What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedWall Street
Oliver Stone · Film · 1987
If you loved Wall Street, start with Industry (Mickey Down, 2020) — a series on the same thread. Below: 3 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Wall Street across media.
You were drawn to Wall Street by the intoxicating, dangerous allure of high-stakes ambition and the moral rot hidden behind corporate prestige.
Books on the same thread
The Bonfire of the Vanities
Tom Wolfe · Book · 1987
Explores: Class Struggle, Institutional Corruption, Systemic Injustice.
Like the downfall of Bud Fox in Wall Street, this story charts the sudden, hubristic collapse of an investment banker caught in the unforgiving machinery of institutional and social corruption.
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Michael Lewis · Book · 2010
Shares a thread with Wall Street: Financial Thriller.
If you were fascinated by the insider trading in Wall Street, this investigative look at the 2008 crash exposes the real-world systemic greed that makes Gordon Gekko look like an amateur.
The Outsiders
S. E. Hinton · Book · 1967
Explores: Social Class, Teenage Angst, Violence.
While tonally distinct from Wall Street, this classic explores the same rigid class divides and the desperate struggle for status that drive the ruthless characters within the financial elite.
Series on the same thread
The Wire
David Simon · Series · 2002
Explores: Systemic Corruption, Moral Ambiguity, Urban Decay.
This series mirrors the cynical moral ambiguity of Wall Street by depicting a landscape where institutional bureaucracy and systemic corruption dictate the lives of everyone trapped within the machine.
Industry
Mickey Down · Series · 2020
Shares 2 threads with Wall Street: Ambition, Financial Thriller.
This modern workplace drama captures the same cutthroat atmosphere found in Wall Street, focusing on young graduates whose personal boundaries erode as they chase power in the high-pressure finance sector.
Ozark
Bill Dubuque · Series · 2017
Explores: Money Laundering, Moral Decay, Family Dysfunction.
Much like the protagonist of Wall Street, the lead character here navigates a dangerous criminal underworld, showing how the obsession with money inevitably leads to deep moral and family decay.
Mad Men
Matthew Weiner · Series · 2007
Explores: Corporate Culture, Moral Ambiguity, Changing Social Norms.
Fans of the slick, corporate aesthetic in Wall Street will appreciate this deep dive into the ruthless, status-driven world of Madison Avenue, where identity is sacrificed for professional success.
Podcasts on the same thread
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Podcast
Explores: investing, stock market, entrepreneurship.
If you gravitated toward the boardroom insights of Wall Street, these candid conversations with elite investors provide a real-world look at the strategies and mindsets that shape global markets.
Swindled
Podcast
Shares 2 threads with Wall Street: Corporate Crime, Greed.
Those who found the white-collar criminality of Wall Street compelling will find these true stories of corporate fraud and systemic corruption to be a chilling, non-fiction extension of the film.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Wall Street based on a true story?
The film Wall Street is a fictional narrative directed by Oliver Stone. It focuses on a young stockbroker who engages in illegal insider trading under the mentorship of a ruthless corporate raider. The story explores themes of greed and corruption within the financial sector of the 1980s.
What is the main conflict in the movie Wall Street?
The primary conflict in Wall Street involves an ambitious young stockbroker who compromises his ethics to reach the top. He enters a dangerous relationship with a greedy corporate raider, ultimately relying on illegal insider information to advance his career and achieve success in the competitive financial world.
Who directed the 1987 film Wall Street?
Oliver Stone directed the 1987 film Wall Street. The movie depicts the moral downfall of a young stockbroker who becomes entangled with a ruthless corporate raider. Through this partnership, the film examines the consequences of using illegal inside information to gain power and wealth in the corporate industry.
Does Wall Street feature a mentor relationship?
Yes, Wall Street centers on a mentor relationship between a ruthless corporate raider and an impatient young stockbroker. The raider takes the youth under his wing, leading the broker to trade on illegal inside information in a desperate pursuit to reach the top of the financial world.