I don't have much of that gangster inclination, and I was really uncomfortable watching Barry Lyndon because of all the deception in it
It is uncomfortable isn't it. All these characters, be it Jordan Belfort, Gordon Gecko, Henry Hill or Barry Lyndon, whatever ultimately happened to them, they all achieved a level of wealth and power that during it's height seemed to validate their ugly worldview. That "greed is good", that "There's no nobility in poverty", that "To be a gangster was to own the world", or to "let those laugh that win". I think the strength of the films is that the characters' philosophies are not the films' philosophies... that their wealth and power do
not endure, and their worldviews are not a law of nature but a temporary state. The universe will restore it's equilibrium. The larger the imbalance, the more severe the reaction. This point may be lost on the short-sighted Gorden Gecko wannabe's of the world, or perhaps they they simply don't care. I can understand that... the allure of wealth and power is relateable. And even when it's gone you're not sad for having had it, but for having lost it.
"And that's the hardest part. Today everything is different; there's no action... have to wait around like everyone else. Can't even get decent food - right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."
If the world could all live like gods, that would be one thing. But we can't. There will be haves and have-nots. Ultimately I think these films all come to much the same conclusion.