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Money and Banking
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Ever notice that movies and books tend to portray financiers as evil and powerful monsters, bent on
destroying all that decent folks hold dear for the sake of a fast buck? In his best-selling 1987
novel Bonfire of the Vanities, [1] for example, Tom Wolfe depicts Wall Street bond trader Sherman
McCoy (played by Tom Hanks in the movie version) [2] as a slimy “Master of the Universe”: rich,
powerful, and a complete butthead. Bashing finance is not a passing fad; you may recall the unsavory
Shylock character from Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. [3] And who could forget Danny
DeVito [4] as the arrogant little donut-scarfing “Larry the Liquidator” juxtaposed against the adorable
old factory owner Andrew Jorgenson (played by Gregory Peck) [5] in Other People’s Money. [6] Even the
Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life [7] contains at best a dual message. In the film, viewers learn
that George Bailey, the lovable president of the local building and loan association (a type of
community bank) played by Jimmy Stewart, saved Bedford Falls from the clutches of a character
portrayed by Lionel Barrymore, actress Drew Barrymore’s grand-uncle, the ancient and evil financier
Henry F. Potter. (No relation to Harry, I’m sure.) That’s hardly a ringing endorsement of finance