Character Analysis
Of all of the protagonists in The Big Short, Greg Lippmann has the most questionable moral character. Eisman? He's fighting for the underdog. Burry? He's fighting for logic and sanity. Ledley? He's fighting for justice.
And Lippmann? That dude's just trying to score a sweet bonus on his next paycheck.
Greg the Baptist
Judgments aside, Lippmann is one of the first people to see the looming subprime mortgage crisis, which should earn him some cred. How many people do you think were aware of Michael Burry's credit default swaps? A ton, right? Okay, so how many of those people actually took his advice? Just one, in fact, and we'll give you a hint: his name rhymes with "Egg Fippbann."
Essentially, Lippmann is solely responsible for spreading the gospel of the subprime apocalypse. In fact, FrontPoint Partners might not even have been able to buy credit default swaps if it weren't for him. He might be acting out of greed, but that doesn't change the fact that he's the only Wall Street dude who's honest about the state of the market.
Don't Give Him No Lipp
We might even say that honesty is Lippmann's best quality. He's unflinchingly direct, even when it's not exactly in his best interests to do so. For example, check out his explanation of how he'll make money off selling credit default swaps: "You have no way out of this swimming pool but through me, and when you ask for the towel I'm going to rip out your eyeballs" (3.47).
Translation: "I control the market on these things, and I'm going to charge you insane fees when you try to cash out on your investment." Criticize him for his unsavory business practices all you want, but he's the only banker in all of The Big Short who keeps it one hundred about how he makes his money.
Ironically, this confrontational 'tude earns him a lot of respect from FrontPoint Partners, as they've had it to the gills with Wall Street bros who act all chummy in an attempt to hide their true shark nature. Don't get it twisted, friends: our boy Lippmann is a shark, too. He just doesn't have any problem admitting it.