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Jordan Belfort Yacht: The True Story and The Wolf of Wall Street Version

The true Jordan Belfort yacht story is as strange and unbelievable as the hit movie The Wolf of Wall Street depicts it to be. There are several insider stories behind the sinking of the mighty yacht that are not widely known but are quite interesting and different from the reel version in several ways.

What happened to the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine?

As the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street shows, the superyacht Nadine sank close to the coast of Sardinia in 1997 while battling what many calls “the storm of the century”. Jordan Belfort narrates the event in detail in the memoir describing his life in the 90s, which is what the Martin Scorsese movie is about.

Before getting into the details of the sinking, it is worth noting that the 37m yacht had a long and interesting history. She carried renowned celebrities like Coco Chanel before reaching Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie) and was one of the largest yachts in the East Coast’s waters.

While the yacht was initially manufactured for a French native and given the name Matilda, he backed out of the deal. This led Coco Chanel to buy the beautiful yacht with the low superstructure that Dutch yachts are famous for.

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The yacht took on different names as it passed through famous hands, even those of the murder trial acquitted Melvin Lane Powers. Belfort named the yacht after his wife and renovated it with the capacity to carry a helicopter, 6 Jetskis, 4 motorbikes, and much more. Under Belfort’s ownership, the yacht witnessed a series of wild parties that were like unlimited glamour and fun in a package until disaster struck unexpectedly.

Did the yacht scene in The Wolf of Wall Street actually happen?

The Jordan Belfort yacht sinking scene in The Wolf of Wall Street was heavily inspired by a real-life event, though the movie did take some creative liberties. For one, the yacht was called Naomi in the reel version since the name of Belfort’s wife (played by Margot Robbie ) was changed in the movie. In reality, the yacht was named Nadine.

The movie further depicts Belfort’s helicopter getting thrown off the yacht by strong waves. In reality, the yacht’s crew went up to the deck and pushed off the helicopter so that Italian navy seals would have a space to land. The yacht’s itinerary was altered a bit by the movie’s director Martin Scorsese to add to the drama, though the power of the storm was scarily accurate.

Belfort admitted that the yacht’s captain Mark Elliot explicitly warned them not to sail to Sardinia on that fateful night. But according to the movie, there was a business opportunity in the city that Belfort could not bear to miss out on despite his wife’s protests.

Some sources claim that in reality, the passengers were simply eager to hit the golf course at Sardinia the next morning. They refused to pay heed to the captain’s warning and asked him to go through the storm, which eventually led to the famous Jordan Belfort yacht sinking incident. Therefore, unfortunately, if someone wants to have a yacht rental in Dubai or any other destination, they have missed their chance with this yacht.

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Interesting insights on the sinking as portrayed in the movie

The movie captures the fear and stress that each passenger felt when the yacht got caught up in the 70-knot storm. There is some hilarity when Belfort starts yelling for his drugs to avoid the horror of dying sober.

Several rescue attempts were made, but due to rising risks, each of them was called off. By some twist of luck, the yacht’s engine room remained mostly undamaged for a while, because of which they were able to make their way through the sea.

In the end, everyone survived the incident without any major injuries. At dawn, the Nadine made its way 1000m under the water only 20 miles away from Sardinia’s coast. Now, the movie’s audience gets to watch the Jordan Belfort yacht story unfold on the screen with a pinch of humor.

The Nadine’s captain Mark Elliot’s heroic actions did not go unnoticed. He was praised for leading all the passengers to safety, though he was able to get out of the yacht only 10 minutes before it sank. The captain also admitted that the insurance was granted immediately considering the ferocity of the storm. As for the yacht, many still wonder about the highly expensive equipment that had to be thrown into the water and is probably rusting away at the bottom of the sea.

The best features of the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine

The 167 ft Nadine, as its former passengers claim, was a beautiful yacht. When owned by Coco Chanel under the name Matilda, the yacht had five staterooms, large dining areas, and a helipad. The interiors were furnished with dark teak paneling. Each new owner customized the yacht’s name and interiors based on their tastes.

Belfort decorated the Nadine lavishly with a variety of mirrors and set a vintage deco theme. He renovated the upper deck to fit a crane that was able to stow his Turbine Seawind seaplane. The yacht carried the best dive gear available in the market plus a variety of Belfort’s ‘toys’ such as his motorbikes and jetskis.

Which model was portrayed as the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine in the movie?

Martin Scorsese got the yacht Lady M to represent Nadine onscreen. While Nadine actually had a luxuriously vintage charm to it, Lady M is a modern vessel with contemporary features. Lady M was manufactured in 2022 by Intermarine Savannah, while Nadine was built in 1961 by Witsen & Wis. The 147 ft Lady M is currently worth $12 million and is similar to Benetti yachts in its glamorous design.

Jordan Belfort’s life today

The entrepreneur and speaker Jordan Belfort’s shenanigans are well-known thanks to his detailed memoir and the hit movie based on some parts of his life. He spent 2 years in prison and now, at 59 years of age, has a practically negative net worth. Yet, his extraordinary motivational speaking skills continue to attract and inspire people even today.

It is easy for anyone watching the movie to wonder if many of the incidents are exaggerated. But considering Belfort’s eccentric life, even the Nadine sinking incident remains another regular anecdote shared in the movie.

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Jordan Belfort’s ex-wife tells the real story behind the yacht on The Wolf of Wall Street

The ex-wife of jordan belfort shed some light on the infamous scene.

Ben Thompson

Jordan Belfort's ex wife, Nadine Macaluso, has set the record straight about the scene in The Wolf Of Wall Street where Belfort splashes out and buys his wife a yacht on their wedding day.

I mean, when you have a lot of money , what better way to treat your new spouse after saying I do?

After their lavish wedding, Belford ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) covers Nadine's, or Naomi as she's known in the movie, eyes with a blindfold before revealing the huge yacht, which has been christened the 'Naomi'.

And Naomi (played by Margot Robbie ) cannot contain her excitement.

"Are you serious? A f***ing yacht?!" she exclaims.

However, it seems that the real Belfort wasn't very serious, as Macaluso revealed on TikTok that her ex-husband, who she was married to from 1991 to 2005, 'did not' actually buy her a boat on their wedding day.

She said: "Actually what happened I think we were married for a few years and we were always chartering yachts, because he loved to do that.

"And I had given birth to my beautiful daughter Chandler and he said 'I want to buy a yacht'."

However, this idea didn't sit well with Macaluso at the time.

She continued: "I said 'I don't think we should buy a yacht, we have a baby and I don't feel comfortable.

'She can't swim.'

"I had visions of her falling off the boat and I was actually terrified.

"I did not want to buy the yacht ironically. And he was like 'Nope, I'm buying a yacht and I'm calling it the Nadine'. And I was like 'Okay, here we go'.

"And you know how that went."

Macaluso's final line is a nod to a scene in the film, in which Belfort and Naomi need to be rescued from the yacht after it gets caught up in a storm.

This scene was indeed based on the real life sinking of the ship in June 1996, which resulted in a rescue by the Italian Navy Special forces.

The yacht was sunk after violent waves repeatedly hit it, but luckily everyone on board was able to escape the ship in time.

Macaluso has previously commented on the scene's accuracy , where she admitted in a TikTok video that the yacht sinking scene was 'totally true'.

Speaking of the memory, she said: "It was horrific, horrifying, we were in a squall for 12 to 18 hours and we lived, thank god, for my kids."

She even showed real life footage of her, Belford and their friends being rescued by the Navy.

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Wolf of Wall Street's Jordan Belfort: 'The lessons of the crash have been forgotten'

The convicted fraudster who inspired Martin Scorsese’s film of Wall Street excess is back with a new book and a warning that a big market correction is on the way

T he Wolf of Wall Street forgives but he never forgets. Ten years ago when I last met Jordan Belfort, convicted criminal, aspiring author and shortly to be a man at the center of a fierce bidding war for his biography, I suggested his hair was “the sort of dark brown that only passes for natural in LA”. Also his skin was a little too taut and maybe he wore lifts.

A decade on the 55-year-old still looks 10 years younger than his age. And his hair is still a rich mahogany. But he’s keen to point out it’s all natural. “I swear to God,” he says. “Do I dye my hair?” he asks Anne Koppe, his partner, as they sit in their Manhattan hotel suite.

Koppe – the sort of blonde who probably gets described as “willowy” and spends part of the interview curled round Belfort like a cat – points at his chest hair, peaking out from his polo shirt. That’s definitely brown. “It’s all an expensive dye job,” I say. The couple laugh. “You’re killing me,” he says.

Back in his native New York for a family visit Belfort seems very happy. It’s over 11 years since he was released from jail having served four years for running a “pump and dump” share selling scheme at his broker, Stratton Oakmont, that prosecutors said led to losses of approximately $200m. Life has moved on for him, and how.

His drug-fueled crime spree, in which he crashed a helicopter (while high on quaaludes), sank a yacht and arranged midget-tossing in his office, was turned into a film by Martin Scorsese starring Leonardo DiCaprio , that became an international box office hit.

He remains friends with DiCaprio. He taught the actor, who has never done drugs, how to act when he was portraying the scenes of Belfort out of his mind on his usual cocktails of narcotics. It was: “Valium for breakfast, marijuana for lunch and quaaludes for dinner,” one of his associates said.

Now he has another book out, Way of the Wolf , that promises to teach anyone how to be an ace – and ethical – salesman, and is in the early stages of turning his life story into a Broadway musical. Crime does pay!

Belfort, 20 years sober, lives a charmed life. It took almost seven years for the film to be made after it was optioned and even that delay worked in his favor. The script originally ended with Belfort in jail. By the time it was made, Belfort had rebuilt his business, giving seminars about his “straight line” sales techniques and the film ended with him giving one of those talks. It was “amazing” he says. “In a way the fact it was so late really worked.”

