"Trading Places"

The (very unwoke) 1983 movie Trading Places comes up occasionally in finance and macroeconomics discussions. It features a pair of rich and crooked brothers. 

The finance aspect is that they attempt to use a futures market to make a killing on frozen orange juice concentrate.

The macroeconomics aspect is the simultaneous and timed announcement of important data about the real economy.

Knowing that data in advance could inform an unscrupulous trader of what positions to take in a futures market to make the most profit.

But ... it's a comedy: the brothers are foiled by the ragtag group of Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis and Denholm Elliott. Several years later, the brothers made a cameo in the Eddie Murphy star vehicle Coming to America.

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Parts of this is loosely based on the true story of the Hunt brothers attempt to corner the market for silver in 1980. The screenplay developed from that story, and then evolved. Frozen orange juice concentrate was chosen because it seemed funnier.

At least temporarily, the brothers were eventually bankrupted by the scheme and fines.

All of the above is a prelude. In a little bit of history, the last of those brothers, known as Herbert, passed away last month. Like a lot of people, risky decisions lead to bankruptcy, but more risky decisions allow them to rebuild their wealth after bankruptcy.

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P.S. Oddly, this movie has turned into a Christmas tradition ... in Italy ... where families often watch (a dubbed versions of) it as a family tradition (think A Christmas Story).

P.P.S. A younger (and somewhat less-involved in the scam) brother, Lamar, is better remembered these days as one of the founders of the AFL (the AFC championship trophy is named after him), and the initial owner of the Kansas City Chiefs.

P.P.P.S Interestingly, it used to only be a crime to get the advance info. Profiting from that was not illegal. That was changed in 2010, and the new law is known (seriously) as the "Eddie Murphy Rule". Nevermind that Murphy's character in the movie was one of the good guys.