14 Money Films you Must Watch

by The Accidental Investor · Published 24th February 2017 · Updated 23rd April 2017

A quick guide to some best finance and money films of all time. If you’ve got some time to kill and fancy a good movie to get the finance juices flowing, look no further than the below.

Check out the quick trailers before Netflix’in, illegally downloading or whatever your chosen means of viewing is these days. Enjoy!

Wolf of wall street (2015)
Leo outdid himself in this modern day classic. A must see, nothing else to say, just watch it.

Wall Street (1987) – The original!
It was where it all began, the story that inspired a generation of Gordon Gecko wannabe’s. If you’re serious about your money film credentials or simply want to be able to through some well educated banter around the office then you need to watch this film

The big short (2015)
It’s really good and by the time it finishes you’ll actually understand what ‘Sub prime debt’ is and how the Credit crunch started. An enjoyable film unless you lived through these times in which case its a stark reminder of when sh*t really hit the fan. Probably the first decent account of how it all happened through the eyes of the few that called it right.

Boiler room
I really like this film, its enjoyable on so many levels. It’s certainly an insight into the unscrupulous lengths some will go to make their fortune. This stuff happened and still happens and if nothing else they helped give wall street the bad name they later came to earn for themselves.

Rouge Trader
Nick Leeson became somewhat of a cult legend, helped alot by Ewan Mcgregor portrail of how he single highhandedly brought down one of the oldest institutional banks on wall street. A cold reminder of the risks those wall street guys take

Trading Places (1983)
Okay, you’re not going to learn much about creating a sack load of money but Eddie Murphy is awesome and its fun to see some of the old school technology these old guys had to put up with back in the day… oh how far we’ve come, or have we?!

Inside job
Documentary style film. More of an education that a fun to watch Saturday night film with the missus but still worth a watch nonetheless. The truth behind the economic crisis of 2008 that cost 20 trillion and resulted in hundreds of thousands losing their homes and jobs. Well researched and with some exclusive interviews from those that probably knew best what actually happened.

Money Ball (2011)
Not really money related but does show how sometimes its not about how much money you have but how smart you are with it. A statistic fanatics dream, this is a true sports related story, with a good cast that makes it a a bit of a classic for me You get that nice warm glowey feeling inside after watching too – If you’re looking for that underdog feel good feeling then crack right on with this beaut.

21
Again not strictly finance related but this blogs all about building wealth and that’s exactly what the MIT blackjack team did in this film based on true events. Don’t try this at home, you’ll be tempted but remember the house (almost) always wins!

Enron – The smartest guys in the room
This is the link to the full documentary right here.. (hopefully they don’t remove it). The story of how Enron, a 65 billion dollar company went bust in less than a month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFJ-hcst8Pg

Capitalism: A love story

My girlfriend told me i had to add this to the list. It’s Michael Moore, doing that Michael more does

Too big to fail
A slightly more Hollywood take on the 2008 financial crisis

Margin Call
If you get one, close out your position. That’s the best advise I ever got. Not a bad film though – It covers a 24 hour period in.. you guessed it…2008

Madoff
You can’t have it… so you want it! Our good friend Bernie was responsible for one of the biggest Ponzie schemes ever known, with a celebrity client list to boot. If nothing else, he did it big. Here’s the full story for your viewing pleasure