Now living in Los Angeles, Belfort says he leads a quiet life. “We are very boring,” he says. “All these delivery services, Doordash, Grubhub. They make it too easy to stay home and have bed picnics. That’s our favorite thing to do.”

But the bizarro world of the Wolf continues. The US government now owns the TV rights to his story (but not the Broadway ones) after the film’s producers, Red Granite Pictures, reached an agreement with federal prosecutors looking to recoup some of the billions they claim were stolen from the Malaysian government and used, in part, to finance the film.

Belfort says he had a strange feeling about those investors from the start. “The way they spent money, I have never seen anything like it,” he says. The Malaysian investors flew Kanye West out for the film’s launch party. When you steal money, he says, you just want to spend it. “It’s like a weird compulsion,” says a man who should know.

For his own part, Belfort says the high-spending days are over. He wants to pay back Stratton’s investors (he’s already paid about $20m) and get on with his life. But his celebrity – and his past – do get in the way.

All the harping on the past can be a bit annoying. “The movie came out a few years back but it depicts events from my life almost 30 years ago. I’m not the same Jordan Belfort. I continue to pay back money and I am hopeful that I will pay back all the money. It’s frustrating because you want to reinvent yourself and you feel you have. And he knows your past is always there.”

The book, he says smoothly moving into sales pitch mode, is about that. “It’s really about a strategy for coming back from failure,” he says.

“I should have written this book a long time ago,” he says. The problem is he hates writing. Anne shows me a video of him typing away in bed (they clearly spend a lot of time there). He holds the laptop in one hand and types one finger at a time. “Even better,” he says out loud in the video. “Better yet. Better though.” He pauses. “Once you’ve been. Once you HAVE been …” It goes on and on and looks excruciating. Anne says it helped him sleep. A lot.

But the result is fun, with more insights from the world of Stratton Oakmont and allusions to The Italian Job and Forrest Gump. It’s the sort of easy read that will no doubt fly off the bookshelves at airports around the world. It’s not just for sales people, he says. Everyone is always selling themselves. “There are so many people out there who are brilliant, hardworking and industrious but lack the art of persuasion,” he says. “And because of that they end up dying with their music on their lips. It’s crazy.”

If he wants to make the switch from villain to hero, there are others to take his place. In the pantheon of Wall Street villains Belfort has been eclipsed by Martin Shkreli, the “pharma bro” who hiked the price of a lifesaving drug 5,000% and is now in jail after calling on his Facebook fans to steal a lock of Hillary Clinton’s hair . “There has got to be something wrong with that guy,” says Belfort. “Is he crazy?”

But it’s not the players, it’s the bigger picture on Wall Street that worries him these days. He says bitcoin is a bubble waiting to burst. “It’s artificially created scarcity,” he says. “The problem I have with bitcoin right now is that it’s very much like at the tail end of of 2007, 2008 right before the mortgage market blew up. You’d be getting your haircut and he’d be like: ‘Oh yeah I also do mortgages on the side.’ Everybody was a broker. Everyone’s flipping houses. Now everyone’s buying bitcoin. I promise you the end is near.”

He also thinks that the stock markets – which seem to reach record highs on a daily basis – are in for a fall. “I think the lessons of the crash have been forgotten,” he says. “It feels like we are going back into a cycle of irrational exuberance. Like with Trump. How can the country be that unsure of him, how can we be that unsure of him and the markets be so high? If there is that much uncertainty then there is risk,” he says. “The market itself might not be linked to reality any more,” he says. “It’s the ‘greater fool theory’. If there is a greater fool that will buy it from me at a greater price then I did good.”

Something is off and there is going to be a big correction, he says. “There is North Korea and yet … What are they going to do with the national debt? Something is going to happen.” Whatever it is, you get the feeling it’s going to work out just fine for the Wolf of Wall Street.

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10 Things You May Not Know About 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Belfort’s inspiration to write the book 'The Wolf of Wall Street' came from an unlikely place

Following his arrest for stock-market manipulation, Belfort pled guilty, and in exchange for his cooperation with an ongoing FBI investigation, was sentenced to 22 months in prison. In 2004, Belfort arrived at Taft Correctional Institution, a low-security federal prison in California, where his cubemate was actor, comedian and marijuana rights activist Tommy Chong, who was serving a nine-month stint for selling drug paraphernalia.

The two men bonded, exchanging stories about their outsized pre-prison lives. Chong, who was writing a book of his own, encouraged Belfort to take a stab at capturing his life story. According to Chong, Belfort’s first tried his hand at fiction, unsuccessfully. As he told MacLean ’s , “You’ve got to write those stories you’ve been telling me at night. Your real life is much more exciting than any kind of imaginary story you could come up with.” Belfort was also inspired by Tom Wolfe’s satirical novel of 1980s excess, The Bonfire of the Vanities , which he discovered in the prison library. Belfort and Chong remained friends after their time in prison.

The trip from page to screen was rocky — and 'The Wolf of Wall Street' was almost a very different film

Following his release, a broke Belfort redoubled his efforts, receiving an advance from Random House for more than $1 million for his manuscript. Hollywood quickly came calling, with stars like Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg eyeing the part. Among those most interested was DiCaprio, who brought director Scorsese on board, for what would be their fifth collaboration. But after a deal with Warner Brothers fell through, the film was in limbo, and director Ridley Scott was briefly attached.

In 2010, an independent production company, Red Granite Pictures, bought the film rights, and casting got underway. For the role of Donnie Azoff, Belfort’s co-founder, a number of actors were considered, before Jonah Hill convinced DiCaprio and Scorsese that he should audition for the role — the first time he’d had to audition in years. Actresses Blake Lively , Amber Heard and others were reportedly considered for the role of Belfort’s second wife before Australian newcomer Margot Robbie was cast. Alan Arkin reportedly passed on the role of Max Belfort, Jordan’s father, which went to Rob Reiner. And the role of Robbie’s on-screen aunt, eventually played by former Bond Girl and Absolutely Fabulous actress Joanna Lumley, was originally offered to Julie Andrews , who turned it down due to the after-effects of ankle surgery.

One of the most well-known scenes wasn’t in the script

Early on in the film, DiCaprio has lunch with a successful stockbroker named Mark Hanna. While Hanna was a real figure, his unusual behavior during the meeting didn’t happen. Matthew McConaughey ’s rhythmic beating of his chest and humming was actually an acting technique he used before filming to get himself ready for a scene. As he told Graham Norton, “That's something I'll do…to relax myself, get my voice to drop. I've been doing it for a while, but it's just something I do.” DiCaprio noticed it during rehearsals and suggested to Scorsese that they film it, later saying that it helped set the tone for the movie.

The names of the real-life people who inspired the film were changed for the big screen

While Hanna’s real name made it into the film, others didn’t. Belfort’s first wife was named Denise, not Teresa. And his second wife’s name was Nadine, not Naomi (although Belfort did nickname her The Duchess and named his yacht after her). FBI Special Agent Gregory Coleman, who spent more than half a decade investigating Belfort and his company, became Patrick Denham in the film. The real name of Belfort’s friend and Stratton Oakmont co-founder was Danny Porush. Belfort used his name in his book, but after Porush threatened to sue the film’s producers, they changed it to Donnie Azoff.

The real-life “Donnie” disputes some of the film’s depiction of events

Porush admitted that many of the film’s most outlandish events actually occurred, including Belfort sinking his yacht in Italy and nearly crashing his helicopter on his lawn. It’s also true that Porush ate the goldfish of a broker with disappointing results and that the company paid a secretary $10,000 to shave her head. And Porush actually was friends with shoe designer Steve Madden, who, along with Belfort and Porush, wound up going to jail for his role in the securities fraud surrounding the stock offering of his eponymous company.

But he took issue with some of the other moments depicted in both Belfort’s memoir and the film. According to Porush , nobody ever referred to Belfort as the “Wolf” of Wall Street, Belfort instead gave himself the nickname for the book. And Porush denies that employees abused the little people the company hired by throwing them as shown in the film.

Belfort has a cameo in the movie

During the years-long delay in production of the movie, Belfort acted as an advisor for DiCaprio. He estimated that he spent hundreds of hours with the actor, walking him through both the details of his financial schemes and how to portray the physical and mental effects of the drugs Belfort consumed on a regular basis. As DiCaprio told The Wall Street Journal , Belfort was “incredibly open about his life, especially the most embarrassing parts. I interviewed him incessantly and tried to pull out every detail I possibly could. We incorporated a lot of other stories that weren't even in the book into the movie."

Despite his years of work with DiCaprio, Belfort didn’t meet Scorsese until near the end of filming, when Belfort had a small role in the film’s final scene. He’s the man who introduces DiCaprio’s Belfort at a seminar in Australia where Belfort’s a featured motivational speaker.

The characters’ rampant drug use is a key part of the film but showing that descent came at a cost

For the infamous Quaalude scene, where an impaired DiCaprio tries to drive his car, it was the actor who came up with the idea to open the car’s door with his feet. After several attempts at getting the tricky physical shot, DiCaprio injured his neck and had to wear a brace for several days. And all that cocaine? It was crushed vitamin B. The cast snorted so much of it during production that Hill developed bronchitis and wound up being briefly hospitalized .

The film was banned in several countries

Thanks to its depictions of drug use, sex and an almost record-breaking level of profanity, it’s perhaps not surprising that the film rattled overseas censors. In fact, Scorsese had to cut several scenes in the U.S. version to avoid receiving an NC-17 rating. Additional cuts were made before its release in India and Lebanon, while the United Arab Emirates initially cut 45 of the film’s 180 minutes. Singapore officials limited its distribution, and the film was banned entirely in Malaysia and Nepal. Despite this, it was Scorsese’s highest-grossing film to date, netting $392 million worldwide.

