Jordan Belfort Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Jordan Belfort’s Net Worth

An American former stockbroker, convicted felon, and author, Jordan Belfort has a net worth of negative $100 million. Although commonly known as “the wolf of Wall Street,” it’s important to note that during his tenure in finance, he was never referred to by that name on Wall Street; he created that nickname for himself while writing his memoir from prison.

From 1989 to 1996, Jordan operated the financial firm Stratton Oakmont, which was involved in pump-and-dump schemes that deceived thousands of innocent victims, accumulating losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. In 1999, along with his co-founder Danny Porush, Belfort faced indictments for securities fraud and money laundering, to which they both pleaded guilty. Their sentences were mitigated in exchange for their cooperation with prosecutors.

The 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese, portrays aspects of Jordan’s life, albeit loosely. One could contend that the filmmakers engaged in ethical malpractice by glorifying Belfort without adequately addressing the havoc wreaked on the lives of the actual victims of their fraudulent activities. Many of these victims were everyday individuals who could not afford the massive financial losses incurred. To worsen matters, Belfort made a cameo appearance towards the film’s conclusion, further enhancing his public image and enabling him to rebrand as a motivational speaker. Contrarily, the 2000 movie “Boiler Room,” which also draws inspiration from Belfort and Stratton Oakmont, offers a more serious depiction of the consequences faced by victims of financial fraud.

Restitution

Throughout his era of deception, Jordan embezzled approximately $200 million from 1,513 victims. During his sentencing in 2003, the court mandated him to repay $110 million as restitution. Additionally, he was sentenced to four years in prison, a term shortened after he cooperated with the FBI and recorded conversations that implicated several former partners and associates. He ultimately served 22 months and was released in April 2008.

Under the initial conditions of his restitution, Jordan was required to remit 50% of his gross earnings to his 1,513 victims. Between 2007 and 2009, he contributed $700,000 towards fulfilling this obligation, but in 2010, he made no payments at all.

In 2011, Jordan sold the film rights to his two memoirs to Red Granite Pictures for $1.045 million, receiving $940,500 upfront and set to earn an additional $250,000 in 2012. Given his restitution agreement, he should have transmitted approximately $500,000 to his victims in 2011; however, he only paid $21,000 that year. Following this, the US government compelled Red Granite to directly remit $125,000 from his 2012 earnings, resulting in a total payment of $158,000 for that year.

In 2013, an agreement was reached with the United States government to modify his restitution plan, changing it from 50% of gross income to a minimum payment of $10,000 each month for life.

As of now, Jordan has only repaid approximately $13-14 million towards his restitution, with the majority of that amount ($11 million) deriving from the sale of property forfeited during his sentencing. Thus, he still owes around $100 million to his victims.

In 2018, prosecutors brought Jordan back to court regarding the nearly $9 million in speaking fees he had accrued from 2013 to 2015, which he allegedly failed to apply towards restitution.

Invented “Wolf of Wall Street” Nickname

The 203 film is loosely inspired by Jordan’s memoir from 2007, which shares the same title, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Given the shared titles of both the book and movie, along with the frequent use of that nickname in various interviews and articles featuring Jordan, one might conclude that he was often referred to as “the wolf of Wall Street” throughout his financial career. This is utterly FALSE. In fact, Jordan Belfort was never known as “the Wolf of Wall Street” during the height of his financial dealings.

So, where did this moniker originate? In actuality, Jordan created that nickname while penning his memoir during his time in prison. It is suggested that his cellmate, Cheech and Chong actor Tommy Chong, pushed him to write the memoir.

The film presents the “wolf of Wall Street” nickname as if it was coined by a Forbes writer in a 1991 cover story. This, however, is misleading. The real Forbes article carried the title, “Steaks, Stocks – What’s the Difference?,” referencing Jordan’s previous career selling steaks and seafood door-to-door on Long Island before switching to stock brokering. The piece later characterized Jordan as a “twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers.” It also portrayed his business approach as “pushing dicey stocks on gullible investors.” Nowhere does it label him as a “wolf.”

