yacht party wolf of wall street

Join our Newsletter

Subscribe to B.H. Magazine

Share the article, recommended.

Your One-Stop-Shop Father’s Day Gift Guide For 2024

‘Friends of Laphroaig’ Is Your Ticket To Islay’s Most Exclusive Drams

The 18 Best Watches Under $5,000 You Can Buy In 2024

WIN: Nail Father’s Day With $2,999 Of Kit From The M.J. Bale Spring 2024 Collection

New iPhone 16 Leaks Rumour New Colours, A Replaceable Battery, And More

Related articles.

Uber Boat Is Launching Just In Time For Your Euro Summer Antics

The Candela C-8 Travels Above Water To Completely Reimagine Boating

Royal Huisman’s Project 406 Is The World’s Largest Purpose-Built Fishing Boat

Ferrari Is Officially Entering The Yacht Game

Steven Spielberg Takes Delivery On His Cinematic $250 Million Superyacht

The 33-Metre Sanlorenzo SP110 ‘Steel It’ Motor Yacht Is A Jet-Powered Masterpiece

Conor McGregor Enjoyed The Monaco Grand Prix From His $5.5 Million Lamborghini Yacht

BMW Debuts ‘The Icon’ Boat With Soundscape Designed By Hans Zimmer

Step Inside The 75m Kenshō: 2023’s Motor Yacht Of The Year

Russian Superyacht’s Crew Spends Past Year Playing ‘Call Of Duty’ & Chilling By Pool

Iconic Scenes: The Wolf of Wall Street – The Yacht Bribe

I love The Wolf of Wall Street . I think it is a spectacular film that seems to grow more relevant as time passes. I also think that the central character and narrator, Jordan Belfort, is not the most important or key character – that is Agent Denham. So I’m looking at the brilliant scene where Belfort and Denham first meet.

What Happens

Multi-millionaire and thoroughly corrupt stockbroker Jordan Belfort invites two FBI agents to his luxury yacht after he learns that they are investigating him. Agent Denham, and a virtually silent partner, arrive for what starts as a very friendly meeting. Belfort hands over some of the information the FBI has been trying to get while constantly trying to impress them with his wealth and insisting he’s done nothing wrong. Belfort draws Denham into a conversation and it seems the FBI agent is not happy at being given the case and would be willing to play ball with Belfort. At which point, Belfort tries to bribe Denham, and then the tone changes. It’s immediately obvious that Denham is not willing to play ball and is determined to bring Belfort down. The conversation gets increasingly acrimonious and ends with Belfort literally throwing lobsters and handfuls of cash at the departing FBI agents.

When you sail on a yacht fit for a Bond villain, sometimes you gotta act the part

DiCaprio is sensational in this scene. Despite getting very good advice not to contact the FBI and try some scheming, this is exactly what Belfort does. They meet on his insanely luxurious yacht, where Belfort has beautiful women lounging on chairs, he is dressed in bright white “yacht clothes” and constantly turning on his beaming smile. He offers them lobsters and drinks. It does not seem to occur to Belfort that showing off his immense, and ill-gotten wealth, might not be the best idea when you’re being investigated for crimes in the stock market.

Belfort’s attempt at bribery is fantastic. Basically detailing a story where he advised someone in need of money in what stocks to invest in and that person making a fortune and how Belfort “would be willing to do that for anyone”. When challenged about this being a bribe Belfort reveals he researched what legally constitutes a bribe and that wouldn’t count. Again, it’s a little suspicious for someone to be able to recite the criminal code of a crime if they’re not a lawyer.

Good for you, Little Man

Oh, Agent Denham, you film stealing hero. Denham is played by Kyle Chandler who, and this is important for the Denham role, is your go-to guy for American decency (if you need someone younger than Tom Hanks), he is probably best known for his role in Friday Night Lights where he played an honourable, upstanding and inspirational football coach. Denham’s casual chatting with Belfort seems to suggest he is not interested in the case and possibly dissatisfied with his job, the attempted bribe being when he flips to his real character.

As Belfort becomes more aggressive Denham responds in kind and leads to one of the all-time best deliveries, “Good for you, little man,” when sarcastically congratulating Belfort on becoming a Wall Street douchebag without any help from anyone else. Belfort is stunned by this comment but mainly in that he can’t understand it…he’s rich, really rich, how can he be a “little man”, he’s a giant. A colossus. The embodiment of the American Dream. The thing is, of course, Denham is right.

