Two years later, Belfort found himself out of the brokerage business. Securities and Exchange Commission sought to end Stratton Oakmont's shady stock operation in 1992, claiming that the company had defrauded investors and manipulated stock prices. As Belfort told the New York Post, "It's easier to get rich quick when you don't follow the rules." Trouble With the Law The employees were also urged to live by the motto, "Don't hang up until the customer buys or dies." Their hard-sell tactics paid off in the short term. An assistant at the firm was once paid $5,000 to allow some of the company's traders to shave her head. Substance abuse, sex and horseplay were the norm at Stratton Oakmont's Long Island, New York, offices. His addiction also contributed to the break-up of his second marriage.īelfort encouraged reckless behavior in his employees, as well. Belfort was involved in several accidents due to his drug use, including crashing his helicopter into his own yard and sinking his yacht-which once belonged to designer Coco Chanel-while under the influence. He also developed a serious drug habit, becoming especially fond of Quaaludes. He spent lavishly, buying a mansion, sports cars and other expensive toys. His brokers pushed stocks onto their unsuspecting clients, which helped inflate the stocks' prices, then the company would sell off its own holdings in these stocks at a great profit.Īwash with cash, Belfort lived the high life. With his partner, Danny Porush, Belfort raked in cash using a "pump and dump" scheme. Two years later, Belfort was operating his own trading company, Stratton Oakmont. He started working for a brokerage firm, learning in the ins and outs of being a stockbroker. In 1987, Belfort put his sales skills to use in a different arena. A natural salesman, he eventually launched a business selling meat and seafood, but the company soon went belly up. The son of an accountant, Belfort grew up in a modest apartment in Queens. Early Life and Careerīorn on July 9, 1962, in Queens, New York, Jordan Ross Belfort became infamous for his role in swindling millions of dollars from investors in the 1990s through his investment firm, Stratton Oakmont. The following year, he released Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. Belfort published his first memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street, in 2008. He was sentenced in 2003 to four years in prison but only served 22 months. In 1999, Belfort pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering. The Securities Exchange Commission began efforts to stop the company's errant ways in 1992. The company made millions illegally, defrauding its investors. He was running his own investment operation, Stratton Oakmont, by 1989. After that company went bust, Belfort began selling stocks in 1987. Jordan Belfort had a natural talent as a salesman at an early age, operating a meat and seafood business in the 1980s.
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