Jordan Belfort: The Real Wolf of Wall Street

Jordan Belfort once lived a life unimaginable to most: filled with daily doses of drugs, alcohol, hookers and most of all- money.  The immensely successful head of the stock firm Stratton Oakmont, which he named himself because he thought it sounded impressive, Belfort had founded the multi-million dollar business with no more than a couple of high school dropouts in a small garage.

Belfort was born in 1962 in Bronx, New York. His parents, Leah and Max, were both accountants for most of their lives. Belfort attended American University for four years and graduated with a degree in biology.

Just a few weeks ago, director Martin Scorsese premiered his movie The Wolf of Wall Street. In the movie, the money-crazed Belfort is played by none other than award-winning Leonardo Dicaprio. From the start, Belfort is portrayed as a reckless, party-hard young man who wants nothing more than wealth and the worry-free lifestyle he has been promised by the lure of Wall Street.

For three hours, the audience watches in absolute awe as the true life of Jordan Belfort and the real story of Stratton Oakmont are revealed. As shown in the film, an average day for Belfort and the employees at his firm first consisted of lying to and manipulating hundreds of investors in order to make money for themselves. Next came the celebrations, which consisted of circus animals for show, marching bands for entertainment, and hookers, drugs, and alcohol for personal enjoyment.

The film portrays the stories just as Belfort told them in a book he wrote about this period of his life.  These stories range anywhere from $25,000 office bets, to $700,000 bachelor parties, to the destruction of $400,000 yachts. Belfort’s lifestyle was dangerous, reckless, and highly illegal.

Eventually, it all caught up to him. In 2004, Belfort was sentenced to four years in federal prison for stock fraud and money laundering, and was forced to pay $110 million in restitution. He served only 22 months after participating with the F.B.I in their investigation of over two dozen of Belfort’s former employees.

During his 22-month imprisonment, Belfort spent much of his time writing the book in which he told the whole story of how he started and ran his company from his own perspective. According to Scorsese, the movie is based completely off of Belfort’s writing.

Today, Jordan Belfort is a motivational speaker for people trying to become rich and successful as quickly as they can.