Fun Coupons

A lot of this scene is purely about status. Of all the places Belfort could have met with the FBI agents he chooses his insanely expensive yacht. He is obsessed with money and how much the FBI agents make, originally pretending to be sympathetic but quickly changing to just mocking them. Belfort assumes that because Denham works for the FBI for what to him is an insignificant amount of money he is a loser. The idea that Denham might believe in what he’s doing is either inconceivable or at best a pitiable weakness. To me, this is the best and most interesting scene in the whole film – not the drug-filled hedonistic parties, not the cult-like team talks Belfort gives his employees, not the incredibly charismatic phone calls Belfort makes when selling stocks but this scene where Denham sizes up Belfort and sees right through him.

Years ago David Cross and Bob Odenkirk made a sketch show called Mr. Show , which contained a sketch based on the premise “someone who makes more money than you is better than you”, so Van Gogh, Einstein and Galileo are actually pretty unsuccessful people. This is Jordan Belfort’s philosophy – he is better than just about everyone he meets because he is richer.

The Hero I’m Going To Be Back At The Office, When The Bureau seizes this boat!

All Belfort manages to do in this scene is upset the FBI and probably convince them that yes, he is absolutely breaking the law. It’s an interesting look at the dynamic of power in America (and indeed the whole world) – who is the more powerful person? Belfort with his huge personal wealth or Denham as a federal officer, a representative of the most powerful country on Earth. There was a lot of discussion at the time about if people actually saw Belfort as the hero of this film, that people liked him and wanted him to win. I saw this as Goodfellas but for white-collar crime. In this scene Belfort helps further his own downfall, antagonising the FBI. In the final moments of this scene, Belfort has just finished throwing money at Denham and his arrogance and deluded grandeur fade as he realises he has just made a terrible mistake.

Also Read: Iconic Scenes: American Psycho – Business Card Scene

Richard Norton

Gentleman, podcaster and pop culture nerd, I love talking and writing about pretty much all pop culture.

Share with friends

You may also like.

Grand Theft Auto: The Movie – Coming Soon?

Scorsese’s Silver Screen Legends: De Niro vs. DiCaprio

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Can Open For More Indigenous Storytelling and Talent

As WWE Revenue Hits Record Levels, Pro-Wrestling is Relishing Its Moment Back Into Mainstream Pop Culture

Rethinking Audience Development In The UK Independent Screen Sector In 2024

The New Frontier of the Western

Anatomy Of A Scene: The Godfather – Restaurant Scene

The New Hollywood: Streaming Giants

The Evolution of CGI In Movies

The Enduring Fascination of Kowloon Walled City in Cinema: 5 Films Inspired By The Infamous Enclave

The Art of Non-Linear Narratives: How Memento and Pulp Fiction Redefined Storytelling

Privacy overview.

{{pretitle}}

{{description}}

Playing Now

Footage of Jordan Belfort's 'insane' party that inspired 'Wolf of Wall Street’ scene resurfaces

Footage of one of Jordan Belfort’s actual house parties that inspired a ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ scene has resurfaced online.

In the video posted to YouTube by Comp Guy , Belfort can be seen standing on a balcony giving a speech about the success of his business. It’s a cocky speech to a crowd that’s ready to applaud the man that is no doubt funding their wild drug habits.

In the description of the video, Mr Guy writes that the video was taken in “the summer of 1991 - a few months before the infamous Forbes Magazine article " - one that criticised Belfort for his wild ways, but also shot him to a new level of fame. 

Martin Scorsese's 2013 film recreated one of Belfort’s lavish beach house parties in one memorable scene. It starts with Leonardo Dicaprio’s Belfort screaming to the crowd - far more intensely than the real-life footage, but just as confidently - before he eventually meets his second wife, Naomi (played by Margot Robbie). 

In the real-life footage, Belfort is already with his second wife, whose real name is Nadine. She can be seen at the four-minute and fourteen seconds mark of the video, quickly appearing to receive a kiss on the cheek from her multi-millionaire husband.

So apart from the intensity of the speech and the identity of Belfort's wife, the movie scene is pretty true to life (including not being suitable for younger audiences). 

Commenters on the resurfaced footage are full of people commending DiCaprio’s portrayal of Belfort, as well as a couple of people claiming that were at the party. 

“This party was friggin awesome,” wrote one person. “I was there and can say that the descriptions in Jordan's book of these parties were pretty spot on from my hazy recollections.”

“Leo should’ve won that Oscar!” said another. 

“The accent from Leo DiCaprio is spot on!” a third added. 

Despite definitely being sensationalised for the sake of cinema, it is pretty nuts to see actual footage of one of the world's most infamous party animals before it all came tumbling down. 

Discover more stories

Blink-182 fans torn: Are their two new songs ‘rippers' or 'out of place'?