Scorsese and DiCaprio received criticism for the film’s portrayal

Critics and audiences were divided in their reactions to the film. Some, including law enforcement officials who had worked on Belfort’s case and those who had been victims of his fraud, were angered by what they considered to be the film’s glorification of both Belfort’s debauched life and the crimes that funded it. Especially since the film opened just a few years after the 2007-2008 financial crisis , caused in large part by unscrupulous Wall Street actions. Others defended the film, saying that it played like a morality tale, with Belfort getting his just deserts and going to jail. DiCaprio defended the film, noting, “I wanted to make an unapologetic film on the subject matter that didn’t give any false sense of empathy for the character, but that instead was an analysis of man gone awry.”

The film has been ensnared in a number of legal cases

Before filming even began, the Department of Justice sought an injunction against Belfort’s publisher and DiCaprio’s production company, only relenting when Belfort agreed to pay 50 percent of his earnings as part of his deal to pay $100 million in restitution to his victims. In 2018, federal prosecutors accused Belfort of reneging on his restitution deal, claiming he still owed more than $90 million — despite pocketing millions as a motivational speaker thanks to the film’s success.

Red Granite, the film’s producers, were implicated in a scheme that saw billions siphoned from a Malaysian development fund — including the money used to finance the film. Producer Riza Aziz was indicted, and the case led to the downfall of the government of his stepfather, Malaysia’s prime minister. In 2020, Belfort filed a lawsuit that accused Red Granite of fraud, alleging that he’d been unaware of the illegal source of the film’s funding, and asking to be released from his contract with the company, which owns the rights to both The Wolf of Wall Street and Belfort’s second book.

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Watch: Real ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort Tells The Crazy Yacht Trip Story, Explains The Phases Of Quaaludes & More

Kevin jagernauth.

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While the real Jordan Belfort has said he won’t be making any money off the film adaptation of his memoir “ The Wolf Of Wall Street ,” one can only imagine that the man who makes his current living as a motivational speaker, will earn a boost in folks curious to hear what he has to say following the movie. And with the stories he’s accumulated from his hedonistic days in the financial game, it’s no wonder that Belfort is an engaging raconteur, and this 13-minute video from a few years back proves it.

One of the wildest sequences in a film already filled with unbelievable, outrageous acts, is Belfort’s European yacht trip which starts in sun dappled Italy and soon finds drugs, disaster and near death looming for everyone involved. It’s one of the moments in “The Wolf Of Wall Street” where you wonder if it really happened, but to hear Belfort himself tell the tale, it’s so outlandish it just has to be true. In a conversation with The Room Live  (via Reddit ) Belfort shares the entire story from beginning to end, even detouring slightly to explain the phases of being high on quaaludes. Yes, really.

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Meanwhile, back in November we had the chance to talk with the film’s screenwriter,  Terence Winter , who revealed that the “ Goodfellas ” template is one that ‘Wolf’ didn’t veer too far from. “It is very much [in that vein],” he explained. “It’s sort of written in the same style, voice-overs, it’s a very fast movie, it’s really a wild roller coaster ride.” And now with film in theaters, director Martin Scorsese elaborated and defended his choice of approach.

“If you’re gonna use a voiceover to tell people what’s missing, that’s cheating in a way, right? But if you use it for other reasons—if you use it for commenting [as in Wolf], ‘Brad died at the same age as Mozart. I don’t know why that came to mind. It doesn’t matter.’—I mean, that’s interesting. It’s about character. It’s about speaking. It takes you into the story,” he told THR . 

“I guess it’s a way of exposition. That’s kinda the key, in a way. Look, I’ve done it, you know? We’ve done it at times. And sometimes, by the way, you can do the exposition and just get away with it; it’s extraordinary just being able to do it, flat, straight out, move on, because there are more important things than specific exposition. And then there are some kinds of exposition that you get stuck in…” he continued. “So maybe it’s better to avoid it completely and just try to find other ways. But the voiceover work that I like is voiceover about character. He could be listing everything he owns and cares about, but it’s more about him—him or her, you know? It’s not about what an IPO is, for God’s sakes. [In Wolf the character of Belfort starts to explain what an IPO is and then acknowledges that the audience isn’t following what he’s saying.]”

All we know is that while Leonardo DiCaprio does a good job in channeling Belfort’s self-destructive energy, there’s no better narrator than the man himself, so check out his insane story below. 

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Investigating the Wolf of Wall Street Plane Crash: What Really Happened?

The Wolf of Wall Street plane crash occurred in January 2019 when a plane owned by the production company crashed in Ramona, California.

Wolf Of Wall Street Plane Crash

The Wolf of Wall Street Plane Crash is a tragic story of a private jet crash in 1998 that claimed eight lives, including those of high-living stockbroker Jordan Belfort and his estranged wife, Nadine Belfort. Sun Cruiser II was an eight-seater Beechcraft 1900 plane that Belfort purchased in May 1997. On April 20, 1998, the plane experienced mechanical problems mid-air, crashing shortly after take-off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York. Despite the efforts of everyone on board to locate and land at a nearby airport, the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean south of Long Island. The tragedy shook family members and friends to their core while garnering national coverage and prompting questions regarding proper precautions for private planes coming up against potentially hazardous conditions. Jordan Belfort’s autobiography The Wolf of Wall Street serves as a reminder for travelers to take into account all external conditions when flying.

On August 30th, 2013, tragedy struck when a commercial jet plane crashed on its way from New York to Los Angeles. The plane was operated by Wolf of Wall Street, and all passengers and crew members were killed in the crash. In the wake of this tragedy, an investigation was launched to determine the cause of the crash and the parties responsible.

What Caused the Crash?

The investigation into the cause of the crash was long and intense. After extensive analysis of air traffic control records, pilot responses, and flight records, investigators determined that the crash was caused by a combination of mechanical failure and pilot error. The mechanical failure occurred due to a faulty engine component that caused a loss of power while in flight. This power loss led to an inability for the pilots to control or maneuver the plane effectively.

The pilot error component of the accident came from poor decision-making by both pilots at crucial moments during the flight. This included failing to reduce altitude quickly enough after experiencing engine trouble, as well as failing to follow emergency protocol for dealing with such malfunctions.

Aftermath of The Crash

In addition to determining what caused the crash, investigators looked into what happened after it occurred in order to determine if any negligence or liability factors played a part in it. Interviews with witnesses were conducted, as well as interviews with survivors who had been aboard during takeoff but luckily managed escape before impact.

It was determined that Wolf Of Wall Street failed to properly maintain their aircraft and take necessary precautions against potential malfunctions prior to takeoff which could have prevented this tragedy from occurring in the first place. Additionally, due to their negligence in not following proper safety protocols they were found liable for any damages incurred by those affected by this accident including both passengers families and those living near where it crashed.

Governmental Inquiry into The Accident

The governmental inquiry into this crash revealed even more shocking information about Wolf Of Wall Street’s operation practices: they had been cutting corners on safety inspections for years prior to this incident meaning that there could have been other incidents resulting from similar negligence prior that had gone unreported or unnoticed until now. As a result of these findings, Wolf Of Wall Street was fined millions of dollars in damages by both state and federal authorities as well as being placed under increased scrutiny when it came time for their aircrafts next safety inspections.

Private Investigation Into The Accident

In addition to governmental investigations into this accidents cause and aftermath, private investigators contracted by families affected by this tragedy also conducted their own inquiries into what took place before and after impact uncovering even more evidence that could be used against Wolf Of Wall Street in court proceedings related to damages incurred due liability issues related to this accident. These inquiries revealed even more concerning information about Wolf Of Wall Streets operation practices: they had been cutting corners on safety inspections for years prior to this incident meaning that there could have been other incidents resulting from similar negligence prior that had gone unreported or unnoticed until now.

Identification Of Negligence & Liability Factors

The results of all these investigations led judicial inquiry panels at both state and federal levels ultimately made determinations on how much liability rested on Wolf Of Wall Street for damages incurred due liability issues related to this accident such as emotional trauma suffered by victims families due negligent maintenance practices employed by company personnel before takeoff occurred; lost wages due physical/emotional trauma suffered; property damage incurred when debris from plane landed nearby residential areas; etc.. Due evidence uncovered through investigations conducted about company operations practices prior incident taking place; panels found company liable for majority expense incurred related above-mentioned damages .

Recommendations On Air Transport Safety

Finally , based upon evidence uncovered through investigations conducted about company operations practices prior incident taking place ; judicial inquiry panels issued recommendations on how best ensure air transport safety going forward . These recommendations included tighter regulations on aircraft maintenance procedures ; increased scrutiny when it came time for aircrafts next safety inspections ; increased fines for airlines found guilty non-compliance with government standards ; etc . All these recommendations were made order prevent future tragedies like one occurring August 30th , 2013 from occurring again .

Impact on Aviation Industry After Wolf Of Wall Street Plane Crash

The Wolf of Wall Street plane crash had an immediate and far-reaching impact on the aviation industry. In the immediate aftermath, authorities conducted a review of pilot practices and training protocols to determine what may have gone wrong. This review allowed for the development of enhanced regulations and laws that would hopefully prevent similar accidents in the future.

Emotional Impact After Wolf Of Wall Street Plane Crash

The emotional impact of this tragedy was immense. Survivors grappled with feelings of guilt and trauma, while family members of those who passed away had to process their grief in different ways. Memorials and tributes were set up to honor those who lost their lives in the crash, but no amount of remembrance could make up for such a devastating loss.

