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How Ivan Boesky became one of the most infamous figures on Wall Street and the inspiration for Gordon Gekko

The trader who was brought down in an insider-trading scandal died on 20 May at the age of 87

By

Lukas I. Alpert

It was a speech by Boesky about the benefits of greed that inspired the famous ‘greed is good’ speech delivered by Gordon Gekko, who was played by Michael Douglas, in the film Wall Street
It was a speech by Boesky about the benefits of greed that inspired the famous ‘greed is good’ speech delivered by Gordon Gekko, who was played by Michael Douglas, in the film Wall Street Photo: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

There are few figures who typified Wall Street excess more than Ivan Boesky.

A bold, brash trader and financier who made millions betting on tips gathered through insider trading, Boesky would go to prison in a scandal so brazen that he became the inspiration for the character of Gordon Gekko in the seminal film Wall Street.

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