I believe the best finance documentaries can be both educational and entertaining. Below is a list of my favorites that I’ve found and watched over the past fifteen years. Some are newer and some are older but they are all great at showing financial information in an informative and engaging way. I enjoyed watching these and I think you will to. There are many places to look for them as we have so many streaming services nowadays, Youtube is a great place to start and then Netflix. If you can find them and watch them you will learn something new every time.
- Trader: Is one of my all time favorite documentaries if you can find it. The subject of the documentary, Paul Tudor Jones is thought to have bought the rights to it and tells his interns to track it down online and have it removed. This documentary shows billionaire Paul Tudor Jones trading and managing his hedge fund in 1987 and predicting the coming market crash where he later returned 100% on his capital in one day. This is a historical gem.
- Michael Covel’s Trend Following Film: Broke: This documentary shows what caused the boom and bust cycle through the Dot Com bubble and the 2008 financial crisis. Most importantly it shows why the principles of trend following in trading work so well over the long term.
- 25 million pounds: The story of how rogue trader Nick Leeson brought down the revered Barings bank with an unauthorized losing trade that he kept adding to until it ruined the whole institution.
- Betting on Zero: This documentary dives into the complex world of Herbalife, the international nutritional products company accused of being a pyramid scheme and Bill Ackman’s big stock short selling bet on the company.
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room: This documentary examines fraud at Enron and the culture of financial deception.
- Inside Job: A look at the 2008 financial crises causes and consequences.
- Freakonomics: This documentary makes economics interesting by connecting data with behaviors and showing interesting and unexpected outcomes. An interesting study in unintended consequences and behavioral economics.
- Boom Bust Boom: Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. economy.
- Banking on Bitcoin: The story of Bitcoin.
- The Ascent of Money: A complete history of the money and finance, starting with ancient Babylon and ending with the 2008 financial crisis. A very educational journey.
- Hank: 5 Years from the Brink: This documentary explains how Hank Paulson executed the $1 trillion bailout of the banking system in 2008, step by step.
- Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine: A look at the personal and private life of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.
- The Pit: This 2009 documentary shows how traders were trading over ten years ago, a very up close and personal look.
- Dirty Money: This is a docu-series about corporations built on lies and scandals, along with tales of greed and corruption in finance. Lots of episodes on different topics.
- Prediction by the Numbers: This documentary looks at how predictions inform our lives and the reliability of statistics and algorithms.