Irish bloke's unreal yarn about how he accidentally inspired Dave Grohl to start Foo Fighters

There’s a new questionable tattoo trend in town and we’re not sure what to make of it

• San Lorenzo
• Yacht Rental in Dubai Marina
• Yacht Party Dubai
• Overnight Experience
• Formula 1 Abu Dhabi
• Corporate Events
• Fifa World Cup 2022
• Anniversary Celebrations

Connect with a yacht expert & get per personalised Deals

Jordan Belfort Yacht: The True Story and The Wolf of Wall Street Version

The true Jordan Belfort yacht story is as strange and unbelievable as the hit movie The Wolf of Wall Street depicts it to be. There are several insider stories behind the sinking of the mighty yacht that are not widely known but are quite interesting and different from the reel version in several ways.

What happened to the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine?

As the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street shows, the superyacht Nadine sank close to the coast of Sardinia in 1997 while battling what many calls “the storm of the century”. Jordan Belfort narrates the event in detail in the memoir describing his life in the 90s, which is what the Martin Scorsese movie is about.

Before getting into the details of the sinking, it is worth noting that the 37m yacht had a long and interesting history. She carried renowned celebrities like Coco Chanel before reaching Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie) and was one of the largest yachts in the East Coast’s waters.

While the yacht was initially manufactured for a French native and given the name Matilda, he backed out of the deal. This led Coco Chanel to buy the beautiful yacht with the low superstructure that Dutch yachts are famous for.

You can learn more about our yacht charter services in Dubai

The yacht took on different names as it passed through famous hands, even those of the murder trial acquitted Melvin Lane Powers. Belfort named the yacht after his wife and renovated it with the capacity to carry a helicopter, 6 Jetskis, 4 motorbikes, and much more. Under Belfort’s ownership, the yacht witnessed a series of wild parties that were like unlimited glamour and fun in a package until disaster struck unexpectedly.

Did the yacht scene in The Wolf of Wall Street actually happen?

The Jordan Belfort yacht sinking scene in The Wolf of Wall Street was heavily inspired by a real-life event, though the movie did take some creative liberties. For one, the yacht was called Naomi in the reel version since the name of Belfort’s wife (played by Margot Robbie ) was changed in the movie. In reality, the yacht was named Nadine.

The movie further depicts Belfort’s helicopter getting thrown off the yacht by strong waves. In reality, the yacht’s crew went up to the deck and pushed off the helicopter so that Italian navy seals would have a space to land. The yacht’s itinerary was altered a bit by the movie’s director Martin Scorsese to add to the drama, though the power of the storm was scarily accurate.

Belfort admitted that the yacht’s captain Mark Elliot explicitly warned them not to sail to Sardinia on that fateful night. But according to the movie, there was a business opportunity in the city that Belfort could not bear to miss out on despite his wife’s protests.

Some sources claim that in reality, the passengers were simply eager to hit the golf course at Sardinia the next morning. They refused to pay heed to the captain’s warning and asked him to go through the storm, which eventually led to the famous Jordan Belfort yacht sinking incident. Therefore, unfortunately, if someone wants to have a yacht rental in Dubai or any other destination, they have missed their chance with this yacht.

Take a look on our Yacht Dubai Party

Interesting insights on the sinking as portrayed in the movie

The movie captures the fear and stress that each passenger felt when the yacht got caught up in the 70-knot storm. There is some hilarity when Belfort starts yelling for his drugs to avoid the horror of dying sober.

Several rescue attempts were made, but due to rising risks, each of them was called off. By some twist of luck, the yacht’s engine room remained mostly undamaged for a while, because of which they were able to make their way through the sea.

In the end, everyone survived the incident without any major injuries. At dawn, the Nadine made its way 1000m under the water only 20 miles away from Sardinia’s coast. Now, the movie’s audience gets to watch the Jordan Belfort yacht story unfold on the screen with a pinch of humor.

The Nadine’s captain Mark Elliot’s heroic actions did not go unnoticed. He was praised for leading all the passengers to safety, though he was able to get out of the yacht only 10 minutes before it sank. The captain also admitted that the insurance was granted immediately considering the ferocity of the storm. As for the yacht, many still wonder about the highly expensive equipment that had to be thrown into the water and is probably rusting away at the bottom of the sea.

The best features of the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine

The 167 ft Nadine, as its former passengers claim, was a beautiful yacht. When owned by Coco Chanel under the name Matilda, the yacht had five staterooms, large dining areas, and a helipad. The interiors were furnished with dark teak paneling. Each new owner customized the yacht’s name and interiors based on their tastes.

