if you have seen The Wolf of Wall Street, chances are you’ve heard of Jordan Belfort. Belfort is an entrepreneur, former stockbroker, speaker and author.
However, he has a long and checkered past that has landed him in prison. If you haven’t heard of him, this article will give you an insight into who Jordan Belfort is and what his net worth is!
early life
Jordan Belfort was born in 1962 in the Bronx. His Jewish parents were accountants. Belfort would go on to complete high school and go on to college.
It was during this time that Belfort and his friend Elliot Lowenstern earned money by selling Italian ice on the local beach. He served them from the cooler itself. Belfort graduated from American University where he received a degree in biology. His idea was to go to dental school with the money he earned on the beach.
He would go on to enroll at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. However, on the first day, the dean said, “The golden age of dentistry is over. If you’re only here because you want to make a lot of money, you’re in the wrong place.”
That’s why he left because of that.
business career
Jordan Belfort would become a meat and seafood salesman in Long Island. The business was originally successful and was selling thousands of pounds of meat and fish every week. However, the business would fail and he would have to file for bankruptcy at just 25 years old.
Thanks to a family friend, Belfort was an apprentice stockbroker at LF Rothschild (no relation to the Rothschild family). However, he was ousted due to the market crash of 1987 known as Black Monday.
stratton oakmont
Jordan Belfort established a franchise of Stratton Securities known as Stratton Oakmont. However, the Oakmont was intended to be a boiler room. A boiler room is an outbound call center that sells questionable investments via telephone. That would be defrauding boiler room investors.
Because of this, Belfort made a lot of money, would have massive parties, and used a lot of drugs, most notably methaqualone which was sold under the name “Qualude”. He will then start an addiction because of it.
Oakmont had made impressive progress with over a billion shares traded with over a thousand stockbrokers. Because of its reputation, the firm was under constant surveillance by law enforcement for its entire existence.
In late 1996, the National Association of Securities Dealers (currently the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) would oust the firm which it liquidated. Nearly three years later, Belfort would be charged with money laundering and securities fraud.
legal troubles
Jordan Belfort will take a plea deal from the FBI for leading a pump-and-dump scam that caused investors to lose $200 million. He must pay more than $110 million and serve 22 months of a four-year sentence. Belfort shared a cell with Canadian comedian Tommy Chong, who encouraged him to write about his life. This gave them a life-long friendship after both were released.
In fact, Belfort thanked Chong for his new direction in life and went on to become an author and motivational speaker. Belfort said this about the crimes he committed, “I got greedy. … Greed is not good. Ambition is good, passion is good. Passion flourishes. My goal is to give more than I get, this is a permanent form of success. … Ninety-five percent of the business was legitimate. … It was all brokerage firm issues. It was all legal, had nothing to do with the liquidation of shares.
life now and net worth
Jordan Belfort wrote two memoirs titled catching the wolf of wall street And The Wolf of Wall Street.
He used to give motivational speeches around the world like Saudi Arabia and Australia. He focuses on motivation, ethics, salesmanship, and entrepreneurship.
Belfort has been married and divorced twice and has two children. Jordan Belfort’s net worth is a bit complicated because he had to pay a hefty fine for his crimes. Thus, he should be worth somewhere between $40 million and $100 million. However, thanks to memoirs and royalties, she is believed to be worth around $100 million. In fact, he still owns a mansion, has several cars, and more.
conclusion
Jordan Belfort has led an interesting life. Having inspired many with his attitude and former lifestyle, Belfort remains a controversial figure in modern American history.
But, it goes on to say that you should never commit a financial crime. Otherwise, you may end up in jail and not all of us have the means to write about our experiences of becoming rich again.
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Tim Worstell is a strategic influencer in digital marketing and leadership. As an entrepreneur, he is always on the lookout for opportunities to help companies grow and reach their full potential. Building strong relationships with partners has been critical to making Adogy, a profitable growth marketing agency. Adogy is a company specializing in thought leadership and SEO.
Source: gritdaily.com
