Gordon Gekko
Gekko embodies the archetype of a ruthless, successful, and immoral Wall Street barracuda. He is hard-working, focused and goal-oriented, but his greed makes him take shortcuts whenever he can in order to make the big bucks and he seems to have no ethical center when it comes to his business dealings. He is very obviously wealthy and owns expensive artwork, antiques, and properties. He is a role model to younger brokers in spite of his reputation as a cold-blooded shark. In spite of his smoothness and relative calm, Gekko is also very hot-headed and easy to anger, demanding unconditional loyalty from those he mentors.
Central to Gekko's character is the fact that he prides himself on having made it in the business world without the privileges of other traders. He tells Bud Fox, his protege, that he went to City College, not a fancy Ivy League university, and he takes a massive amount of pride in his having overcome structural boundaries to be one of the elite, to belong in the 1%.
Bud Fox
Bud is a young, eager and very ambitious trader who aspires to Gordon Gekko's success. He is skilled at deception and is a believable liar, eventually duping even Gekko while working to bring about his downfall. Fox is an intriguing character because while his mind is similar to Gekko's, he is actually much more identified with his blue-collar father, Carl. Ultimately, Bud's immoral actions as a trader catch up to him and he feels guilty for his thoughtless greed, and the harm it threatens to cause his father. By the end of the film, Bud takes responsibility for his actions, working with the authorities to bring Gekko down. He realizes that he wants to be an honest man with a clean conscience, like his father, rather than a dishonest wheeler dealer like Gekko.
Sir Laurence Wildman
Larry is a ruthless British business power broker who has enjoyed enormous success and who has a history of being outplayed by Gekko, hence his enthusiasm for Bud's plan to take Gekko down. Sir Larry is a man of comparably dubious character to Gekko, and Gekko resents him for what he perceives to be a British snobbishness.
Carl Fox
Carl is Bud's father and the polar opposite of his son in many ways. A hard-working blue collar man and union leader, Carl sees his purpose in life as providing for his family, values he tried to instill in his son. He is a confident man who believes he has been successful because he has stayed true to himself and his beliefs throughout his working life, and his position in a union to protect workers put him at odds with the corporate capitalist striving his son so enjoys. Carl does not always understand Bud, and is not always proud of him, but he provides him with unconditional love and acceptance, when he most needs it.
Darien Taylor
Darien is an interior decorator who Bud meets at a party at Gekko's second home in the Hamptons. She is influential in the design world and can make an artist's career by endorsing them and hanging their work on the walls of her rich clients. Having had an affair with Gekko, she is well-versed in men who work in finance, and helps Bud as he constructs his monied lifestyle. Ultimately, she fears the loss of money and Gekko's wrath more than she loves Bud, and decides to leave him when he opts to get revenge on Gekko.
Marvin
Marvin is Bud's best friend at his firm. The two of them start off at the same level, but when Bud starts working for Gekko, he ascends the ranks and gets a corner office, alienating Bud when he yells at him for wasting his time.