Belfort decorated the Nadine lavishly with a variety of mirrors and set a vintage deco theme. He renovated the upper deck to fit a crane that was able to stow his Turbine Seawind seaplane. The yacht carried the best dive gear available in the market plus a variety of Belfort’s ‘toys’ such as his motorbikes and jetskis.

Which model was portrayed as the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine in the movie?

Martin Scorsese got the yacht Lady M to represent Nadine onscreen. While Nadine actually had a luxuriously vintage charm to it, Lady M is a modern vessel with contemporary features. Lady M was manufactured in 2022 by Intermarine Savannah, while Nadine was built in 1961 by Witsen & Wis. The 147 ft Lady M is currently worth $12 million and is similar to Benetti yachts in its glamorous design.

Jordan Belfort’s life today

The entrepreneur and speaker Jordan Belfort’s shenanigans are well-known thanks to his detailed memoir and the hit movie based on some parts of his life. He spent 2 years in prison and now, at 59 years of age, has a practically negative net worth. Yet, his extraordinary motivational speaking skills continue to attract and inspire people even today.

It is easy for anyone watching the movie to wonder if many of the incidents are exaggerated. But considering Belfort’s eccentric life, even the Nadine sinking incident remains another regular anecdote shared in the movie.

PER HOUR Per Day

Browse our Yachts

• TV & Film
• Say Maaate to a Mate
• First Impressions - The Game
• Daily Ladness
• Citizen Reef

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories , we're happy to send you some reminders

Click ' OK ' then ' Allow ' to enable notifications

Real footage of the beach party from the Wolf of Wall Street shows how accurate the movie is

"earn, spend, party".

Daisy Phillipson

Real footage of the beach party hosted by the Wolf of Wall Street himself shows how accurate the movie really is.

Most of us know at this point that the reality of the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort isn't exactly like Martin Scorcese filmed it.

As the late Tony Wilson once said, "When forced to pick between truth and legend, print the legend."

That being said, even Belfort's ex-wife Nadine Macaluso, portrayed by Margot Robbie in the film under the name Naomi Lapaglia, said there were some scenes that were bang on.

And in footage shared of a real-life beach party at Belfort's house, it's clear to see the similarities between that and the party scene in The Wolf of Wall Street .

The film version sees the fraudster standing on the balcony of a packed out Westhampton beach house and giving one of his famous pep talks.

To an eager crowd, he screams: "We're going to take this company into the f***ing stratosphere."

Similarly, in the real footage you can see Belfort stood on the balcony of his beachfront mansion and getting his guests riled up in similar fashion.

Okay, so he's not screaming as enthusiastically as Leonardo DiCaprio , and the quality of the recording is terrible - but the spirit and the setting are pretty damn close.

The clip was shared on the YouTube page Comp Guy, who wrote: "Here's the REAL Wolf of Wall Street Beach House party, from the summer of 1991.

"It was taken a few months BEFORE the infamous Forbes Magazine article."

They went on to explain that in 1990: "The Wolf hosts one of many of his parties at his Westhampton beach house. It is like a Great Gatsby party, where anyone good-looking can crash.

"Nadine and her companion drive up in a banana-yellow Ferrari. The Wolf is entranced."

The video description adds that someone began purposely masturbating in front of Nadine.

It adds: "Wolf Wife #1, Denise, breaks up the event and shoos Nadine away. She leaves the party.

"The Wolf keeps looking in New York for Nadine, until Thanksgiving, when he pays a mutual acquaintance, Ginger, to set up a date.

"The Wolf and Nadine have sex that same evening. A few months later, Denise finds out, and they are divorced."

They add that in 1991, Belfort threw this house party and at this point he and Macaluso were engaged.

Speaking of the 'masturbating' moment, the scene was depicted in graphic detail in the film, showing Jonah Hill performing the lewd act in the middle of a party.

And as is said in the YouTube description, this actually happened in real life, something which was confirmed by Macaluso in a recent TikTok video.

"So you guys have been asking how did I meet Jordan, the Wolf of Wall Street ," she said.

"Well, it's actually pretty similar to the movie. I was, I guess, 22 years old and modelling and my boyfriend at the time, said, 'You want to go to this party in Westhampton in this house on the beach?', and I was like, 'Sure'.

"And so we pulled up, and I remember walking into the house, and there were all these people acting really weird. Little did I know that they were all Quaaluded out, I had no idea."

Macaluso continued: "That scene where someone actually exposes himself to me was true. And I actually got terrified by that.

"I'm 22. And I said to my boyfriend at the time, 'We have to leave this party,' and we left right away."

