Jordan Belfort Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Jordan Belfort’s Net Worth

Jordan Belfort, a former stockbroker from America, author, and convicted felon, possesses a net worth of negative $100 million. Although he is commonly known as “the wolf of Wall Street,” this nickname was never used by anyone on Wall Street during his financial career. Instead, he adopted it while penning his memoir from prison.

From 1989 to 1996, Jordan managed the financial company Stratton Oakmont, which executed pump-and-dump schemes that defrauded innocent individuals of hundreds of millions of dollars. In 1999, both he and his co-founder, Danny Porush, faced indictments for securities fraud and money laundering. Ultimately, they pled guilty, with their sentences being reduced in return for cooperation with prosecutors.

The 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese, loosely depicted Jordan’s life. Some might argue that the filmmakers ethically mishandled the portrayal, inadvertently glorifying Jordan Belfort. At the very least, they failed to adequately represent the devastation that Jordan and Stratton Oakmont’s actions inflicted on real victims. Many of these victims were simple individuals who couldn’t afford the losses they experienced. In a troubling twist, Belfort made a cameo appearance in the film, which significantly elevated his public image and propelled him into a career as a motivational speaker. Conversely, the 2000 film “Boiler Room,” which was also based on Belfort and Stratton Oakmont, offers a far more reasonable perspective on the effects of financial pump-and-dump fraudulent activities on victims.

Restitution

Throughout his fraudulent activities, Jordan embezzled approximately $200 million from 1,513 victims. At his sentencing in 2003, he was instructed to repay $110 million in restitution, in addition to serving four years in prison—a reduced sentence stemming from his role as an FBI informant, where he wore a wire to implicate several former collaborators. He ultimately spent 22 months incarcerated, being released in April 2008.

Under the initial restitution agreement, Jordan was required to pay 50% of his gross income back to the 1,513 victims. Between 2007 and 2009, he managed to pay $700,000 towards this amount but contributed nothing in 2010.

In 2011, Jordan sold the film rights to his two memoirs to Red Granite Pictures for $1.045 million, receiving $940,500 upfront and an additional $250,000 expected in 2012. Based on his restitution obligations, he should have compensated his victims around $500,000 that year; instead, he only paid $21,000. In 2012, the U.S. government intervened, urging Red Granite to directly pay $125,000 (half of his $250k payment) to them. His total payment for that year was $158,000.

In 2013, the U.S. government consented to revise his restitution terms, adjusting the requirement from 50% of all gross income to a minimum payment of $10,000 each month for life.

As of now, Jordan has reimbursed approximately $13-14 million towards his restitution, primarily from the sale of property forfeited at sentencing amounting to about $11 million. Consequently, he still owes around $100 million to his victims.

In 2018, prosecutors brought Jordan back to court concerning around $9 million he earned from speaking engagements between 2013 and 2015, indicating he had not allocated any of those funds to restitution.

Origin of the “Wolf of Wall Street” Nickname

The 203 film draws inspiration from Jordan’s 2007 memoir, which shares the same title, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Given that both the book and movie titles exist and that interviews and articles frequently refer to Jordan by that nickname, one might assume that he was widely known as “the wolf of Wall Street” throughout his finance career. This assumption is completely inaccurate. In reality, Jordan Belfort was never referred to as “the Wolf of Wall Street” during the height of his financial schemes.

So, how did this nickname originate? Remarkably, Jordan created the nickname himself while incarcerated and writing his memoir. It has been suggested that he was encouraged by his cellmate, Tommy Chong, known for his role in Cheech and Chong, to share his story in memoir form.

In the movie, funded by money stolen from the Malaysian government by fugitive Jho Low, the nickname “wolf of Wall Street” is presented as if a Forbes journalist conferred it upon Jordan in a magazine cover story from 1991. This claim is incorrect. The actual Forbes article was titled, “Steaks, Stocks – What’s the Difference?,” which highlighted Jordan’s prior experience selling steaks and seafood door-to-door on Long Island before becoming a stockbroker. Later in the piece, Jordan was described as a “twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his team of brokers.” Furthermore, it characterized his business practices as “pushing dubious stocks on unsuspecting investors.” At no point was he referred to as a “wolf.”

Background and Early Life

Born on July 9, 1962, Jordan Ross Belfort grew up in The Bronx, New York, within a Jewish household and later moved to Bayside, Queens. During the summer between high school and college, he and a close friend made $20,000 selling Italian ice from coolers to beachgoers. Belfort attended American University, where he earned a degree in biology. Subsequently, he enrolled in dental school at the University of Maryland, but eventually dropped out.

