The real-life Wolf of Wall Street tells finews.asia about his new life after serving jail time over a penny-stock scam, how he smelled corruption at 1MDB in a movie deal, and why he supports Donald Trump.
Belfort granted finews.asia an exclusive interview ahead of an appearance in Switzerland in May. Next week, read about why he voted for Trump, how he was corrupted by Wall Street’s endemic greed, how he smelled corruption surrounding 1MDB, which allegedly bankrolled the blockbuster movie based on his book, and how he lives now. Excerpts of the interview, which in a finews.asia first has been edited to remove some, but not all, profanity, will be published in German and English.
Jordan Belfort, real-life Wolf of Wall Street, is angry about the state of America today.
«I started having fights with my own mother about it because she’s saying ‚he’s a racist bigot‘ and I’m like ‚don’t fucking say that!’»
I'm sitting opposite Belfort in the tastefully-decorated living room of the spacious 1920s beachfront home he shares with his fiancé Anne Koppe, a short walk from the pier in a mellow and undemanding surfer town in Los Angeles. His blunt talk is at odds with the dancing Shiva statue behind him and the calm tone exuded by the Buddhist and American antique touches accentuating the home’s hardwood floors and arched ceilings.
Domesticated Wolf
The 53-year-old is at his most animated talking about why he voted for Donald Trump, against the wishes of his elderly, liberal Jewish parents, an accountant and a lawyer who have lived in the same modest Queens apartment for 56 years. He credits them with instilling him with values like honesty, integrity, ethics and the value of hard work.
Belfort monumentalized himself as the cocaine-snorting, Quaaludes-dropping, sex-crazed frat boy anti-hero in his book, «The Wolf of Wall Street», after he spent 22 months in jail for a penny-stock scam more than a decade ago.
Martin Scorsese filmed «Wolf» four years ago with Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort, a role which won the actor Golden Globe and Critic's Choice awards. «Wolf» took in $392 million at the box office, but was soon mired in a scandal of its own after U.S. authorities alleged that corruption money was used to finance it.
The Wolf before me is a domesticated one: these days, you are more likely to find him binge-watching American television series at home with Anne than gorging on Quaaludes. Dressed in a black Nike tennis polo, jeans, and black designer sneakers, Belfort is trim, muscular, bright-eyed, and utterly engaging in a rare, wide-ranging 90-minute interview with finews.com.
Bashing Trump
First sampling a takeout smoothie before switching to a Red Bull, he is also angry as he criticizes the media’s framing of public figures. Belfort is talking about Trump’s campaign, but he could be talking about his own sordid past, which has made him a tabloid staple.
«The more I saw, the more I wanted to vote for him. It gets to me, to the core of my values to bash someone – I’ve been on the receiving end of it, not to that level, but where people refuse to write the truth about me and they inject their own narrative they were feeding and I got really upset.»
Now an author and sales trainer, Belfort is supersonic-speed talker, keeping even a native speaker like me (pictured above with Belfort) on their toes. The rough edges of Queens and Long Island, where he spent his early years, are unmistakable in his speech, which is laced liberally with the f-bomb for emphasis. Like most hawkers, he is completely at home with hyperbole.
Californian Refuge
Belfort followed his ex-wife to California after he was released from jail to be nearer to his son and daughter, who are now college-age. He sports a prominent tattoo on his left upper-arm with the names of his two children as well as Anne’s son. These days, his only indulgence appears to be tennis – playing and watching – and he credits Roger Federer with his love of Switzerland.
His current focus is on finishing his third book – «the book’s killing us right now,» Anne tells me. Later, she plays me an iPhone video («show her! show her!» Belfort urges his fiancé) of him hammering out a line at glacial pace, word for painstaking word as she watches quietly. His first book was 515 pages and the second 466: despite his party-boy past, Belfort isn’t afraid of hard work.
«I believe part of being successful is doing the things that you don’t want to do, even when you don’t want to do them,» Belfort tells me.
Restitution Unresolved
His detractors have criticized him for what they see as Belfort’s making money by glorifying his former, fraudulent ways. Unsurprisingly, he has argued the opposite and called his new work life redeeming: the more he earns, the more he can pay back to investors who lost money. A U.S. government proceeding over $110 million he is required to pay in restitution is still unresolved; the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn declines to comment to finews.com on the status.
He is still friendly with Greg Coleman, the former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent who pursued him for years and was instrumental in bringing him down. Coleman, who retired from the FBI two years ago and is now a New York-based consultant, is complimentary of Belfort, but says his behavior can rankle outside of a professional setting.
"I think he’s a very bright individual, I do think he has tremendous sales abilities. Does he move quickly? Yes. Do I think that’s always to his advantage? No. From a selling standpoint, it's worked for him. But on a more personal level, I think a lot of people find that sort of interaction annoying,» Coleman told finews.com.
«That's Not Who I Am Now»
Belfort doesn’t adopt the more apologetic or redemptive stance that others in similar positions, like Barings rogue trader Nick Leeson or, more recently, UBS’ Kweku Adoboli, have, but those who watched him rebuild his life after jail say they can spot an evolution.
«I’ve watched him go through a metamorphosis with the books and the movie. Initially, there seemed to be an attempt to mischaracterize some of the bad things he did, most notably the quality of the companies involved in his deals, but I think he’s finally given up on that and is more accepting: 'that was then, that was what I did, that's not who I am now,’» former agent Coleman said.
The thousands of «Wolf» devotees on social media underscore the thin line between Belfort's previous life and his current one. «After watching your film and read [sic] your book I start to trading [sic]...you are my fuckin hero!» exhorts one in a you-da-man style reminiscent of bygone days.
Third Book in the Works
Belfort has dialed back his speaking engagements from the frantic pace after «Wolf» was released in theaters four years ago, increasingly focusing on consulting at undisclosed private investments. He sleeps two hours a night – or in Belfort parlance, «I don’t sleep». He rarely goes out, at least until he has hammered out his third book, which business partner Anne reminds him he should be working on «24/7».
He is vague on his involvement in another project which does something «phenomenally successful» with «the richest people in the world» – but it is evident that he is delighted to be back in the game. Belfort also makes no secret that he enjoys earning money, and being rich still suits him: pictures of him and Anne flying on private jets abound on social media.
«Can't Have It Both Ways»
Work and play seem to flow into one for him: a minder for Belfort asks me whether I would be able move our interview in Los Angeles to Tahoe, a ski resort 650 kilometers north of the city. Already facing a more than 12-hour flight from Zurich, I politely demur and we settle on a later date – when the Wolf is back in LA.
Despite the «Wolf» moniker, Belfort is earnest in his desire to do business legitimately and live an «honest, clean life,» former agent Coleman says.
«Will he be always tied to his past life? Of course. You can’t have the benefit of your criminal life being made into a Martin Scorsese movie with Leonardo DiCaprio playing you and then try to disconnect from your past. You can’t have it both ways.»