Topics:  Leonardo DiCaprio , Margot Robbie , TV and Film

Daisy graduated from Kingston University with a degree in Magazine Journalism, writing a thesis on the move from print to digital publishing. Continuing this theme, she has written for a range of online publications including Digital Spy and Little White Lies, with a particular passion for TV and film. Contact her on [email protected]

@ DaisyWebb77

Choose your content:

Netflix viewers begging for more parts of ‘wild’ true crime doc about NFL player found dead alongside mistress

The documentary is so wild it had viewers begging for more.

The Inbetweeners fans urged to watch movie from same creators featuring same actors from the show

It's like the spider-man meme but with the inbetweeners.

BBC has finally confirmed celebrity series of The Traitors with some huge stars rumoured to appear

Who will be a traitor, and who will be a faithful.

Lily Allen shares sad reason she was forced to get rid of family dog that ‘ruined her life’

Lily allen admitted that she 'just couldn't look at her'.

• Real Jordan Belfort from Wolf Of Wall Street explains what taking ludes was like
• Margot Robbie insisted on doing Wolf Of Wall Street scene fully naked to make it more realistic
• Real Wolf of Wall Street's ex-wife confirms disturbing act when they met is actually true
• Margot Robbie admits behind-the-scenes 'genital room' existed on Wolf Of Wall Street

• 12 Mighty Orphans
• 12 Years a Slave
• 15:17 to Paris, The
• 300: Rise of an Empire
• 80 for Brady
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• A Journal for Jordan
• A Million Miles Away
• A Small Light
• Against the Ice
• All Eyez on Me
• All My Life
• American Gangster
• American Hustle
• American Made
• American Sniper
• American Underdog
• Amityville Horror (1979)
• Amityville Horror (2005)
• Annabelle: Creation
• Antwone Fisher
• Arthur the King
• Bad Education
• Battle of the Sexes
• Beanie Bubble, The
• Beautiful Boy
• Beauty and the Beast
• Being the Ricardos
• Best of Enemies, The
• Big Lebowski
• Big Short, The
• Big Sick, The
• Bikeriders, The
• BlacKkKlansman
• Bleed for This
• Blind Side, The
• Bling Ring, The
• Blue Miracle
• Boardwalk Empire
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Boston Strangler
• Boys Don't Cry
• Boys in the Boat, The
• Breakthrough
• Brian Banks
• Bridge of Spies
• Burial, The
• Butler, The
• Bye Bye Man, The
• Calendar Girls
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Captain Phillips
• Case for Christ, The
• Catch Me If You Can
• Charlie Wilson's War
• Chasing Mavericks
• Cocaine Bear
• Concrete Cowboy
• Conjuring 2, The
• Conjuring, The
• Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The
• Courier, The
• Crowded Room, The
• Current War, The
• Danish Girl, The
• Danny Collins
• Darkest Hour
• Dear Edward
• Death of Stalin, The
• Deepwater Horizon
• Deliver Us From Evil
• Devil Wears Prada, The
• Disappointments Room, The
• Disaster Artist, The
• Dolemite Is My Name
• Donnie Brasco
• Downton Abbey
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
• Dream Horse
• Dropout, The
• Eddie the Eagle
• Emancipation
• End of the Tour, The
• Erin Brockovich
• Exorcism of Emily Rose, The
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
• Eyes of Tammy Faye, The
• Fabelmans, The
• Farewell, The
• Fault in Our Stars, The
• Favourite, The
• Fighter, The
• Fighting with My Family
• Finding Neverland
• Finest Hours, The
• Five Days at Memorial
• Flamin' Hot
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Ford v Ferrari
• Founder, The
• Free State of Jones
• Freedom Writers
• Gigi and Nate
• Girl from Plainville, The
• Glass Castle, The
• Goldbergs, The
• Good Nurse, The
• Good on Paper
• Goodbye Christopher Robin
• Gran Turismo
• Greatest Beer Run Ever, The
• Greatest Showman, The
• Gridiron Gang
• Hacksaw Ridge
• Hands of Stone
• Haunting in Connecticut, The
• Heaven is for Real
• Hidden Figures
• Hillbilly Elegy
• Hollywoodland
• House of Gucci
• Hurricane, The
• I Am the Night
• I Can Only Imagine
• I Saw the Light
• I Still Believe
• I Wanna Dance with Somebody
• Imitation Game, The
• Infiltrator, The
• Inventing Anna
• Irishman, The
• Iron Claw, The
• Jerry and Marge Go Large
• Jersey Boys
• Jesus Revolution
• Jimi: All Is by My Side
• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Kill the Messenger
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• King Arthur
• King Richard
• Lady in the Lake
• Last Duel, The
• Last Full Measure, The
• League of Their Own, A
• Lone Survivor
• Lost City of Z, The
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
• Maggie Moore(s)
• Man Who Invented Christmas, The
• Masters of the Air
• Mauritanian, The
• McFarland, USA
• Megan Leavey
• Men of Honor
• Military Wives
• Million Dollar Arm
• Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The
• Miracles from Heaven
• Molly's Game
• Monuments Men, The
• Mothman Prophecies, The
• Mrs. America
• Munich: The Edge of War
• My All American
• Next Goal Wins
• Not Without My Daughter
• Old Man & the Gun, The
• On a Wing and a Prayer
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• One and Only Ivan, The
• Only the Brave
• Operation Finale
• Operation Mincemeat
• Oppenheimer
• Ordinary Angels
• Outlaw King
• Outpost, The
• Pain & Gain
• Pain Hustlers
• Passion of the Christ, The
• Patch Adams
• Patriots Day
• Pawn Sacrifice
• Penguin Bloom
• People v. O.J. Simpson, The
• Pianist, The
• Pope's Exorcist, The
• Prayer Before Dawn, A
• Promise, The
• Public Enemies
• Pursuit of Happyness, The
• Queen of Katwe
• Quiet Ones, The
• Railway Man, The
• Remember the Titans
• Rescued by Ruby
• Revenant, The
• Richard Jewell
• Right Stuff, The
• Rookie, The
• Saving Mr. Banks
• Saving Private Ryan
• Schindler's List
• Serpent, The
• Slender Man
• Social Network, The
• Society of the Snow
• Soul Surfer
• Sound of Freedom
• Staircase, The
• Survivor, The
• Tender Bar, The
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The
• Texas Rising
• Theory of Everything, The
• Thing About Pam, The
• Thirteen Lives
• To Write Love on Her Arms
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Trees of Peace
• Trial of the Chicago 7, The
• True Spirit
• United Kingdom, A
• United States vs. Billie Holiday, The
• Unsung Hero
• Upside, The
• Victoria and Abdul
• Walk the Line
• Watcher, The
• We Own This City
• We Were the Lucky Ones
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
• Welcome to Marwen
• When the Game Stands Tall
• When They See Us
• White Boy Rick
• White House Plumbers
• Wicked Little Letters
• Wolf of Wall Street, The
• Woman in Gold
• Woman King, The
• Young Woman and the Sea
• Zookeeper's Wife, The

