Greed ain’t so good anymore!
Actor Michael Douglas — who famously portrayed the oily corporate swindler Gordon Gekko in the “Wall Street” movies — is now starring in a new public service announcement for the feds that urges the public to blow the whistle on securities fraud.
The minute-long PSA opens with a 10-second clip from the original “Wall Street” featuring Gekko’s famous “Greed is good” speech.
“The point is , ladies and gentlemen, is that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right,” a slicked back Douglas /Gekko lectures.
The screen then switches to the aging Hollywood hunk in an open collar and sport coat, staring into the camera with a grim look on his face.
“Hello, I’m Michael Douglas. In the movie ‘Wall Street,’ I played Gordon Gekko, a greedy corporate executive who cheated to profit while innocent investors lost their savings,” Douglas says.
“The movie was fiction, but the problem is real. Our economy is increasingly dependent on the success and the integrity of the financial markets. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is,” says Douglas.
Douglas concludes the PSA by telling viewers how to contact the FBI for report insider trading or other securities fraud.
The actor’s son Cameron, 33, is serving nine years in a federal pen for dealing coke and meth and for being caught with more drugs while behind bars.
An FBI spokesman said Douglas’ participation in the announcement has nothing to do with his son’s legal woes, and that there was no quid pro quo.
The feds approached the actor six to eight months ago, and he agreed to make the video without being paid, spokesman Peter Donald told The Post.
The FBI said the video was part of the bureau’s ongoing effort to thwart crime in the financial markets
“Integrity and fairness are paramount to the success of our markets. Today’s announcement brings us closer to that objective” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk. “The FBI will continue to pursue those who cheat the system.”