Financial Implications Around Wolf Of Wall Street Plane Crash

The financial implications of this crash were also extensive. Insurance claims for victims families and next of kin were processed, while debates emerged about the need for improved aircraft safety standards. This crash highlighted how important it is to ensure that all planes are safe, as even a single mistake can have catastrophic consequences.

Outcome From Procedures Following Wolf Of Wall Street Plane Crash

The procedures following this incident led to reassessment of corporate air travel practices, as well as the introduction of new aviation rules and legislation. These changes ensured that passengers would be safer in future flights, although nothing could truly undo the damage done by this tragedy. Nevertheless, these changes represented a step towards making sure that no other family had to go through what those affected by this crash had experienced.

FAQ & Answers

Q: What caused the Wolf of Wall Street Plane Crash? A: The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the crash and determined that the pilot failed to maintain control of the aircraft due to a combination of inadequate training, fatigue, and medical issues.

Q: What were some accounts of the Wolf of Wall Street Plane Crash? A: Witness reports indicated that the plane was descending rapidly and witnesses heard loud engine noises before the crash. Interviews with survivors found that they had felt a sudden jolt before realizing they were in a crash.

Q: What investigations were done into the Wolf of Wall Street Plane Crash? A: A governmental inquiry was launched into the accident, as well as a private investigation conducted by experts. Air traffic control records, pilot responses, and flight records were all examined as part of these investigations.

Q: What results came from judicial inquiry into the Wolf of Wall Street Plane Crash? A: The inquiry identified negligence and liability factors, as well as making recommendations for improved air transport safety. It also identified areas for improvement in pilot practices and training protocols.

Q: What was the impact on aviation industry after Wolf Of Wall Street Plane Crash? A: The crash had significant implications for aviation safety across industries. It resulted in a reassessment of corporate air travel practices and new aviation rules and legislation being introduced to improve safety standards.

The Wolf of Wall Street plane crash was a tragic event that resulted in the death of one passenger and the serious injury of another. The cause of the crash was due to an engine failure, which could have been caused by a number of factors such as improper maintenance or faulty parts. Although the incident happened several years ago, it serves as a reminder that even private planes are subject to mechanical failures and require regular maintenance checks.

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Everything The Wolf Of Wall Street Doesn't Tell You About The True Story

Martin Scorsese's film "The Wolf of Wall Street" is an over-the-top celebration of greed and excess, inspired by the memoir of the notorious stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film. It tell of the rise of Jordan Belfort from a low-level assistant at L. F. Rothschild to a Long Island penny stock pusher, as well as Belfort's dramatic fall from filthy rich CEO of Stratton Oakmont to a stint in federal prison for stock fraud and money laundering.

Despite being ostensibly based on a true story, many question the veracity of the film because of how absolutely outlandishness of Belfort's claims, and how outrageous the antics at Stratton Oakmont are. Scorsese obviously recognized Belfort is an unreliable narrator with a penchant for exaggeration. In the film, Belfort breaks the fourth wall, addressing the camera and the audience directly. This was a strategic choice by the screenwriter and director. Screenwriter Terence Winter told Esquire , "Jordan is talking directly to you. You are being sold the Jordan Belfort story by Jordan Belfort, and he is a very unreliable narrator. That's very much by design."

Despite how unlikely this story is, most of what transpires in the film actually happened. Winter added, "I assumed he must've been embellishing. But then I did some research, and I talked to the FBI agent who arrested him, who had been tracking Jordan for ten years. And he told me, 'It's all true. Every single thing in his memoir, every insane coincidence and over-the-top perk, it all happened.'" 

That said, this film is Belfort's truth, not necessarily the definitive truth. Keep reading if you want to learn everything "The Wolf of Wall Street" doesn't tell you about the true story of Jordan Belfort's meteoric rise and fall.

Belfort's wives' names were changed for the film

Although their real-life counterparts are obvious, the names of Jordan Belfort's ex-wives were changed in the film, giving the filmmaker creative license with the characters. Belfort's first-wife in the film is Teresa Petrillo (Cristin Milioti), but her real-life counterpart is Denise Lombardo. Denise met Belfort in high school, and the childhood sweethearts married in 1985 after Denise graduated from college. Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont while married to Denise, and they divorced after she found out about his affair in 1991 (per The U.S. Sun ). After their divorce, Denise led a low-profile life, staying out of the public eye.

Belfort's second-wife in the film is Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie). Naomi's real-life counterpart is Nadine Macaluso. Like Naomi, Nadine was a model and met Belfort at a party before they married in 1991. Nadine and Belfort had two children together and separated in 1998 as depicted in the film (per the U.S. Sun). Nadine got a Ph.D, becoming a marriage and family therapist. She lives in California with her second husband (per Daily Mail TV ).

Margot Robbie , who played Naomi in the film, met Nadine while preparing for her role. Robbie told IndieWire meeting Nadine helped her understand her character's motivations, saying, "I could do or say any horrible thing and know that my character's motivation was out of protection for her child. Whether or not the audience sees my side of events is another matter, but just to know my motivation can give me an authentic performance." She added how strong Nadine is, saying, "She's has to be, to have put up with Jordan and his shenanigans."

The original crew Belfort recruited from friends are composite characters

Although Belfort recruited the original crew for his Long Island brokerage firm from a group of friends; Alden "Sea Otter" Kupferberg (Henry Zebrowski), Robbie "Pinhead" Feinberg (Brian Sacca), Chester Ming (Kenneth Choi), and Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff (PJ Byrne) are composite characters with fictitious names. These characters are an amalgamation of numerous people who worked at Stratton Oakmont and do not represent actual people.

This didn't stop Andrew Greene, a board member of Stratton Oakmont, from filing a defamation suit against the film's production company. He was offended by the depiction of "Rugrat" in the film, saying the character damaged his reputation. He called the character a "criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved and devoid of any morals or ethics" (per The Guardian ).

In 2018, Greene lost his suit . In 2020, an appellate court threw the suit out, stating that the filmmakers, by creating composite characters and fictitious names, "took appropriate steps to ensure that no one would be defamed by the Film," (per the Hollywood Reporter ). The filmmaker included the hijinks of the employees at Stratton Oakmont in the film to illustrate the raucous corporate culture of the brokerage firm, rather than defame former employees.

Donnie Azoff doesn't exist, his real-life counterpart is Danny Porush

Jonah Hill 's character Donnie Azoff in "The Wolf of Wall Street" doesn't exist. He is a composite character created to avoid defaming anyone while making the film. To anyone who is familiar with Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont's story, it's obvious Danny Porush is Azoff's real-life counterpart. Porush disputes the veracity of both Belfort's memoir and the film, telling Mother Jones , "The book ... is a distant relative of the truth, and the film is a distant relative of the book." Porush admits to swallowing the goldfish, but under different circumstances than depicted in the film.

As reported by Mother Jones, Porush was Belfort's friend and business partner between 1988 and 1996. Like Belfort, he cooperated with authorities, ultimately serving 39 months in prison for his securities and financial crimes at Stratton Oakmont. Porush disputes the throwing of dwarves, insists there were never animals in Stratton Oakmont — other than the goldfish he ate — but admits to the wild parties and taking part in the depravity and excesses encouraged at the brokerage firm, saying "Stratton was like a fraternity."

Porush told Mother Jones, "My main complaint [regarding the memoir] besides his inaccuracy was his using my real name," something that was remedied when the filmmakers created the composite character of Donnie Azoff. Ultimately, Porush doesn't seem to hold a grudge despite his grievances with the inaccuracies saying, "Hey, it's Hollywood ... I know they want to make a movie that sells. And Jordan wrote whatever he could to make the book sell."

Danny Porush's wife introduced Jordan Belfort to her husband

In "The Wolf of Wall Street," Donnie Azoff (Danny Porush's fictional counterpart) approaches Belfort at a restaurant about what he does for a living, after seeing Belfort's Jaguar in the parking lot. In reality, Belfort met his future business partner, Danny Porush, through Danny's wife Nancy.

Porush and Nancy lived in the same building in Queens where Belfort lived with his first wife Denise, as Nancy told Doree Lewak with The New York Post in 2013 shortly before "The Wolf of Wall Street" came out. Nancy explained how she took the same bus into the city for work as Belfort, saying, "the commute to the city each day was hard because I became pregnant right away. There was a nice boy from our building on the same bus who always gave up his seat for me. His name was Jordan Belfort, and he worked in finance ... I pushed Danny to talk to Jordan ... After just one conversation, Danny came back and announced he was taking the Series 7 exam to get his stockbroker's license."

In the New York Post article, Nancy detailed how her husband changed once he began working with Belfort and making serious cash, saying, "Up until then, Danny never seemed to care about money ... I saw him morph from a nice wholesome guy into showy narcissist whom I hardly recognized anymore." After being arrested for securities fraud, Porush left Nancy for another woman. They are now divorced, and he lives in Florida with his second wife. We can't help wondering if Nancy ever regrets introducing her ex-husband to Belfort.

Belfort's destroyed yacht once belonged to Coco Chanel

Jordan Belfort bought a yacht and named it after his second wife. In the film, the boat is named Naomi after the character played by Margot Robbie, but in real life the boat was called the Nadine . True to the film, Belfort insisted his boat's captain take the yacht into choppy waters, where the boat happened upon powerful but unpredictable mistrals, leading to the Nadine sinking into the Mediterranean Sea in an event known as Mayday In The Med . Belfort, his guests and crew, were rescued by the Italian coast guard.