The Wolf of Wall Street: History vs. Hollywood

Did Jordan Belfort really meet his future business partner in a restaurant?

What was the name of Belfort's brokerage house?

The Wolf of Wall Street true story confirms that, like in the movie, Stratton Oakmont was the name of the real Jordan Belfort's Long Island, New York brokerage house. Belfort and co-founder Danny Porush (played by Jonah Hill in the movie) chose the name because it sounded prestigious ( NYTimes.com ). The firm would later be accused of manipulating the IPOs of at least 34 companies, including Steve Madden Ltd. (their biggest deal), Dualstar Technologies, Paramount Financial, D.V.I. Financial, M. H. Meyerson & Co., Czech Industries, M.V.S.I. Technology, Questron Technologies, and Etel Communications.

What exactly did Jordan Belfort do that was illegal?

Belfort's Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm ran a classic "pump and dump" operation. Belfort and several of his executives would buy up a particular company's stock and then have an army of brokers (following a script he had prepared) sell it to unsuspecting investors. This would cause the stock to rise, pretty much guaranteeing Belfort and his associates a substantial profit. Soon, the stock would fall back to reality, with the investors bearing a significant loss. -NYTimes.com

How many employees worked for Jordan Belfort's brokerage firm?

At its peak in the 1990s, Stratton Oakmont, Belfort's firm that he co-founded with Danny Porush, employed more than 1,000 brokers. -TheDailyBeast.com

Danny Porush says the movie's dwarf-tossing scene (above) never happened. Even Belfort's book only discusses it as a possibility. Did Jordan Belfort really host an in-office dwarf-tossing competition?

No. "We never abused [or threw] the midgets in the office; we were friendly to them," Danny Porush (the real Donnie Azoff) says. "There was no physical abuse." Porush does admit that the firm hired little people to attend at least one party. Jordan Belfort's memoir The Wolf of Wall Street only discusses the tossing of little people as a possibility, not something that actually happened. -MotherJones.com

During what years did the events in the movie take place?

