Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2010. The line that “the sequel opens in October” refers to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), and Extraordinary Measures was a new release that year.
People sometimes ask me which movies offer business ideas or motivation, which ones teach us about the world of investing, and which ones capture the entrepreneurial mindset. I’ve put together a roundup, trying to be as selective as possible from my own point of view, because some of the movies people recommended to me are not only pathetic low-budget duds but also show absolutely nothing.
We’ll start with the one I consider the star of movies about money and investing: the film that defined an era and sparked huge interest in working professionally in finance.
Wall Street
Starring Michael Douglas in his best role as a capitalist. Although the film isn’t based on real events, it shows exactly what the stock market and investing are like. His character, Gordon Gekko, gives us some invaluable advice on how to look at money. The sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, opens in October.
The Pursuit of Happyness
Starring Will Smith in the role of his life. Based on a true story, it shows values such as perseverance and hard work in the face of unequal conditions, and keeping on chasing your dream and your goal regardless. It doesn’t closely portray the world of investing or business, but it shows the mindset we need to enter it and succeed. If you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend it.
Boiler Room
Starring Giovanni Ribisi and Vin Diesel. It tells the story of a young man who joins a firm as a stockbroker. In this film, making money and ethical weaknesses pull in opposite directions.
Glengarry Glen Ross
Released in 1992 with a strong cast that includes Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey. It’s about the salesmen at a company that sells real estate investments. The company is going through its hardest times, so the pressure on these salesmen is the main theme of the film.
The Bonfire of the Vanities
Released in 1990, with Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks in the cast. Some people recommended it to me as a movie about investing and business. I watched it, but I didn’t find anything to learn from it.
Pirates of Silicon Valley
Despite being a low-budget film, it covers how two of the giants of the tech industry, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, got started. It tells the story of the early days of both Microsoft and Apple, showing the two future heads of these companies at university while they were developing their breakthroughs.
It portrays Steve Jobs as somewhat wild and bad-tempered, but with the entrepreneurial values that do him credit, and it shows Bill Gates selling his product before he even had it and stealing Steve’s project, which drew a lot of criticism at the time. It’s a pretty bad movie, but the content is interesting.
See also: Eike Batista: from would-be richest man in the world to fighting for financial survival
Jerry Maguire
Starring Tom Cruise, it shows some fundamental values for anyone starting a business. If you haven’t seen it yet, the message you’ll come away with is this: you can lose 100 battles, but if you keep pushing, you can win the war against your rival.
Erin Brockovich
Starring Julia Roberts and based on a true story, it tells of a woman without a university education but with plenty of intelligence, whose passion for the truth drove one of the biggest companies in the US into bankruptcy.
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Directed by Coppola, and although it isn’t a big blockbuster, this film portrays very important aspects and values of the entrepreneurial spirit. I recommend you watch it.
Extraordinary Measures
Strictly speaking, this one doesn’t belong on a list of movies for entrepreneurs, since it’s really a drama, but as it happens it’s more complete than all the others. Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser star in the story of a father whose two children have a specific disease, and of a doctor who doesn’t have the funds to keep developing the medicine they need. The only way to get it is for the two of them to set up their own company.
Over the course of the film you’ll see how a company is created in a matter of weeks, the importance of a business plan and how one is drawn up, and above all how they raise funding to move their project forward. It’s definitely a worthwhile film for any entrepreneur. It’s based on a true story.
Further reading
- The mindset of an entrepreneur
- How to be a successful entrepreneur
- What an investor analyzes before investing
Featured image: Rob Chandler, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
