Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Film ·106 of 348
"Greed is good."
They never said that.
What people say
"Greed is good."
What was actually said
The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Gordon Gekko — Wall Street (1987)
Why it stuck
The three-word form is used as a slogan; the real line is a hedged argument with qualifiers. Stripping them inverts the rhetorical stance.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.