Welcome to Oscar season, the awards show that unleashes a thousand memes, outfits, and Best Picture debates.
The nominations will be out on January 24th, and like most years, the top films are all over the map. But we almost always see movies about money—a universal theme that most of us can relate to. this year, Everything Everywhere Everything togetherThe sci-fi adventure features the most terrifying of villains: the IRS auditor.
Wall Street, Margin Call, Wolf of Wall Street all caught the attention of the Academy-and the audience. But what movies about money do we like the most? We decided to ask some top executives about the finance-oriented movies that helped shape their lives and careers. Here’s what he had to say.
Sallie Krawcheck
Co-founder and CEO, Ellevest
Favorite Money Movies: Working Girl
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
“It’s a late ’80s movie about an investment banker on Wall Street. I grew up in Charleston, SC, so I didn’t know Sigourney Weaver or Melanie Griffith or Harrison Ford, but I wanted to be her.
“Melanie Griffith is a working girl from Staten Island, who ends up taking Sigourney Weaver’s job and doing it well—and winning over Harrison Ford as well. In that way, the movie is a bit of a problem, pitting women against women.
“But the important lesson of money is that hard work pays off. You can overcome any limitations you have — whether you’re from Staten Island or from Charleston — as long as you work hard.
John Daymond
Co-founder and CEO, FUBU; star of ABC’s Shark Tank
Favorite Money Movies: Trading Place
“The movie is everything. I’ve probably watched it 50 times. It makes me think, it makes me laugh.
“It touches on industry titans, on capitalism at its core, on bigotry and the advantages that some people have. It teaches us that we have more in common than we are different, whether you are a prostitute, or a butler, or a person from the hood, or someone who enters Harvard.
“I always dread the famous phrase in the movie: ‘Margin call, gentlemen!’ It was the first time I heard that word. Then the pandemic came, and it was time for margin calls, all over the world.
Ndamukong Suh
Defensive tackle, Philadelphia Eagles; founder, Suh Family Foundation
Favorite Money Movies: The Big Short
“It’s an amazing movie, especially at a time like this. It shows how we get into real estate crashes—the mistakes people make because they don’t know what they’re doing, with certain types of mortgages.
“If you’re not financially literate, the wool can be easily pulled over your eyes, and you’ll find yourself in trouble and benefit. That’s where the world goes. So many people are taken advantage of – but if you’re educated enough, you can’t be taken advantage of.”
Reid Hoffman
Co-founder, LinkedIn; partner, Greylock
Favorite money movie: The Hudsucker Proxy
Warner Bros./Everett Collection
“In the beginning Hudsucker proxyNorville Barnes (played by Tim Robbins) stands at the foot of New York City’s tallest skyscraper, holding what he believes is his ticket to the top, a simple circular sketch he’s been working on ‘for two or three years.’
“It turns out that Norville’s circle sketch is really a great idea – Hula Hoop. Its rollout leads to record profits for Hudsucker, success for Norville, and inevitably, complications and Norville’s fall from grace.
“In the end, entrepreneurial innovation and decency triumphed over financial manipulation and greed. Norville retained control of Hudsucker Industries. He got the girl.”
“Yes, this is a simple story. But as the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee prove, sometimes the simplest ideas are the most powerful. And that’s the most fun.”
And Chung
CEO & CIO, Alger
Favorite Money Movies: The Color of Money
“Good cast, good music, good director. Paul Newman is a retired legendary pool player, giving wisdom on the road ahead for Tom Cruise, super talented (but no idea how to channel) young hustler.
“Investment management has that element, because it takes talent and experience to generate good long-term results and build a good company.
“It’s a story about the importance of doing what you do best, and what you love, in order to survive.”
Mrs. Habner
CEO of US branded credit and card company, Citi
Favorite Money Movies: Happy
“It follows the story of real-life entrepreneur Joy Mangano as she sets high goals, bets on herself, juggles the struggles of family life, and works incredibly hard to succeed in business.
“These life skills are the daily focus of my career and, like Joy, they are the ones I teach my mentees and aspiring entrepreneurs as they build their careers. I recommend working moms watch this movie for a realistic, albeit imperfect, reminder. there is a path to finding career success and personal satisfaction.
“As a mother of twin boys, I was quick to consider that my career is like a highway. Ideally, I drive on the fast road – but it is not good to move the car to a slower lane to organize my whole life. There are long periods in my career where my work took priority. Once I had my kids and my family started to become my most important thing, I could step in and out of the way as needed.
“Being a working mom like Joy is a master class in not skimping on the little things, allowing you to achieve all of your goals without saying, ‘I have to put aside my career to be a good parent.'”