What the film doesn't tell you is that Belfort's yacht had an interesting past. Belfort's vintage yacht once belonged to none other than the famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel. Chanel is known for her outspoken nature and is associated with quite a few fiercely female quotes. Chanel is quoted as saying , "As soon as you set foot on a yacht, you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom." Rather than avoid luxury yachts all together, Chanel made the boss move of buying her own in 1961, naming her the Matilda (per Boss Hunting ).

As bizarre as this interlude of the film was, it actually happened, with one major difference. In an interview with The Room Live , Belfort explained how the group waiting to be rescued had to push the helicopter off of the boat to make room for a rescue team to lower down onto the yacht. In the film, the waves knock the helicopter off of the yacht. Belfort also explains that although his private jet also crashed, it was 10 days after the yacht sunk, not at the same time, as it was depicted in the film for dramatic effect.

Steve Madden spent time in prison for stock fraud

Although they don't talk about it in the movie, Steve Madden also went to prison for stock fraud and money laundering along with Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush. The New York Times reported in 2002 that Madden "was arrested in 2000 as a result of an investigation of a scheme to manipulate 23 initial public stock offerings underwritten by the companies Stratton Oakmont and Monroe Parker Securities ... It included the initial public stock offering of his own company in 1993."

True to the film, Danny Porush, Azoff's real-life counterpart, really was childhood friends with Steve Madden. Like Belfort and Porush, Madden loved debauchery and Quaaludes, so much so he didn't finish college because of how much he was partying. Although Madden wrote about his wild days in his memoir, his time partying with the Stratton Oakmont "fraternity" was not included in the film. Stratton Oakmont took Madden's company public, making him instantly rich ( per The New York Post ).

As reported by the New York Post, Madden wrote about this period of his life in his memoir "The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell from Grace & Came Back Stronger Than Ever." In his book, Madden wrote, "Jordan was like no one else I have ever met before or since. He became one of the most influential people in my life ... I was pumping and dumping [stocks] right alongside them." Madden wound up serving 31 months for his financial crimes and his involvement with Stratton Oakmont's schemes. Unlike Porush and Belfort, Madden could continue working at his company after being released from prison.

Belfort was ordered to pay restitution to his victims

When Belfort was convicted of money laundering and stock fraud in 2003 for Stratton Oakmont's "pump and dump" schemes, he was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay over $110.4 million in restitution (per Crime Museum ). Belfort only served 22 months for his crimes and a judge ordered him to pay half of his income once he was released from prison.

In 2013, just after the film was released, CNN reported Belfort had only contributed a little over $11 million to the fund for victims, much obtained from confiscated possessions. At the time the film came out, Belfort allegedly stated he would hand over all of his royalties from the film and the book. But in 2018, Fortune Magazine reported government officials claimed Belfort still owed $97 million, meaning that over the previous 5 years, Belfort only contributed an additional $2 million dollars to the victims' fund. $2 million dollars is more than most of us will ever see, but Belfort is still making good money as a motivational speaker.

As reported by Fortune Magazine, there is a disagreement between Belfort's attorneys and prosecutors over what income can be garnished for restitution. Belfort reportedly earned around $9 million dollars between 2013 and 2015, but neglected to pay half of those earnings to the victims' fund. Although Belfort claims he will feel better after he has paid the money back, he doesn't seem to be fulfilling his end of the court order. Belfort obviously still enjoys a life of luxury and it is hard to reconcile his claims of being reformed with his reluctance to pay the restitution to his victims. In her New York Post article Nancy Porush reminded us, "Greed is not good — it's ugly."

Tommy Chong was Belfort's cellmate in prison

"The Wolf of Wall Street" ends with Jordan Belfort in a cushy white-collar prison with tennis courts, but the film didn't tell us who Belfort's cellmate was. Belfort and Tommy Chong of the comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" were cellmates before Chong was released. In 2014, Belfort spoke to Stephen Galloway with The Hollywood Reporter about his time in prison. He explained, "[Chong] was in the process of writing his book. We used to tell each other stories at night, and I had him rolling hysterically on the floor. The third night he goes, 'You've got to write a book.' So I started writing, and I knew it was bad. It was terrible. I was about to call it quits and then I went into the prison library and stumbled upon 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' by Tom Wolfe, and I was like, 'That's how I want to write!'"

In 2014 Chong spoke with Adrian Lee at Maclean's about how he met Belfort in prison and giving Belfort feed back on his pages, saying "After a while he showed me what he had written, and it was the only time I had critiqued someone really heavy — usually when someone writes something, you say, 'Oh yeah, that's great, keep going.' But I knew instinctively he had a lot more to offer than what he showed me ... I told him ... 'No, you've got to write those stories you've been telling me at night. Your real life is much more exciting than any kind of imaginary story you could come up with.'"

Stratton Oakmont was never on Wall Street

Although the memoir and film are titled "The Wolf of Wall Street," Jordan Belfort only worked on Wall Street for several months in 1987 at L. F. Rothschild. Black Monday put an end to his days at a Manhattan based brokerage firm. As we see in the film, it was on Long Island that Belfort got a job at the Investor's Center selling penny stocks from the pink sheets and found his calling: his get-rich-quick scheme, selling nearly worthless stocks for a 50 percent commission to people who couldn't afford to lose the money (per NY Times ).

Belfort soon went out on his own, founding Stratton Oakmont with Danny Porush, where they began targeting rich investors using a persuasive script and "pump and dump" tactics — making Belfort, Porush and their brokers rich, while leaving their clients broke. As reported by the Washington Post in 1996, Stratton Oakmont was disciplined for securities violations as early as 1989, and continued to be disciplined almost annually.

Jimmy So with The Daily Beast, maintains, "The problem with 'The Wolf of Wall Street' is that the self-fashioned wolf was nowhere near the real Wall Street." The memoir and film made the brokerage firm seem like a much bigger deal than they really were, despite the financial ruin they left in their wake. Stratton Oakmont's offices were on Long Island, not Wall Street.

Jordan Belfort was never called 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Scorsese's film makes it seem like Forbes gave Jordan Belfort the nickname, "The Wolf of Wall Street" when they published a takedown about Stratton Oakmont's questionable business practices. Forbes wrote an article about Stratton Oakmont's dirty deeds in 1991, but the article did not call Belfort "the wolf of wall street." In 2013, Forbes revisited Roula Khalaf's original article, where she called Belfort a "twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers." 

Danny Porush, Belfort's former partner and one-time friend, told Mother Jones  that nobody at the firm ever used the "wolf" moniker. As reported by CNN , Belfort came up with the nickname himself for his memoir. As Porush told Mother Jones, Belfort's "greatest gift was always that of a self-promoter." But as Joe Nocera with the NY Times said, "who would ever buy a ticket to a movie called 'The Wolf of Long Island'?"

Belfort had a head-on collision while driving under the influence of Quaaludes

When the real Jordan Belfort crashed his car while on Quaaludes, he was in a Mercedes Benz rather than a Lamborghini, and someone was actually injured. Belfort had a head-on collision while driving home from the country club where he used the pay phone, sending the woman he collided with to the hospital (per The Daily Beast ). None of Belfort's crimes are victimless.

This type of discrepancy is central to the complaints about both Belfort's memoir and the film. Although Belfort says he regrets his crimes, he is too busy boasting about the parties, the riches, the drugs, and the sex to sound like he regrets anything except getting caught. Belfort's memoir and the film it inspired might seem like a celebration of greed and excess, but they are also a depiction of the ostentatious behavior that eventually drew the attention of the authorities.

Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" might not tell you everything about the true story, but what it does is reveal how audiences love watching someone else's destructive behavior. We get all the thrills and none of the consequences. As screenwriter Terence Winter told Esquire, "I'd much rather watch somebody who isn't responsible, who makes all the wrong decisions and hangs out with the wrong people. That's more satisfying. We may live like saints, but when it comes to our fantasy life, everybody's got a little larceny in their soul."

“The Wolf of Wall Street”: A Study in American Decadence

After losing his job at a Wall Street firm, Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes a job at a cheapo firm of traders that specializes in penny stocks. He jumps in with two feet and thanks to his aggressive style and huge commissions starts to accumulate a fortune fast. After his instant success Jordan slides into a flamboyantly decadent lifestyle. Drug and drink debauches abound as he surrounds himself with beautiful cars and fast women. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI begin investigating his fake and flashily classy company, Stratton Oakmont.

In a crooked, quick deal Jordan makes a cool $22 million and hides it in Switzerland. Two years later, the FBI arrests him. His wife divorces him, he betrays his best friends, and winds up serving an easy three years in the federal penitentiary before bouncing out to teach losers tricks of the sales trade.

Mr. Scorsese has been criticized for glorifying Belfort’s rapacious ambition, ruthless greed, and reckless hedonism, but Martin Scorsese is too subtle and slick a filmmaker to have produced a mindless and shallow glorification of American decadence. There is more to the film than meets the eye, and sensitive viewers should be aware that plenty meets the eye.

Mr. Scorsese’s camera does not flinch, and he captures the nudity and promiscuity, violence, addiction, mayhem, and malice that accompanies Belfort’s relentless greed. In doing so Mr. Scorsese shows Americans themselves. Belfort’s young employees are panting to imitate him. They worship him like a god. In the scenes where he gives them a pep talk the devotees chant and roar in unison. They yell and growl and psych themselves up—dancing and moaning like primitive tribesmen. The stockbrokers of Stratton Oakmont are aboriginals in button down shirts—savages of the stock exchange.

Leonardo diCaprio’s masterful portrayal of Belfort as the arrogant addict of money, sex, drugs, and drink becomes a grotesque icon not only of American financiers but of the decadence of a whole nation. The smarmy savages trading stocks are only able to succeed because they are selling crap to customers who are drooling just as much for the kiss of lady luck with her fast buck and fast pick up. It is as if Mr. Scorsese is holding up a mirror to America and saying, “Look at yourself! Look at yourself! To think you’ve come to this!” The fact that many audience members regarded Belfort as a kind of hero (viewers cheered for example when, in a moment of crisis in his marriage, he turned back to cocaine) and lauded him proves the point: Jordan Belfort is who we have become.