On the very first day of classes, a faculty member noted that becoming a dentist was not a path to wealth.

Career

Belfort began his career by selling meat and seafood directly to customers on Long Island, New York. What started as a one-man operation soon expanded into a company employing several people, selling 5,000 pounds of beef and fish every week. At the age of 25, he declared bankruptcy and secured a position as a stockbroker trainee at L.F. Rothschild. Reportedly, his first boss suggested that success hinged on masturbation, cocaine, and hookers. Following the Black Monday stock market crash in 1987, he was laid off from that firm. Nevertheless, the allure of earning the substantial incomes of senior stockbrokers captivated him. Throughout the late 1980s, Belfort took roles at various financial firms, absorbing everything he could about the industry. He fine-tuned his sales pitch and, in 1989, made the decision to establish his own firm.

In the early 1990s, Belfort established Stratton Oakmont. This firm operated in a boiler room environment, marketing penny stocks. Through a pump-and-dump scheme, he defrauded his investors. At the peak of Stratton Oakmont’s success, he had over 1,000 stockbrokers on staff and managed more than $1 billion. However, the National Association of Securities Dealers was onto Belfort and his firm, closely monitoring their transactions. In December 1996, Stratton Oakmont was expelled from its membership, leading to its eventual demise.

Reports indicate that Belfort laundered his earnings into Swiss banks, with assistance from his mother-in-law and his wife’s aunt in smuggling the funds into Switzerland. While operating Stratton Oakmont, he allegedly hosted extravagant parties featuring midget-tossing contests.

Motivational Speaking Career

After serving his prison sentence, Belfort transformed into a motivational speaker. He founded a company called Global Motivation, Inc., spending about three weeks each month traveling and giving speeches focused on the significance of ethics in business and the lessons learned from past errors. In the 1990s, for example, he believed he was justified in violating financial regulations due to others doing the same. Engaging Belfort for a speaking engagement typically costs between $30,000 and $75,000, while hiring him for a sales seminar starts at $80,000. He hasn’t received the best feedback regarding his speeches, with many criticizing his recounting of his past disregard for financial regulations from the 1990s.

Writing Career

Belfort is the author of the memoirs “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Catching the Wolf of Wall Street,” both of which have seen publication in about 40 countries and translation into 18 languages. “The Wolf of Wall Street” was adapted into a film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Margot Robbie, directed by Martin Scorsese. Additionally, he published “Way of the Wolf: Become a Master Closer with Straight Line Selling” in 2017.

Personal Life

Throughout his time at Stratton, Belfort indulged in a lifestyle of extravagance.and regularly hosted parties. Additionally, he engaged in the use of recreational drugs, particularly methaqualone, commonly known as quaaludes. In an interview, his former head of security, Bo Dietl, stated that he never witnessed Belfort sober during their time together and disclosed that Belfort had significant connections to the Mob.

During his tenure at Stratton Oakmont, Belfort and his first wife, Denise Lombardo, ended their marriage. Their marriage lasted from 1985 until 1991. In 1991, he tied the knot with British model Nadine Caridi after they met at a party. They had two children together, Chandler and Carter. Following allegations of domestic violence (possibly fueled by drugs), they separated and officially divorced in 2005. Belfort remarried in 2008 to Anne Koppe, but they divorced in 2020. In 2021, he began dating Cristina Invernizzi.

In prison, Belfort shared a cell with Tommy Chong, who motivated him to author “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The luxury yacht Nadine, originally designed for Coco Chanel in 1961, was purchased by Belfort. He renamed the yacht in honor of his second wife. In June 1996, the yacht sank near the coast of Sardinia, but all passengers were rescued by the Italian Navy’s Special Forces. Belfort later confessed that he had insisted on navigating the yacht in strong winds despite the captain’s advice against it.

Long Island Mansion

Jordan acquired a luxurious 9,000-square-foot mansion on two acres in Old Brookeville, New York, for $5.775 million in October 1992. In 2001, the federal government confiscated this mansion and subsequently sold it to compensate some of Belfort’s fraud victims. The home was sold by the government in March 2001 for $2.53 million. It went back on the market in 2015 with an asking price of $4.75 million. In August 2018, the price was reduced to $2.89 million. Ultimately, it sold in October 2018 for $2.4 million.