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Hollywood has produced some exceptional pieces of cinematography involving protagonists working in the fast-paced world of high-finance.  This list includes the ten best movies/shows involving a protagonist whose career falls within the scope of financial markets.

This list includes dramas, tragedies, and even comedies.

The first three films receive honorable mentions and have a protagonist working in finance, but financial markets are more of an underlying theme. 

The next seven films listed include Wall Street and high-finance as the central theme of the film.

Here is the list of best movies involving finance, the stock market, and Wall Street.

Three honorable mentions where Wall Street is an underlying theme

10.  The Family Man (2000)

The Family Man is a romantic comedy starring Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni.  The Christmas movie takes place during the largest merger in history, which Nicholas Cage is brokering.  That is…until he wakes up with his ex-girlfriend living a different life – a life where he isn’t a hot shot Wall Street exec, but an automotive salesman.

The movie is a personal favorite, and it makes the list because the protagonist is an investment banker, and Wall Street is a sub-theme of the movie.

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9.  Limitless (2011)

Limitless stars Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.  The film’s protagonist, Bradley Cooper, is a struggling writer in New York City.  He acquires a drug that gives him access to 100% of his brain, and he uses his new intellect to trade the stock market, eventually gaining a seat at the table of a large merger led by Robert De Niro.

I’ve seen this movie at least five times, and it gains a spot on our list because of the sub-plot of the stock trading and merger Bradley Cooper’s character is working on.

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8.  The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The Pursuit of Happiness stars Will Smith and his real-life son, Jaden Smith.  The story is based on the life of Chris Gardner – a once near-homeless man who landed an internship at Dean Witter.  The plot is based on Gardner’s struggle to land an advisor role with Dean Witter after the program ends.

This movie is as inspirational as it is a tear-jerker.  It lands a spot on our list because of Will Smith’s characters role as an intern at the stockbroker, Dean Witter.

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Seven best movies and shows where Wall Street is the central theme

7.  Boiler Room (2000)

Boiler Room stars Giovanni Ribisi and includes co-stars roles by big-wig actors such as Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel.  Ribisi’s character joins a firm named, J.P. Marlin, which turns out to be a pump-and-dump stock brokerage firm.  With associates making millions of dollars, it’s hard to walk away from the allure of wealth.

Boiler Room is a classic Wall Street movie filled with representations of what the greed of Wall Street can do.  It is in this list because the central theme of the movie deals with investing and the financial markets.

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6.  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is the sequel to the 1987 masterpiece, Wall Street.  The film stars Shia LaBeouf and Michael Douglas.  Michael Douglas plays his infamous protagonist character, Gordon Gekko, while Shia LaBeouf plays the boyfriend of Gordon Gekko’s daughter.  The film takes place over twenty years after Wall Street ends, which happens to be during the financial crisis.

The film makes our list because, while it’s not as well done as the first movie, it is still a great representation of Wall Street, along with its wealth and power.

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5.  The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street stars Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays a character based on real-life events surrounding Jordan Belfort.  Belfort was a Wall Street stockbroker who was convicted of financial crimes in real life and sent to prison.  This ballsy and brazen story highlights the absurdity of Wall Street, greed, and how far people will go to achieve wealth.  The film is considered a dark comedy and has some over-the-top moments.  Other stars include Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and Matthew McConaughey.  The movie is directed by Martin Scorsese.

The Wolf of Wall Street makes this list thanks to its brilliant acting, comedic allure, dark undertones, and, of course, its protagonist’s role as a stockbroker on Wall Street.

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4.  Billions (Series | 2016 – Present)

Billions is a Showtime series starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis.  Lewis plays Bobby Axelrod, a billionaire hedge fund manager who practices insider trading and manipulation to help achieve high returns on his fund’s investments.  Giamatti plays Chuck Rhoades, an attorney general for the Southern District of New York.  Axelrod is the nemesis to Rhoades, who emotionally invested in putting Axelrod behind bars.

This is the only series that made our list of ten best Wall Street films.  It made this list due to the antagonist’s role as a hedge fund manager and the overlying theme of insider trading and financial markets present throughout the show.

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3.  Wall Street (1987)

Wall Street was a 1987 drama starring Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas.  The film is considered a classic, and Michael Douglas won an academy award for best actor for his role in the film.  Wall Street highlights the financial manipulation, insider trading, and corporate raiding, of the 1980’s.  The film is one of the most respected Wall Street movies to be made.

Wall Street has made this list thanks to its status as a “classic”, as well as it’s stellar acting and it’s capitalistic central theme showing the struggle between the greed and excess of Wall Street.

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2.  Trading Places (1983)

Trading Places is a film from the early 1980’s starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy.  The movie’s theme does not revolve around the stock market, but, rather, the commodities market.  Dan Aykroyd’s character is framed by the sibling owners of his commodities brokerage firm.  The brother owners of the firm make a bet that Eddie Murphy’s character –  a homeless man – can do a better job than Dan Aykroyd’s character who was an executive in the commodities company.

This is one of my personal favorite movies involving the central theme of financial markets.  The movie is hilarious – it is just as funny today as it was in the early 1980’s.  Trading Places is in our list thanks to its central theme of commodities trading, and it’s comedic brilliance seen through both Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

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1. The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short is an Academy Award-winning film about the 2008 global financial crisis.  Based on Michael Lewis’s book, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, the film has many A-lister actors including, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and Steve Carell.  The film takes the many complex subjects necessary to understand the global financial crisis, and teaches the audience those financial concepts in a way anyone can understand.  It has comedic moments and highlights the deep problems inherent in the 2008 economy and financial markets.

This movie is number one on our list thanks to its ability to distill complex issues involving Wall Street and the global banking system, into a story that any audience can understand.  For anyone looking for a movie about Wall Street and a story behind the structure of the financial markets, The Big Short is not to be missed.

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Thanks for reading my list of 10 best movies about Wall Street and finance.

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