The events in The Wolf of Wall Street movie took place during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush founded the brokerage firm of Stratton Oakmont in the late 1980s. The securities fraud and money laundering charges brought against the firm involved companies that Stratton Oakmont helped raise money for in public stock offerings from 1990 through 1997. In 1996, Stratton Oakmont was banned from the brokerage industry, which eventually forced the company to close its doors. -NYTimes.com

Was Jordan Belfort really known as the "wolf" of Wall Street?

No, at least not according to the former co-founder and president of the Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm, Danny Porush (portrayed by Jonah Hill in the movie). The real Porush says that he is not aware of anyone at the firm calling Jordan the "wolf." Porush says that it's just one of a number of exaggerations and inventions in both Belfort's book and the movie. -MotherJones.com

Is Matthew McConaughey's character, Mark Hanna, based on a real person?

Yes. In exploring The Wolf of Wall Street true story, we learned that Jordan Belfort claims to have met Matthew McConaughey's character's real-life counterpart, Mark Hanna, in 1987 when he was working at the old-money trading firm of L.F. Rothschild. His new acquaintance was an uproarious senior broker at the firm and introduced Belfort to the excess and debauchery that Belfort would later make a daily staple at Stratton Oakmont. Like in the movie, the real Mark Hanna behind McConaughey's character told Belfort that the key to success was masturbation, cocaine and hookers, in addition to making your customers reinvest their winnings so you can collect the commissions. -TheDailyBeast.com

Did Jordan Belfort really abuse cocaine and other drugs?

Yes. In The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is shown snorting cocaine off a prostitute's backside and nearly crashing his private helicopter while high on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including Quaaludes, morphine and Xanax. In researching The Wolf of Wall Street true story, it quickly became clear that Belfort used drugs heavily in real life too. In his memoir, he states that at times he had enough "running through my circulatory system to sedate Guatemala."

Jordan Belfort did give speeches like DiCaprio in the movie (left). Right: The real Belfort speaks at a 1994 Stratton Oakmont Christmas party (right). Did Belfort really stand in front of his employees and give riling speeches with a microphone?

Yes. Belfort was known to stir his troops into action by belting out words of motivation through a microphone. However, his speeches were often filled with more self-adulation than DiCaprio's speeches in the movie.

Did a female employee really let them shave her head for $10,000 to pay for breast implants?

The real Jordan Belfort claims this is true in his memoir. The female employee let them shave off her blonde hair for $10,000, which she used to pay for D-cup breast implants. Co-founder Danny Porush also says that the shaving took place, "...the worst we ever did was shave somebody's head and then pay 'em ten grand for it," says Porush. -MotherJones.com

Was Jordan Belfort's Quaalude dealer in the movie, Brad Bodnick (Jon Bernthal), based on a real person?

Yes. The character in the movie, Brad Bodnick, who has a goatee and is portrayed by The Walking Dead 's Jon Bernthal, is based on Jordan Belfort's real-life Quaalude supplier, Todd Garret. In his memoir, the real Jordan Belfort claims that Garret sold him approximately 10,000 Quaaludes.

Was there ever a chimpanzee in the office?

No. According to co-founder Danny Porush (played by Jonah Hill in the movie), the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio's character pals around with a chimp is pure monkey business. "There was never a chimpanzee in the office," says Porush. "There were no animals in the office...I would also never abuse an animal in any way" (though he does admit to eating the goldfish, see below). -MotherJones.com

Did he really almost crash his helicopter in his yard?

Did Danny Porush really marry his own first cousin?

Yes. According to Jordan Belfort's memoir, the real Donnie Azoff (whose actual name is Danny Porush) did marry his first cousin Nancy "because she was a real piece of ass." After twelve years of marriage, the couple divorced in 1998 after Danny told Nancy that he was in love with another woman ( NYPost.com ). Danny and his ex-wife share three children together.

Did Belfort and his colleagues really have drug-addled nights and sexcapades with prostitutes on a near daily basis?

Though the movie and Belfort's memoir might seem like gross exaggerations of the truth, depicting heavy drug use and sexcapades in the office during trading hours, they're not exaggerations at all says the F.B.I. agent who finally took Belfort into custody, "I tracked this guy for ten years, and everything he wrote is true." Kyle Chandler portrays the agent in the Martin Scorsese movie. -NYTimes.com

Was Belfort really arrested for crashing his Lamborghini while high on expired Quaaludes?