Early Life

Born in The Bronx, New York, on July 9, 1962, Jordan Ross Belfort was raised in Bayside, Queens, within a Jewish household. Between high school and college, Belfort, along with a close friend, generated $20,000 by selling Italian ice from coolers to beachgoers during the summer months. He completed his studies at American University with a degree in biology and subsequently enrolled in dental school at the University of Maryland; however, he left after

When a faculty member remarked on the first day of classes that becoming a dentist wasn’t a route to wealth.

Career

On Long Island, New York, Belfort sold meat and seafood door-to-door. His initial one-man meat-selling operation expanded into a company that employed multiple individuals and sold 5,000 pounds of beef and fish each week. At the age of 25, he declared bankruptcy and secured a position as a stockbroker trainee at L.F. Rothschild. It has been reported that Belfort’s first supervisor conveyed the notion that success came from masturbation, cocaine, and hookers. Following the 1987 Black Monday stock market crash, he was let go from this firm. Despite this disappointment, Belfort became captivated by the idea of earning the significant salaries that senior stockbrokers achieved. In the latter part of the 1980s, he worked with several financial firms, absorbing as much knowledge as possible. He refined his sales pitch and decided to establish his own firm in 1989.

In the early 1990s, Belfort launched Stratton Oakmont. The firm specialized in marketing penny stocks in a high-pressure boiler room environment. Through a pump-and-dump scheme, Belfort defrauded investors. At Stratton Oakmont’s peak, the firm had over 1,000 stockbrokers and managed more than $1 billion. Nevertheless, the National Association of Securities Dealers was already onto the activities of Belfort and Stratton Oakmont, monitoring the firm’s transactions closely. In December 1996, they expelled Stratton Oakmont from their membership, leading to the firm’s closure.

Reportedly, Belfort laundered funds into Swiss banks with the assistance of his mother-in-law and his wife’s aunt, who helped in smuggling the money to Switzerland. During his time at Stratton Oakmont, he allegedly hosted extravagant parties that featured midget-tossing contests.

Motivational Speaking Career

After serving his prison sentence, Belfort rebranded himself as a motivational speaker by founding Global Motivation, Inc. He dedicates approximately three weeks each month to traveling and giving speeches on the significance of ethics in business and the value of learning from one’s mistakes. In the 1990s, for example, he justified violating financial regulations because many others were doing the same. Engaging Belfort for a speaking event will set you back $30,000 to $75,000, while his sales seminars start at $80,000. His speeches haven’t garnered favorable reviews, with many expressing disapproval of his anecdotes about flouting financial regulations during 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 been published in around 40 countries and translated into 18 different 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 penned “Way of the Wolf: Become a Master Closer with Straight Line Selling,” which was released in 2017.

Personal Life

Throughout his time at Stratton, Belfort lived a life of opulence.

Frequent parties were thrown by him, and he also indulged in recreational drugs, particularly methaqualone, also known as quaaludes. Bo Dietl, his former head of security, revealed in an interview that he never witnessed Belfort being sober during his employment and mentioned Belfort’s substantial connections to the Mob.

During his tenure at Stratton Oakmont, Belfort divorced his first wife, Denise Lombardo, with whom he was married from 1985 to 1991. In 1991, he wed British model Nadine Caridi, whom he met at a party. Together they had two children, Chandler and Carter. Their relationship ended when she accused him of domestic violence (presumably fueled by drugs), leading to their divorce in 2005. In 2008, Belfort married Anne Koppe, but they divorced in 2020. In 2021, he began dating Cristina Invernizzi.

His prison cellmate was Tommy Chong, who motivated Belfort to write “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Belfort purchased the luxury yacht Nadine, which originally belonged to renowned designer Coco Chanel and was built in 1961. He renamed the yacht in honor of his second wife. The vessel sank off the coast of Sardinia in June 1996, but all those onboard were rescued by the Italian Navy’s Special Forces. Later on, Belfort confessed that he had insisted on sailing the yacht in adverse weather conditions despite warnings from the ship’s captain.

Long Island Mansion

Jordan acquired a mansion in Old Brookeville, New York, for $5.775 million in October 1992, which spanned 9,000 square feet and encompassed two acres. In 2001, this mansion was seized by the federal government, which then sold it to provide restitution to some of Belfort’s fraud victims. The government sold the property for $2.53 million in March 2001. In 2015, it was listed on the market for $4.75 million. By August 2018, the price had dropped to $2.89 million, and ultimately, it was sold for $2.4 million in October 2018.