Trading Places ending explained: How do Valentine and Winthorpe make money?

It's been over four decades since Trading Places was released, but fans still wonder what actually transpires at the end of the film. Of course, it shows one side winning and the other losing. The audience roots for the underdogs and cheers when they succeed. However, the ending also involves a lot of financial jargon—someone's buying a stock while someone else is short-selling one. Let's try to break down this complicated ending.

Trading Places is essentially a comedic satire about greed and capitalism. It shows a wealthy pair of siblings deciding to get a Harvard-educated man and a street-smart hustler "trade places." Why? Because they believe people achieve success differently—one thinks it depends on background and upbringing, while the other believes it is shaped by experience and development.

In their 'nature-vs-nurture' debate, they put two lives at stake. The ending shows the Dukes losing a lot of money while Valentine and Winthorpe get rich using their smarts—along with insider information.

John Landis directed Trading Places, based on a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd play the two central roles, while Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Denholm Elliott make up the supporting cast.

What is the story of Trading Places?

Trading Places follows the Duke brothers (Bellamy and Ameche) as they witness an argument between Valentine (Murphy) and Winthorpe (Aykroyd). Valentine is a street hustler, while Winthorpe is the managing director at the brothers' commodity brokerage firm.

The Dukes orchestrate a switch, removing Winthorpe from his cushy trading job and replacing him with Valentine. They give Valentine everything he needs to succeed while stripping Winthorpe of his wealth and status. Valentine enjoys his newfound riches, while sex worker Ophelia (Curtis) helps Winthorpe recover.

Eventually, Valentine and Winthorpe realize they have been used as part of the Dukes' cruel experiment. So, they team up to take revenge on the wealthy traders with a smarter plan. Ophelia and Winthorpe's butler, Coleman (Denholm Elliott), also join forces with them.

What is Valentine and Winthorpe's revenge strategy?

A still from Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy (Image via YouTube/@paramountmovies)

To get back at the Dukes, Valentine and Winthorpe use a tactic that is illegal in today's world: insider trading. They discover that the Dukes have obtained the USDA's confidential orange crop forecast. The brothers plan to use this information to gain massive profits from frozen concentrated orange juice.

Valentine and Winthorpe intercept the report and replace it with a fake version, which falsely predicts a low crop yield. This misleads the Dukes into believing that orange juice prices will rise. Meanwhile, Valentine and Winthorpe use real data to manipulate the market by buying more shares at the right time.

How do the Dukes lose money?

Based on the fake report, the Dukes mistakenly believe that orange juice prices will soar. They instruct their traders to aggressively buy contracts for orange juice, hoping to sell them later at a higher price.

However, during the market opening, Winthorpe suddenly declares, "Sell 30 April at 142!"—meaning he is selling orange juice contracts for $1.42 per pound in April. Other traders assume the price will rise even further, so they rush to buy shares from Winthorpe.

Soon after, the real USDA report is released, revealing that the crop yield will be normal. This contradicts the Dukes' expectations, causing panic. Traders quickly sell their contracts, leading to a dramatic price drop. The Dukes are left holding expensive contracts that are now worthless, pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, Valentine and Winthorpe buy the contracts at 29 cents per pound. In April, they will be able to sell them for $1.42 per pound, securing a massive profit and making them incredibly wealthy.

Although Trading Places is a classic rags-to-riches tale with a revenge arc, it also serves as a critique of greed. The same greed that drives the Dukes to ruin ultimately allows Valentine and Winthorpe to replace them as the new capitalists.