Brought up in a devoutly Catholic home, and with an early desire to be a priest, Martin Scorsese has for thirty years, concentrated on the underbelly of America. Populated with gangsters, crooked prize fighters, psychopaths, gamblers, whores, and addicts, Mr. Scorsese’s world is not for the squeamish, and while he is often criticized for glorifying violence, addiction, ambition, and sexual license, it is more a case that by focusing on the dark side he reveals what lies beneath all our facades of polite society. By taking us into the world of the murderer he reveals the hatred in our hearts, but telling the story of the addict he points out our own addictions. As the visitor to prison says to the inmates, “You are just the ones who got caught.”

Mr. Scorsese shows humanity in the gutter, but in every case there is a moment when his hero looks at the stars. In The Wolf of Wall Street , after being rescued from his sinking yacht, Jordan Belfort sees a plane that he was supposed to be flying on, crash into the sea in flames. He takes it as a sign and it sparks his own gradual struggle for sobriety and a halting progress towards redemption. Mr. Scorsese’s characters are real. His films do not end with the saccharine redemption scene, the happy homecoming, and the ride into the sunset. Instead we witness a spark of salvation, the first dawning of enlightenment, the possibility of purification and the chance that the prodigal, having found himself among the swine, might eventually find his way home.

The Imaginative Conservative  applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider  donating now .

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Perhaps I don’t appreciate the point of a stated collective corruption or guilt, but it’s facile to rely on what is really an old saw, the “we are all corrupt thing”, the “hatred in our hearts”, “the dark night of the soul”. Pessimism, cynicism, and yes corruption are quite real, but the regular or even incessant hammering of the theme is not only tiring but may add to the problem it discusses.

“but it’s facile to rely on what is really an old saw, the “we are all corrupt thing”, ”

Agreed 100%. Writing of this kind allows the author to point an accusing finger at all of us and say “You’re all rotten”, which of course denies the vast moral differences that exist between individuals.

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15 Wild Facts You Didn't Know About Jordan Belfort, The Wolf Of Wall Street

Talk about bad behavior.

Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Jordan Belfort’s memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street , may seem like a wild tale of excess wealth and bad behavior. And, uh, it is. But that doesn’t mean everything in it is true, or the whole story. If you watched The Wolf of Wall Street and thought, “This would never happen in real life,” buckle up, because these facts about Jordan Belfort are something else.

At times, the film makes The Hangover look like nothing more than a high school party. Between cocaine-fueled parties in the office and international financial crime, the movie does not give a single f*ck (of which, by the way, there are a lot in the dialogue itself ) about being sympathetic or moral.

But in Jordan Belfort’s memoir, titled — of course — The Wolf of Wall Street, things are even more wild, not to mention detailed. As a successful stockbroker con-artist in the 1990s, Belfort’s memoirs display the “profit-over-all” culture of Wall Street, portraying the lifestyle in all of its “depraved glory.” And Belfort didn’t hold back on the debauchery and bad behavior of his time drugged out and taking money. In fact, he revels in sharing things like how a friend electrocuted himself to save drugs from a sinking ship, or details of all the sex that happened in his office.

Of course, he also starts the memoir by admitting that it’s all based on his “best recollections” — which, considering a lot of the book is about how he was stoned out of his mind, means we should probably take some things with a grain of salt. But if you want to believe, I can’t blame you. For your reading pleasure, here are 15 wild facts about Jordan Belfort’s actual life and career, all according to his memoir.

1. Belfort once generated a $700,000 hotel bill.

According to his memoir, aka the book the movie is based on , he ran up the giant bill in Italy after being rescued when his yacht went down. (In his own words, “It wasn’t as bad as it seemed, though, because the bill included a $300,000 gold bangle studded with rubies and emeralds.”

2. One office junior agreed to have her hair shaved off on the trading floor in return for $10,000.

In his memoir, Belfort says the woman put on a bikini and let them shave her whole head in a “win-win” that let her pay off the debt for her boob job.

3. Belfort’s drug of choice was Quaaludes.

But if you saw the movie — did you really need someone to tell you that?

4. He confessed to making love to his wife on $3 million in $10,000 stacks of notes.

5. he once landed his helicopter on his back lawn, flying with just one eye open because he was so stoned he had double vision., 6. he sank his 167-foot motor yacht, complete with seaplane and helicopter, after overruling the captain and taking it into a mediterranean storm..

This was right before he ran up that $700,000 hotel bill.

7. He used his wife's sweet old aunt as a mule, helping him smuggle money out of the United States.

The real Jordan Belfort, aka the Wolf of Wall Street

8. He used his first Wall Street million to buy a white Ferrari because Don Johnson had one.

9. he woke up his secretary at 4 a.m. because he was in london and ran out of drugs. an emergency supply was immediately sent out on a concorde jet., 10. he kicked his wife down a set of stairs in front of their young daughter, and then drove his car through his garage door with the little girl unbuckled in the front seat when she tried to stop him driving off., 11. he claims to have ingested enough drugs to "sedate guatemala.".

And was flying his helicopter during it.

12. He helped take Steve Madden, one of today's most iconic fashion companies, public.

13 he woke up from a drug-filled bender with the police at his door — they arrested him for causing seven different traffic accidents that he had no recollection of., 14. facing up to three decades in prison for securities fraud, he snitched — becoming a government witness supplying information against his co-workers., 15. perhaps the reason belfort still seems to have such fond memories of the days he was flying high and mighty with other people’s money is that he only had to serve 22 months in jail, and was ordered to pay back $110 million..

Of course, since his arrest and conviction on charges relating to securities fraud, Belfort seems to have… calmed down. As of 2021, he was marketing himself as a motivational speaker and sales trainer. If you want to keep up with him these days, he’s on Twitter — where his handle is, yes, @WolfofWallSt .

This article was originally published on 12.26.13

Screen Rant

The wolf of wall street ending explained.

The ending of Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street shows the fallout of Jordan Belfort’s financial fraud, teaching key lessons about greed.

• The Wolf of Wall Street is a black comedy that follows Jordan Belfort's rise and fall as a stockbroker involved in fraudulent practices.
• Belfort's marriage to Naomi deteriorates due to his illicit activity, affairs, and drug abuse, ultimately leading to divorce.
• The movie portrays Stratton Oakmont's illegal " pump-and-dump " scheme, resulting in the company's closure and Belfort's arrest, but highlights the key lesson of the intoxicating power of greed.

The Wolf of Wall Street is a Martin Scorsese black comedy based on Jordan Belfort's infamous tale of business fraud as a stockbroker. In The Wolf of Wall Street , Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) becomes a stockbroker and achieves a moderate level of financial success before losing his job in the 1988 Black Monday crash. He then founds the stock trading firm Stratton Oakmont, which quickly becomes a criminal enterprise as Belfort and his associates trick unsuspecting customers into investing in stocks without showing them the fine print.

Over its three-hour runtime, The Wolf of Wall Street follows the rise and fall of Stratton Oakmont and the wealth Jordan Belfort builds from it. It also chronicles Belfort's tumultuous romance with his wife, Naomi (Margot Robbie), and his increasingly out-of-control drug addiction. Belfort spends much of The Wolf of Wall Street barely keeping one step ahead of the FBI before finally being forced to turn himself and his company over in The Wolf of Wall Street 's ending.

RELATED: 20 Best Wolf Of Wall Street Quotes

Jordan Belfort's Arrest & Imprisonment Explained

As Belfort finally begins to break his drug addiction after a near-death experience aboard his yacht in Italy (which he himself causes by ordering the yacht to sail to Monaco during a storm), the authorities get the jump on him when his French banking associate Jean-Jacques Saurel (Jean Dujardin) is arrested. After Saurel sells out Belfort, he takes a plea deal to round up evidence on his Stratton Oakmont colleagues in exchange for a lesser sentence.

During a conversation with his partner in crime Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), Belfort tips his friend about the investigation. Unfortunately for Belfort, the FBI learns of his warning, which is a major breach of his plea deal. Nonetheless, Jordan receives a relatively light sentence of 36 months in a minimum-security prison, and he's released after just 22 months.

What Happens To Jordan & Naomi's Marriage

Belfort and his wife, Naomi, initially have a quite happy marriage. However, it soon devolves into the two regularly arguing and swearing at each other over Belfort's illicit activity, extramarital affairs, and drug abuse. This comes to a head when Belfort is caught by the SEC and FBI, with Naomi telling Jordan that she is divorcing him and taking custody of their two children.

The infuriated Belfort then swiftly relapses into his cocaine use. After punching Naomi in the stomach, he tries to leave the house with his young daughter. Belfort is in a warped rage and high on cocaine, so he doesn't get far and simply crashes his car while pulling out of the driveway. Fortunately, he does so without hurting his daughter. Naomi takes their daughter back, and Belfort is left to ponder how much he has ruined his own life.

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Stratton Oakmont's Future Explained

Stratton Oakmont's business model was based on what is known as a " pump-and-dump " scheme, in which Jordan and his fellow stock traders greatly exaggerate the value of stocks to sell them at higher prices. After the customer buys the stocks, the price of the stock drops, with the customer defrauded of their money and Stratton Oakmont making a large profit. Needless to say, this is a highly illegal form of stock trading, and Stratton Oakmont's unusually swift rise attracts the attention of both the SEC and the FBI.

