Jordan Belfort: From Infamy To Fame

How Much is Jordan Belfort Worth?

Let’s cut to the chase—Jordan Belfort, the guy who calls himself "The Wolf of Wall Street," isn’t exactly sitting on a pile of cash. In fact, his net worth is reported to be a staggering negative $100 million. Why? Because this former stockbroker turned author and motivational speaker owes a whole lot of money to people he defrauded back in the 1990s.

Belfort made a name for himself running Stratton Oakmont, a brokerage firm that engaged in some seriously shady practices. Between 1989 and 1996, he and his team orchestrated pump-and-dump schemes that swindled hundreds of millions of dollars from innocent investors. In 1999, Belfort and his co-founder, Danny Porush, were indicted for securities fraud and money laundering. They both pleaded guilty, but their prison sentences were shortened because they cooperated with prosecutors.

Of course, you’ve probably heard of Belfort because of the 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. While the movie brought him fame, it also drew criticism for glorifying his crimes and downplaying the devastating impact on his victims. Many of those victims were everyday people who couldn’t afford to lose the money they lost. And if that wasn’t enough, Belfort even got a cameo in the movie, further cementing his celebrity status.

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Repaying the Victims: A Rocky Road

During his criminal career, Jordan Belfort bilked around $200 million from 1,513 victims. When he was sentenced in 2003, the court ordered him to repay $110 million in restitution. He also faced a four-year prison sentence, which was reduced to 22 months after he worked as an FBI informant and wore a wire to help incriminate former partners and associates. He was released in April 2008.

Initially, Belfort was supposed to pay 50% of his gross income to his victims. However, between 2007 and 2009, he only managed to pay $700,000. Then, in 2010, he paid nothing at all. Things got even more complicated in 2011 when he sold the film rights to his memoirs for over $1 million. Despite this windfall, he only paid $21,000 toward restitution that year. The U.S. government eventually intervened, and Red Granite Pictures (the production company behind the movie) paid $125,000 directly to the government in 2012.

In 2013, the government adjusted his restitution plan, requiring him to pay a minimum of $10,000 per month for life. To date, Belfort has repaid roughly $13-14 million, with most of that coming from the sale of property seized at sentencing. That leaves him still owing about $100 million to his victims.

In 2018, prosecutors dragged Belfort back to court over the roughly $9 million he earned in speaking fees between 2013 and 2015. Allegedly, none of this money was paid toward restitution.

Where Did “The Wolf of Wall Street” Nickname Come From?

Here’s a fun fact: contrary to popular belief, Jordan Belfort was never actually called "The Wolf of Wall Street" during his days as a stockbroker. That nickname came much later—when he was writing his memoir in prison. Yep, you read that right. Belfort gave himself the moniker while behind bars.

According to some reports, his cellmate, Cheech and Chong star Tommy Chong, encouraged him to write the memoir. And let’s be honest, "The Wolf of Wall Street" sounds a lot catchier than "The Twisted Robin Hood of Long Island," which is how Forbes magazine actually referred to him in a 1991 article. That article, titled "Steaks, Stocks – What’s the Difference?" (a nod to Belfort’s earlier career selling steaks door-to-door), described his business model as "pushing dicey stocks on gullible investors." At no point did Forbes ever call him a wolf.

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A Look Back: Early Life

Jordan Ross Belfort was born in The Bronx, New York, on July 9, 1962. He grew up in Bayside, Queens, in a Jewish family. As a kid, he and a close friend made $20,000 selling Italian ice from coolers to beachgoers during the summer between high school and college. Belfort went on to graduate from American University with a degree in biology. He even enrolled in dental school at the University of Maryland but dropped out on the first day when a faculty member told him dentistry wasn’t a way to get rich.

A Career Built on Risk

Before he became a stockbroker, Belfort sold meat and seafood door-to-door on Long Island. His meat-selling business grew into a small empire, employing several people and selling 5,000 pounds of beef and fish every week. But when he was 25, he filed for bankruptcy and found a job as a stockbroker trainee at L.F. Rothschild. Allegedly, his first boss told him the keys to success were masturbation, cocaine, and hookers. After the 1987 Black Monday stock market crash, he was laid off, but he was hooked on the idea of making the kind of money the more senior stockbrokers did.

In the late 1980s, Belfort worked for several financial firms, honing his sales pitch. By 1989, he was ready to strike out on his own and founded Stratton Oakmont. The firm specialized in penny stocks and operated in a high-pressure "boiler room" environment. Belfort used a pump-and-dump scheme to defraud his investors. At its peak, Stratton Oakmont employed over 1,000 stockbrokers and managed over $1 billion in assets. But the National Association of Securities Dealers was on to him. In December 1996, the NASD expelled Stratton Oakmont from its membership, and the firm went out of business.

Belfort allegedly laundered his ill-gotten gains into Swiss banks with the help of his mother-in-law and his wife’s aunt. During his time at Stratton Oakmont, he threw wild parties that included midget-tossing contests and other debauchery.

A New Chapter: Motivational Speaking

After serving his prison sentence, Belfort reinvented himself as a motivational speaker. He started a company called Global Motivation, Inc., and spent about three weeks a month traveling to deliver speeches on the importance of ethics in business and learning from mistakes. He charges between $30,000 and $75,000 for a single speaking engagement and $80,000 and up for sales seminars. However, his speeches haven’t always been well-received. Critics have pointed out the irony of someone who once flouted financial regulations now preaching about ethics.

Writing His Way to Redemption?

Belfort has also found success as an author. His memoirs, "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Catching the Wolf of Wall Street," have been published in approximately 40 countries and translated into 18 languages. The first book was turned into a blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Margot Robbie, directed by Martin Scorsese. He also wrote "Way of the Wolf: Become a Master Closer with Straight Line Selling," released in 2017.

A Life of Excess

During his years at Stratton Oakmont, Belfort lived a lavish lifestyle, throwing extravagant parties and indulging in recreational drugs, especially quaaludes. His former head of security, Bo Dietl, once said he never saw Belfort sober while working for him and revealed that Belfort had ties to organized crime.

Belfort’s personal life has been equally tumultuous. He married his first wife, Denise Lombardo, in 1985, but they divorced in 1991. He then married British-born model Nadine Caridi in 1991. They had two children together but divorced in 2005 after she accused him of domestic violence, likely fueled by drugs. In 2008, he married Anne Koppe, but they divorced in 2020. Belfort began dating Cristina Invernizzi in 2021.

One of his most infamous escapades involved the luxury yacht Nadine, named after his second wife. The yacht, originally built for designer Coco Chanel, sank off the coast of Sardinia in June 1996 after Belfort insisted on sailing it in high winds despite the captain’s warnings. Thankfully, everyone on board was rescued by the Italian Navy’s Special Forces.

The Long Island Mansion That Cost Him

In October 1992, Belfort dropped $5.775 million on a 9,000-square-foot mansion in Old Brookeville, New York. But in 2001, the federal government seized the property to pay back some of his victims. The mansion was sold for $2.53 million, and it hit the market again in 2015 for $4.75 million. By August 2018, the price had been slashed to $2.89 million, and it finally sold in October 2018 for $2.4 million.