Infamous Wall Street Scandals

When Michael Douglas’s character Gordon Gekko hit the big screen in the 1987 film Wall Street, it caused a sensation. Gekko’s slick bravado and “greed is good” mantra were appallingly entrancing. But something else captivated audiences: the convincing way the movie captured the underbelly of ’80s cash-fueled gluttony. Twenty-three years later, a sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (September 24), and Gekko still fascinates—as do the real-life insider-trading crimes committed by Wall Street titans. Here, eight of the most famous cases to make headlines.