I spent four years writing Smalltalk (VisualWorks and GemStone) at an investment bank, and didn't look at a line of Java the whole time I was there. We were a wart on the architecture board's bum, not fitting into their Grand Unified Vision of Approved Java Technologies, but the system was--and still is--the only platform capable of pricing and risk managing some very oddly shaped (and therefore very high-margin) trades. It was also good fun to work on.