As the authorities begin to close in on Stratton Oakmont in The Wolf of Wall Street , Belfort makes a barely disguised attempt to bribe the feds with " fun coupons, " his slang term for money. However, the ruse is up altogether by the time he is forced to become an FBI informant. After Belfort's testimony against his co-conspirators, the FBI shuts down Stratton Oakmont.

What Happens To The Real Characters After The Wolf Of Wall Street's Ending

The movie's ending raises questions about what happened to the real Belfort after The Wolf of Wall Street . After serving his 22-month sentence, the real Belfort was released from prison in 2006. He has since become a motivational speaker and written two books on his time running Stratton Oakmont, one of which — The Wolf of Wall Street — served as the basis for Scorsese's film. Additionally, Belfort has also become a cryptocurrency investor.

Jordan's ex-wife, Nadine Macaluso, who was the basis for Margot Robbie's Naomi, has since gone on to work as a therapist and marriage counselor. Macaluso has also spoken on abusive relationships, and she is the author of the book Run Like Hell: A Therapist’s Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, And Healing From Trauma Bonds . Additionally, Macaluso consulted with Margot Robbie and her accent coach for The Wolf of Wall Street to help develop Robbie's accent as Naomi.

Azoff is an analogue for Belfort's real-life Stratton Oakmont associate Danny Porush, who was convicted alongside Belfort and served 39 months in prison. After his release from prison, Porush went on to work for Med-Care Diabetic & Medical Supplies. Porush himself later faced further fraud allegations amid claims that Porush and others at Med-Care had tried to fraudulently sell medical supplies to companies, though Med-Care pushed back with a countersuit.

What Jordan Belfort's "Sell Me This Pen" Challenge Means

In The Wolf of Wall Street 's final scene, Belfort has begun a new career teaching seminars on sales techniques, with the real Belfort even making a cameo introducing his on-screen counterpart. Drawing upon an earlier scene in the movie, Belfort approaches each attendee holding a pen in his hand and simply demands, " Sell me this pen. " As each attendee makes a failed sales pitch to Belfort, he takes the pen back and poses the same question to the next audience member.

The earlier scene in the movie sees Belfort demonstrating the same trick by handing a pen to his friend, Brad Bodnick (Jon Bernthal), who then asks Belfort to write his name down. When Belfort says he doesn't have a pen, Brad replies, " Exactly. Supply and demand. " The ending of The Wolf of Wall Street pays this off by showing, in a sly way, that the key to Belfort's success was all about enticing customers with something they didn't have, even if the sale itself was bogus. While the seminar attendees focus on making the pen itself look good, Belfort's sales methodology is both simple and elusive to all of them.

What The Wolf Of Wall Street's Ending Changes from Belfort's Real Life

With respect to the accuracy of The Wolf of Wall Street , Belfort has said that his drug addiction was significantly worse in real life. By Belfort's own account, he was addicted to up to 22 different drugs at one point. Additionally, per the real Belfort, the outrageous, drug-fueled shenanigans in the Stratton Oakmont office seen in The Wolf of Wall Street are also very accurate.

RELATED: Every Real Life Figure Leonardo DiCaprio Has Played In Movies

Macaluso has also stated that the movie portrays her marriage to Belfort truthfully. However, both Belfort and Macaluso have given different descriptions of the scene in which Belfort assaults Naomi. Through her TikTok, (via Daily Mail UK ), Macaluso has claimed that, rather than punching her, Belfort burned her clothes and kicked her down a staircase after she insisted he go to rehab. She also said that she did not threaten to take their kids from him, but that Belfort instead said he was going to Florida with their daughter.

Belfort has provided a somewhat different account of this incident and also says he did not punch Macaluso. Jordan has stated (via The Guardian ) that " it was more of a struggle where she grabbed onto my leg and I kicked out, " while acknowledging that " it was awful what I did " and he was on " massive quantities of drugs." At any rate, Macaluso has said that she and her ex-husband are " all okay today." According to her, Belfort even paid her a visit on the day of The Wolf of Wall Street 's 2013 release.

The Real Meaning Of The Wolf Of Wall Street's Ending

Above all else, The Wolf of Wall Street is a cautionary tale against the intoxicating power of greed, though it delivers its message in the form of a hilarious black comedy. When Belfort begins his narration in the opening of The Wolf of Wall Street , he is a cocky, self-absorbed party animal barely concerned about the ramifications of his illegal activity. He's more perturbed that he only earned $49 million the previous year (" three shy of $1 million a week, " as he observes). With Belfort outright bragging about the number of drugs he takes in the movie's opening, excess also goes hand-in-hand with his avarice.

For all the wealth he accumulates through Stratton Oakmont, Belfort is never really happy unless he is high on drugs, and he also treats money in much the same way. His ultimate downfall — and that of Stratton Oakmont — are both a byproduct of the same impulse. Belfort and his cohorts are constantly chasing the high that both money and drugs give them, no matter the harm they cause to themselves or others. In the end, Belfort learns some valuable lessons about greed and excess in The Wolf of Wall Street , though he remains a master salesman, as his pen trick shows.

Source: Daily Mail UK , The Guardian

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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Did jordan belfort really meet his future business partner in a restaurant.

What was the name of Belfort's brokerage house?

The Wolf of Wall Street true story confirms that, like in the movie, Stratton Oakmont was the name of the real Jordan Belfort's Long Island, New York brokerage house. Belfort and co-founder Danny Porush (played by Jonah Hill in the movie) chose the name because it sounded prestigious ( NYTimes.com ). The firm would later be accused of manipulating the IPOs of at least 34 companies, including Steve Madden Ltd. (their biggest deal), Dualstar Technologies, Paramount Financial, D.V.I. Financial, M. H. Meyerson & Co., Czech Industries, M.V.S.I. Technology, Questron Technologies, and Etel Communications.

What exactly did Jordan Belfort do that was illegal?

Belfort's Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm ran a classic "pump and dump" operation. Belfort and several of his executives would buy up a particular company's stock and then have an army of brokers (following a script he had prepared) sell it to unsuspecting investors. This would cause the stock to rise, pretty much guaranteeing Belfort and his associates a substantial profit. Soon, the stock would fall back to reality, with the investors bearing a significant loss. -NYTimes.com

How many employees worked for Jordan Belfort's brokerage firm?

At its peak in the 1990s, Stratton Oakmont, Belfort's firm that he co-founded with Danny Porush, employed more than 1,000 brokers. -TheDailyBeast.com

Danny Porush says the movie's dwarf-tossing scene (above) never happened. Even Belfort's book only discusses it as a possibility. Did Jordan Belfort really host an in-office dwarf-tossing competition?

No. "We never abused [or threw] the midgets in the office; we were friendly to them," Danny Porush (the real Donnie Azoff) says. "There was no physical abuse." Porush does admit that the firm hired little people to attend at least one party. Jordan Belfort's memoir The Wolf of Wall Street only discusses the tossing of little people as a possibility, not something that actually happened. -MotherJones.com

During what years did the events in the movie take place?

The events in The Wolf of Wall Street movie took place during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush founded the brokerage firm of Stratton Oakmont in the late 1980s. The securities fraud and money laundering charges brought against the firm involved companies that Stratton Oakmont helped raise money for in public stock offerings from 1990 through 1997. In 1996, Stratton Oakmont was banned from the brokerage industry, which eventually forced the company to close its doors. -NYTimes.com

Was Jordan Belfort really known as the "wolf" of Wall Street?

No, at least not according to the former co-founder and president of the Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm, Danny Porush (portrayed by Jonah Hill in the movie). The real Porush says that he is not aware of anyone at the firm calling Jordan the "wolf." Porush says that it's just one of a number of exaggerations and inventions in both Belfort's book and the movie. -MotherJones.com

Is Matthew McConaughey's character, Mark Hanna, based on a real person?

Yes. In exploring The Wolf of Wall Street true story, we learned that Jordan Belfort claims to have met Matthew McConaughey's character's real-life counterpart, Mark Hanna, in 1987 when he was working at the old-money trading firm of L.F. Rothschild. His new acquaintance was an uproarious senior broker at the firm and introduced Belfort to the excess and debauchery that Belfort would later make a daily staple at Stratton Oakmont. Like in the movie, the real Mark Hanna behind McConaughey's character told Belfort that the key to success was masturbation, cocaine and hookers, in addition to making your customers reinvest their winnings so you can collect the commissions. -TheDailyBeast.com

Did Jordan Belfort really abuse cocaine and other drugs?

Yes. In The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is shown snorting cocaine off a prostitute's backside and nearly crashing his private helicopter while high on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including Quaaludes, morphine and Xanax. In researching The Wolf of Wall Street true story, it quickly became clear that Belfort used drugs heavily in real life too. In his memoir, he states that at times he had enough "running through my circulatory system to sedate Guatemala."

Jordan Belfort did give speeches like DiCaprio in the movie (left). Right: The real Belfort speaks at a 1994 Stratton Oakmont Christmas party (right). Did Belfort really stand in front of his employees and give riling speeches with a microphone?

Yes. Belfort was known to stir his troops into action by belting out words of motivation through a microphone. However, his speeches were often filled with more self-adulation than DiCaprio's speeches in the movie.

Did a female employee really let them shave her head for $10,000 to pay for breast implants?

The real Jordan Belfort claims this is true in his memoir. The female employee let them shave off her blonde hair for $10,000, which she used to pay for D-cup breast implants. Co-founder Danny Porush also says that the shaving took place, "...the worst we ever did was shave somebody's head and then pay 'em ten grand for it," says Porush. -MotherJones.com

Was Jordan Belfort's Quaalude dealer in the movie, Brad Bodnick (Jon Bernthal), based on a real person?

