Gekko fights Wall Street crime

last updated 8 January 2015

Gordon Gekko is back, but his message is no longer “greed is good,” said Patricia Hurtado in Bloomberg.com. Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar portraying the Wall Street villain in 1987’s Wall Street, is reprising his role in a new public service announcement for the FBI, urging Wall Street analysts and fund managers not to succumb to illegal insider trading. “We thought one of the most revered actors of our time would be a great voice for combating crime on Wall Street,” said FBI Special Agent David Chaves. In the spot, Douglas advises Wall Street workers to avoid landing in prison, as Gekko did. Douglas told agents he was eager to help because he has long been startled by the reaction the role elicits. “People would high-five me or shake my hand for being this terrible man who stole people’s money,” Douglas told them.