Margin Call
This is the classic Wall Street movie outside of “Wall Street”. Full of top drawer Hollywood actors. It also explains the 2008 GFC so well. And you learn how Wall Street and Investing banking works.
You also get a sense of the attitude you need to thrive, even with the Hollywood embellishments as one of the mid level bankers tells his junior.
“If you really want to do this with your life you have to believe you are necessary. And you are. People want to live like this, with cars and the big houses they can’t even pay for. You are necessary. The only reason that they all get to have this like kings is because we have our fingers on the scales in their favor.
I take my hand off and the whole world gets real fair, real quickly. And no really wants that. They say they do but they don’t. They want what we have to give them but they also want to play innocent and pretend they have no idea where it came from. Normal people.”
There is a great scene around a late night emergency board meeting with all the Directors and the Chairman. So good and recommend watching it. The Chairman Mr Tulda played by Jeremy Irons also talks about how business on the Street works:
“What did I tell you since the first day you stepped into my office. There are 3 ways to make a living in this Business. Be first, be smarter, or cheat. Now I don’t cheat. And while I like to think we have some pretty smart people in this building. It sure is a hell of a lot easier to be first.”
He also describes the game of Wall Street and finance oh so well. It’s worth paying attention:
“It’s just money. It’s made up. Pieces of paper with pictures on it so we don’t kill each other just to get something to eat. It’s not wrong. And it’s certainly no different now than it ever was, 1637, 1901, 1907…1937…..1987….1992…. Whatever they call this.
It’s all just the same thing. Over and over. We can’t help ourselves. You and I can’t control it. Or stop it or even slow it. Or even so slightly alter it. We just react.
We make alot of money if we get it right. And we get left by the side of the road if we get it wrong.
And there’s always been and always will be the same percentage of winners and losers. Happy and sad sacks….Fat cats and starving dogs in this world. Yeah. There may be more of us than there’s ever been these days. But the percentages, they stay exactly the same.”
Some thoughts to ponder. And it helps you understand how the world of money really works. Or least in America which has been so financialized now much to our detriment as we don’t make anything anymore. “The ground is shifting below our feet”….
The big lesson to me as was said many times in the movie: Crisis is opportunity, “No loose ends” and “Take the money”. Money is impact. Money is power. Money is freedom.