Whether it’s talking about overheard conversations in Los Angeles, San Francisco or London, we just can’t seem to get enough of the hilarious things happening on the streets. Try to imagine living in New York, a dynamic and diverse city full of politics, economy and culture—it can be impossible to cover your ears from private interactions.
And Wall Street might be one of the busiest places of them all. Located in lower Manhattan, it has become synonymous with the financial markets of the U.S. and the companies within it. A popular Instagram account called Overheard On Wall Street is a spin-off that was created to complement the fast-growing Overheard LA founded by Jesse Margolis in 2015.
As of today, the account has a following of more than 270K people and is the place to find the newest hot gossip floating around the Financial District. Bored Panda has collected some of the funniest things from this account for your entertainment. Scroll down and upvote your favorite conversations!
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Wall Street can be seen as a literal street at the southern end of Manhattan. But as we all know, it's much more than that. It's the historic home to the New York Stock Exchange and many other HQs of brokerages and investment banks. If you're wondering about the origin of the name, it refers to a long-gone wall that was built in the 17th century by Dutch colonists. The intention for it was to defend themselves from the British, Native Americans, and pirates. Even though the Wall was taken down, the name still remains.
As of today, being on Wall Street is actually no longer a prerequisite for a financial industry firm. To the general public, the name still means investment business and the companies who trade on exchanges nationwide. You should think of it as an umbrella term or more like a symbol since today many businesses are located all around the U.S.
Wall Street is known to be a tricky environment. If you want to get a job there, it may require a bit more hustle than a resume or diploma. Troy Prince, the founder of a nonprofit organization Wall Street Bound, said that "without having formal pathways, without having the social capital, young people find it challenging to break into that space."
Since ordinary people find it difficult to access such an exclusive financial community, it sure is fun to read their private conversations on social media. From insanely long hours to not-so-friendly working conditions, people are bound to say something gossip-worthy. Although you could think that being in such a fast-paced environment would prevent them from focusing on others' lives, it's not quite true.
Studies show that it is way harder to cover our ears from strangers' personal lives than we thought. According to the research done by O2, 84 percent of UK residents eavesdrop on others’ conversations while on a train or platform. When it comes to talking on their phones, people reveal so much more information than they think, ranging from salary or work gossip (48% of conversations) to doctor results (23%).
I can imagine him stretching to get it and the guy just sitting there ignoring him. Lol
"In drawing up a guide to ‘phone etiquette’, the mobile network has found that many people are unwittingly revealing the details of their lives to hundreds of people. Making matters worse, 74% then gossip with their friends about the overheard conversation, and 40% of us reveal details on Facebook and Twitter."
If you’ve ended up on Wall Street finding yourself between the titans of the industry, chances are you’ve been eavesdropped on. And there's a big possibility that the passive-aggressive conversation you had with your co-worker about the weekend ended up on the Overheard Wall Street Instagram page.
The hilarious content that is posted here is definitely enjoyable for people since there are so many different spinoffs of the original account. Earlier on, Bored Panda talked to a spokesperson of Overheard about the success and growth of the project: "While our home will always be Instagram, we have begun to expand to other verticals such as text via the community app Clubhouse, where we host a biweekly comedy show and are exploring some really exciting product ventures."
One of the reasons why Overheard is so successful could be that it's connecting people through things they have in common, like shared location or experience. "We’re not just posting some dumb quote—we’re focusing on these themes of dating and digital life and food and fitness and Instagram culture and all that stuff," the representative explained.
"Whether that is living in NYC (@overheardnewyork), dating on Bumble (@overheardbumble), or talking about celebrities (@overheardcelebs). It’s our goal to make people laugh and provide moments of joy and self-reflection."
The sign that I don't spend my money on expensive inferior gadgets just to impress total strangers I perhaps don't even like.
In the Overheard Wall Street case, it's all about finding those lighthearted moments in the uncertainty and irregularity of the Financial District's schedules. If you still wish for some more ‘Overheard’ greatness, we’ve got you covered. Check out our previous posts about Overheard New York, Overhead Bumble and Overhead University.
Was looking for comments from jerks after seeing it was on Wall Street. My expectations have been met. (I commented this on another one, but this seemed more appropriate)
Ha ha ha, didn't we all? At that stage, I think we should have all learned that next year is not going to be better, just worst in different ways.
Getting engaged shouldn't cost 20 grand. Unless it's about digging the gold.
Changing the font colors into rainbows would certainly make it less gray.
Seems like something a quick search should return - I mean, the Forbes 30 under 30 lists are always published, yet none of the lists for 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 has a "Preston" on it. If someone's gonna make up a quote for this sort of thing, why include a detail that *immediately* shows its fake?
You need hundreds of millions for that. Or more. If you only have a few million, more rules apply to you than anyone else.
Right? How do they "overhear" all of those emails??? Totally made up and fake. Not to mention stupid.
Load More Replies...Somewhat I feel happier about my graphic design job now. Thanks! Seriously though - money CAN buy happiness but they sure as hell won't replace it.
I just wish they wouldn't call this "overheard" because I doubt any of it was actually overheard anywhere. Most of these are just one liners pirated from other sources. I heard #17 several years ago on some comedy special.
So now I should feel sorry for people who are earning more money per hour than me in my whole life and their job is literally just scamming people and ruin the economy?
The most common thing here is the MD not listening to what they are being told.
MD can mean two different things in banking: it can be the job title of a head of a business area, but it's also a fairly senior status level, and there may be hundreds in one bank, so some MDs may have other MDs leaning on them from above.
Load More Replies...These are fun, but only with your financial friends. Other people don’t like it!
Right? How do they "overhear" all of those emails??? Totally made up and fake. Not to mention stupid.
Load More Replies...Somewhat I feel happier about my graphic design job now. Thanks! Seriously though - money CAN buy happiness but they sure as hell won't replace it.
I just wish they wouldn't call this "overheard" because I doubt any of it was actually overheard anywhere. Most of these are just one liners pirated from other sources. I heard #17 several years ago on some comedy special.
So now I should feel sorry for people who are earning more money per hour than me in my whole life and their job is literally just scamming people and ruin the economy?
The most common thing here is the MD not listening to what they are being told.
MD can mean two different things in banking: it can be the job title of a head of a business area, but it's also a fairly senior status level, and there may be hundreds in one bank, so some MDs may have other MDs leaning on them from above.
Load More Replies...These are fun, but only with your financial friends. Other people don’t like it!