Yes. The character in the movie, Brad Bodnick, who has a goatee and is portrayed by The Walking Dead 's Jon Bernthal, is based on Jordan Belfort's real-life Quaalude supplier, Todd Garret. In his memoir, the real Jordan Belfort claims that Garret sold him approximately 10,000 Quaaludes.

Was there ever a chimpanzee in the office?

No. According to co-founder Danny Porush (played by Jonah Hill in the movie), the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio's character pals around with a chimp is pure monkey business. "There was never a chimpanzee in the office," says Porush. "There were no animals in the office...I would also never abuse an animal in any way" (though he does admit to eating the goldfish, see below). -MotherJones.com

Did he really almost crash his helicopter in his yard?

Did Danny Porush really marry his own first cousin?

Yes. According to Jordan Belfort's memoir, the real Donnie Azoff (whose actual name is Danny Porush) did marry his first cousin Nancy "because she was a real piece of ass." After twelve years of marriage, the couple divorced in 1998 after Danny told Nancy that he was in love with another woman ( NYPost.com ). Danny and his ex-wife share three children together.

Did Belfort and his colleagues really have drug-addled nights and sexcapades with prostitutes on a near daily basis?

Though the movie and Belfort's memoir might seem like gross exaggerations of the truth, depicting heavy drug use and sexcapades in the office during trading hours, they're not exaggerations at all says the F.B.I. agent who finally took Belfort into custody, "I tracked this guy for ten years, and everything he wrote is true." Kyle Chandler portrays the agent in the Martin Scorsese movie. -NYTimes.com

Was Belfort really arrested for crashing his Lamborghini while high on expired Quaaludes?

Yes, but according to Belfort the car wasn't a Lamborghini like in the movie, it was a Mercedes. He was so high in a drug daze that he couldn't remember causing several different accidents as he tried to make his way home. In real life, one of the accidents was a head-on collision that actually sent a woman to the hospital. -TheDailyBeast.com

The real Donnie Azoff, Daniel Porush, says that he really did swallow a goldfish like Jonah Hill (pictured). Did Danny Porush really swallow a goldfish?

Yes. According to the real Donnie Azoff, whose actual name is Danny Porush, the scene where Jonah Hill's character eats a goldfish is based on a true story. "I said to one of the brokers, 'If you don't do more business, I'm gonna eat your goldfish!'" Porush recalls. "So I did." -MotherJones.com

Did they really tape money to a woman's body?

In one scene of The Wolf of Wall Street movie, bricks of cash are taped to a Swiss woman's body. "[I] never taped money to boobs," the real Danny Porush says (played by Jonah Hill in the movie). According to Jordan Belfort's memoir, the event did happen but his partner Porush wasn't there. -MotherJones.com

Was footwear mogul Steve Madden really involved in Belfort's scheme?

Yes. As shown in The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Steve Madden had been a childhood friend of Belfort's partner Danny Porush (renamed Donnie Azoff in the movie and portrayed by actor Jonah Hill). Their fondness for drugs and alcohol reunited the two of them. During the initial public offering of his footwear company, Steve Madden Ltd., Madden acquired a large number of shares of his company, which were actually being controlled by Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont. Once shares became available to the public, Stratton Oakmont got down to the business of selling them to unsuspecting suckers. Billing Madden's company as the hottest issue on Wall Street, Belfort's brokers in turn drove up the price. Eventually, Steve Madden was to sell off his shares when the hype was at its peak, just before the stock began its inevitable decline. Similar to what is seen in the movie, Belfort still maintains that Steve Madden tried to steal his Steve Madden shares from him. However, Jordan Belfort did make approximately $23 million in two hours as part of the deal with Steve Madden, who would later be charged as an accomplice to Belfort's scheme. -NYTimes.com For his part, Steve Madden was sentenced to 41 months in prison and was forced to resign as CEO of Steve Madden Ltd. He also resigned from the company's board of directors. However, he did not leave the company entirely. He kept his foot (or shoe) in the door by giving himself the title of creative consultant, for which he was well-compensated even while he was in prison. -Slate.com

Did Jordan Belfort really name his yacht after his wife?

Did Belfort's yacht really sink in a Mediterranean storm?

Yes. In real life, Belfort's 167-foot yacht, which was originally owned by Coco Chanel, sunk off the coast of Italy when Belfort, who was high on drugs at the time, insisted that the captain take the boat through a storm ( TheDailyBeast.com ). Listen to Belfort tell the story during The Room Live 's Jordan Belfort interview . As he states in the interview, his helicopter didn't fall off the boat during the storm like in the movie. Instead, they had to push the helicopter off of the top deck of the boat to make room for the rescue chopper to drop down an Italian Navy commando.

How long did FBI agent Gregory Coleman spend tracking Jordan Belfort and his firm?

FBI agent Gregory Coleman, renamed Patrick Denham for the film and portrayed by actor Kyle Chandler, made tracking Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont, a top priority for six years. In an interview ( watch here ), Coleman says that the factors that drew his attention to the firm were "the flashiness, the brashness of their activities, the blatantness of the way they were soliciting people and cold calling people, and the number of victims that were complaining on a daily basis." -CNBC

Did Jordan really strike his wife?

Yes. The Wolf of Wall Street movie shows Jordan (Leonardo DiCaprio) hitting his wife (Margot Robbie) with his hand and fist. According to his memoir, he actually kicked his wife Nadine down the stairs while he was holding his daughter. She landed on her right side with "tremendous force."

Did Belfort really endanger his 3-year-old daughter's life by crashing his car through the garage door?

Yes. In real life, he put his daughter Chandler in the front seat of the car without a seat belt on, before crashing it through the garage door and then driving full speed into a six-foot-high limestone pillar at the edge of the driveway. Like in the movie, he was high at the time.

Tommy Chong was Jordan Belfort's cellmate in prison and encouraged him to write the book. What was Jordan Belfort's punishment?

When he was finally arrested in 1998 for money laundering and securities fraud, Jordan Belfort was sentenced to four years in prison. This was after agreeing to wear a wire and provide the FBI with information to help prosecute various friends and associates. In the end, the true story reveals that he served only 22 months in a California federal prison. His cellmate in prison was Tommy Chong of "Cheech and Chong" fame, who was serving a nine month sentence for selling bongs. -TheDailyBeast.com

What inspired Jordan Belfort to write his memoir?

It wasn't so much a what as it was a who. Tommy Chong (one half of "Cheech and Chong") was Jordan Belfort's cellmate in prison. After laughing at some of Belfort's stories from his days running the firm, Chong encouraged him to write a book. -TheDailyBeast.com

Why is Jordan Belfort's memoir filled with so many exclamations?

Jordan Belfort attempted to model his writing after Hunter S. Thompson ( Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ), who was known for using plenty of exclamation points.

What happened to Belfort's partner, Danny Porush, portrayed by Jonah Hill in the movie?

Danny Porush, renamed Donnie Azoff for the movie and played by actor Jonah Hill, served 39 months in prison for his part in the corrupt dealings of Stratton Oakmont, the firm that he co-founded with Jordan Belfort. Porush currently runs a medical supply business in Florida, where he lives with his second wife Lisa in a $4 million mansion. A 2008 Forbes article pointed out his company's fraudulent tactics, which included trying to persuade people to order diabetic supplies and getting them to provide information about their physicians that could be used to bill Medicare. A number of complaints surfaced accusing Porush's company of sending unsolicited packages that were accompanied by unexpected Medicare charges. Back in 2001, Porush was arrested in connection to a fraud scheme surrounding Noble & Perrault Collectibles, a company that sold commemorative coins over the phone. Victims saw their credit cards charged repeatedly, at times for thousands of dollars, while often never receiving any merchandise for purchases that were largely unauthorized to begin with. -Sun Sentinel Enjoying a well-to-do life in Florida, Daniel Porush and his wife drive matching Rolls-Royce Corniche convertibles. With regard to The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Porush said, "I really have no comment other than to say I would never try to profit from a crime I'm so remorseful for." -NYPost.com

I heard that Jordan Belfort is a motivational speaker, is that true?

How much did Jordan Belfort earn from his books and the movie?

Catching the Wolf of Wall Street includes more of Belfort's outrageous stories that were not included in his first book. As we investigated The Wolf of Wall Street true story, we discovered that Jordan's books, The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street , netted him a $1 million advance from Random House. He also earned $1 million for the film rights to his story ( TheDailyBeast.com ). In a response to criticism over these profits and future profits from the movie, Jordan Belfort said the following via his Facebook page, "I am not turning over 50% of the profits of the books and the movie, which was what the government had wanted me to do. Instead, I insisted on turning over 100% of the profits of both books and the movie, which is to say, I am not making a single dime on any of this." According to Jordan, the money is being used to pay back the millions still owed to those who were scammed by his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont.

Does Jordan Belfort have a cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street movie?

Yes, the real Jordan Belfort appears at the end of the movie as the person who introduces Leonardo DiCaprio's character before he takes the stage at his Straight Line seminar.

Have any other movies been based on Jordan Belfort's story?

Yes, but only loosely. The brokerage firm in the movie Boiler Room , released in 2000, was inspired by the illegal practices of Jordan Belfort's Stratton Oakmont firm. In the movie, actor Ben Affleck portrays Jim Young, the Belfort-esque co-founder of the firm, who, like Jordan Belfort, trains his brokers in the "pump and dump" scheme. -NYTimes.com

Watch The Wolf of Wall Street movie trailer. Also, view Jordan Belfort interviews and home video footage of him speaking at a Stratton Oakmont party in the 1990s.

• Jordan Belfort's Website
• Danny Porush's Website (played by Jonah Hill)
• Mark Hanna's Website (played by Matthew McConaughey)
• The Wolf of Wall Street Official Paramount Movie Site