There are no spoilers here, well, nothing that isn't already in the public domain, just a few facts we feel everyone should know about Jordan Belfort, the real 'Wolf of Wall Street', before they potter along to see the movie. In pending reviews and opinions about the movie, there is no doubt that certain questions will arise, but one thing we shouldn't forget about The Wolf of Wall Street though is, at the end of the day for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Di Caprio, it's all about putting bums in seats. Even Terence Winter, who wrote the screenplay leaves us with questions: “You are being sold the Jordan Belfort story by Jordan Belfort, and he is a very unreliable narrator”.
So here's a run down of the real Jordan Belfort and his shenanigans, we think you'll find he's led a rather colourful life:
1. The Birth
Belfort was born Jordan Ross Belfort on July 9, 1962, in Queens, New York.
2. The Dentist...
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Belfort and close childhood friend Elliot Loewenstern earned $20,000 selling Italian ice from Styrofoam coolers to beach goers. Jordan planned on using this money to pay his way through dentistry school. However, this plan changed on his first day of university after being told by the Dean that the “golden age of dentistry was over and not to expect to become rich”. These wise words resulted in him leaving to embark on his fascinating adventure.....
3. The Wolf of What Street?
His company Stratton Oakmont wasn't even located on Wall Street. It was located in Lake Success, Long Island, nearly an hour from Wall Street. As the LA Weekly says "The Wolf of Long Island just didn't have the same zing".
4. The Who of Wall Street?
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Assistant US attorney Joel M. Cohen remembers things differently from when he helped prosecute Belfort. "When he wrote his books years later, he invented much. No one ever called him the Wolf of Wall Street until he created this name as a title for his books. He exaggerated his importance and reverence for him by others at his firm." His business partner Danny Porush has confirmed as much, "In eight years of working with him, I never heard anyone call him the Wolf or anything like that," he said.
5. Stratton Oakmont Defunct
His now-defunct firm, Stratton Oakmont, wasn’t representative of the typical Wall Street brokerage firm. When their day of reckoning came, Belfort (above right) and Porush didn’t stand up against the FBI, but rather made deals, quickly agreeing to cooperate against virtually everyone close to them with Belfort wearing a wire for the authorities.
6. The Addict
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"Valium for breakfast, marijuana for lunch and quaaludes for dinner" are just some of the memories former worker Josh Shapiro has from his time at Stratton Oakmont.
7. The Playboy
In his heyday Belfort was so apathetic he would charge prostitutes to his company credit card. Going as far as to write them off on his taxes. He has also achieved something that we all dream of...well, loads of things we all dream of, by making love to his wife on a stack of notes totaling $3 million in value.
8. The Midgets of Wall Street
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Some of his extra curricular activities included; once landing his helicopter on his back lawn and flying with just one eye open because he was so stoned he had double vision. He sank his 167ft motor yacht, complete with his seaplane and helicopter, after overruling the captain and taking it into a Mediterranean storm and inside the Stratton Oakmont office, Belfort and his co-workers took turns tossing midgets, or are they dwarves?... at a bulls-eye.
9. The Fraudster
When he was debriefed, Belfort described how he awoke virtually every day thinking of new ways to defraud others. Now, Belfort sells himself as someone whom others should pay to receive what essentially are variants of the same falsehoods he trained others to use against his victims.
10. The Motivator
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Belfort is now a business coach and motivational speaker. One of the more quirky inspiring quotes he has delivered over the years is “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.”
11. The Victims of Wall Street
When prosecuted, Belfort and Porush were required to turn over 50 percent of what they earned to their victims. Unfortunately little has been collected. Victims don’t figure in the Belfort books and thousands have not been compensated. A rather sad fact when one considers the profits that can be amassed from a potential box office smash hits and best selling biographies.
12. The Families of Wall Street
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The fallout didn't just hurt staff at Stratton Oakmont, families were destroyed as well. Christina McDowell, the daughter of Tom Prousalis, who was involved in Belfort's fraudulent schemes wrote an open letter berating the movie. She has, since the real life events, had to change her surname and due to her father using her name to launder money and has been left with $100,000 worth of debt. She has specifically targeted Scorsese and Di Caprio as glorifying the illegal activities and portraying Belfort and people like her father as roguish pirates.
13. The Animal
Belfort once kicked his wife down the stairs while high, in front of their daughter and subsequently drove his car through the garage door with the girl unbuckled in the front seat.
So there you have it.... Jordan Belfort is a man who;
A) Had little or no concern for his own well being or others around him, as long as the money kept coming
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or
B) Has reinvented himself to empower other entrepreneurs with self belief while learning from his mistakes along the way.
Either way, it should make for an intriguing trip to the movies…. but if you want to hear from the horse's mouth watch this:
