekko-101760_greed_greed-is-right-greed-works-greed-clarifi_2121072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/gordon-gekko-101760_greed_greed-is-right-greed-works-greed-clarifi_2121072.jpg) > ““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, for knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind. - Wall Street Journal 1987 by Gordon Gekko”” [Gordon Gekko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-gekko/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greed drives progress, shaping humanity’s evolution through ambition for survival, wealth, love, and knowledge. **In simple terms:** Greed fuels ambition and evolution. Key Takeaway Channel ambition constructively. Themes greed ambition progress human nature economics Mood assertive critical Type Greed:1 Nature of man:1 Wall street:0 Wall street journal:0 Wall St:0 Gordon Gekko:1 Greed Works:1 Greed Right:1 Greed Clarifies:1 Greed Life:1 When to use this quote - business strategy - personal ambition - ethical debates Key Concepts evolutionary psychology capitalism critique Questions to Reflect On - How to balance ambition with ethics? A Different Perspective Can greed be harmful? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gordon Gekko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gordon-gekko-228966/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Greed Clarifies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-clarifies-1647304/) [Greed Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-life-4326070/) [Greed Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-right-524284/) [Greed Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-works-524281/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Wall St](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-st/) [Wall street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street/) [Wall street journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street-journal/) ## Related quotes > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallstreet-1987-gordon-gekko/greed-for-lack-of-a-better-word-is-good-greed-is-right-greed-works-3/) [Wallstreet 1987 Gordon Gekko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallstreet-1987-gordon-gekko/) > [Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies and cuts through to the essence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/greed-for-lack-of-a-better-word-is-good-greed-is-right-greed-works-2/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [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-for lack of a better word-is good. Greed is right. Greed works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/greed-for-lack-of-a-better-word-is-good-greed-is-right-greed-works/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [Greed is all right, by the way... I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-f-boesky/greed-is-all-right-by-the-way-i-think-greed-is-healthy-you-can-be/) [Ivan F Boesky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-f-boesky/) > [Altruism is a fine motive, but if you want results, greed works much better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-spencer/altruism-is-a-fine-motive-but-if-you-want-results-greed-works-much/) [Henry Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-spencer/) > [The people who work in Wall Street still look up to Gordon Gekko. He's sort of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/the-people-who-work-in-wall-street-still-look-up-to-gordon-gekko-he-s/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [ I love to hate \[Wall Street\] it, and I like it. I love the fact that I hate it and like it at the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-fulcher/i-love-to-hate-wall-street-it-and-i-like-it-i-love-the-fact-that-i/) [Rich Fulcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-fulcher/) > [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/) > [ Only he \[Gordon Gekko\] is a lot smarter than \[Donald\] Trump. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-fulcher/only-he-gordon-gekko-is-a-lot-smarter-than-donald-trump/) [Rich Fulcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-fulcher/) > [Banking types should take their cue from Gordon Gekko. Or pick the best-looking banker in their firm and copy him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/banking-types-should-take-their-cue-from-gordon-gekko-or-pick-the/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [In the movie 'Wall Street' I play Gordon Gekko, a greedy corporate executive who cheated to profit while innocent investors lost their savings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/in-the-movie-wall-street-i-play-gordon-gekko-a-greedy-corporate/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [“And when the man Rook had dubbed the unholy spawn off Rahm Emanuel and Gordon Gekko wanted something, "no" came at your own risk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/and-when-the-man-rook-had-dubbed-the-unholy-spawn-off-rahm-emanuel/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“The privacy issue was reignited in early 2014, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had conducted a massive social-science experiment on nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-privacy-issue-was-reignited-in-early-2014-when-the-wall-street/) [Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/) > [The reason we have not gone to newspapers is because its a slow growth industry and I think they are dying. I'm not sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/the-reason-we-have-not-gone-to-newspapers-is-because-its-a-slow/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) ## More by Gordon Gekko > [“A fisherman always sees another fisherman from afar”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-gekko/a-fisherman-always-sees-another-fisherman-from-afar/) [Gordon Gekko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-gekko/) [Explore all 2 Gordon Gekko quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-gekko/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies,cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. 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