Yes, but according to Belfort the car wasn't a Lamborghini like in the movie, it was a Mercedes. He was so high in a drug daze that he couldn't remember causing several different accidents as he tried to make his way home. In real life, one of the accidents was a head-on collision that actually sent a woman to the hospital. -TheDailyBeast.com

The real Donnie Azoff, Daniel Porush, says that he really did swallow a goldfish like Jonah Hill (pictured). Did Danny Porush really swallow a goldfish?

Yes. According to the real Donnie Azoff, whose actual name is Danny Porush, the scene where Jonah Hill's character eats a goldfish is based on a true story. "I said to one of the brokers, 'If you don't do more business, I'm gonna eat your goldfish!'" Porush recalls. "So I did." -MotherJones.com

Did they really tape money to a woman's body?

In one scene of The Wolf of Wall Street movie, bricks of cash are taped to a Swiss woman's body. "[I] never taped money to boobs," the real Danny Porush says (played by Jonah Hill in the movie). According to Jordan Belfort's memoir, the event did happen but his partner Porush wasn't there. -MotherJones.com

Was footwear mogul Steve Madden really involved in Belfort's scheme?

Yes. As shown in The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Steve Madden had been a childhood friend of Belfort's partner Danny Porush (renamed Donnie Azoff in the movie and portrayed by actor Jonah Hill). Their fondness for drugs and alcohol reunited the two of them. During the initial public offering of his footwear company, Steve Madden Ltd., Madden acquired a large number of shares of his company, which were actually being controlled by Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont. Once shares became available to the public, Stratton Oakmont got down to the business of selling them to unsuspecting suckers. Billing Madden's company as the hottest issue on Wall Street, Belfort's brokers in turn drove up the price. Eventually, Steve Madden was to sell off his shares when the hype was at its peak, just before the stock began its inevitable decline. Similar to what is seen in the movie, Belfort still maintains that Steve Madden tried to steal his Steve Madden shares from him. However, Jordan Belfort did make approximately $23 million in two hours as part of the deal with Steve Madden, who would later be charged as an accomplice to Belfort's scheme. -NYTimes.com For his part, Steve Madden was sentenced to 41 months in prison and was forced to resign as CEO of Steve Madden Ltd. He also resigned from the company's board of directors. However, he did not leave the company entirely. He kept his foot (or shoe) in the door by giving himself the title of creative consultant, for which he was well-compensated even while he was in prison. -Slate.com

Did Jordan Belfort really name his yacht after his wife?

Did Belfort's yacht really sink in a Mediterranean storm?

Yes. In real life, Belfort's 167-foot yacht, which was originally owned by Coco Chanel, sunk off the coast of Italy when Belfort, who was high on drugs at the time, insisted that the captain take the boat through a storm ( TheDailyBeast.com ). Listen to Belfort tell the story during The Room Live 's Jordan Belfort interview . As he states in the interview, his helicopter didn't fall off the boat during the storm like in the movie. Instead, they had to push the helicopter off of the top deck of the boat to make room for the rescue chopper to drop down an Italian Navy commando.

How long did FBI agent Gregory Coleman spend tracking Jordan Belfort and his firm?

FBI agent Gregory Coleman, renamed Patrick Denham for the film and portrayed by actor Kyle Chandler, made tracking Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont, a top priority for six years. In an interview ( watch here ), Coleman says that the factors that drew his attention to the firm were "the flashiness, the brashness of their activities, the blatantness of the way they were soliciting people and cold calling people, and the number of victims that were complaining on a daily basis." -CNBC

Did Jordan really strike his wife?

Yes. The Wolf of Wall Street movie shows Jordan (Leonardo DiCaprio) hitting his wife (Margot Robbie) with his hand and fist. According to his memoir, he actually kicked his wife Nadine down the stairs while he was holding his daughter. She landed on her right side with "tremendous force."

Did Belfort really endanger his 3-year-old daughter's life by crashing his car through the garage door?

Yes. In real life, he put his daughter Chandler in the front seat of the car without a seat belt on, before crashing it through the garage door and then driving full speed into a six-foot-high limestone pillar at the edge of the driveway. Like in the movie, he was high at the time.

Tommy Chong was Jordan Belfort's cellmate in prison and encouraged him to write the book. What was Jordan Belfort's punishment?

When he was finally arrested in 1998 for money laundering and securities fraud, Jordan Belfort was sentenced to four years in prison. This was after agreeing to wear a wire and provide the FBI with information to help prosecute various friends and associates. In the end, the true story reveals that he served only 22 months in a California federal prison. His cellmate in prison was Tommy Chong of "Cheech and Chong" fame, who was serving a nine month sentence for selling bongs. -TheDailyBeast.com

What inspired Jordan Belfort to write his memoir?

It wasn't so much a what as it was a who. Tommy Chong (one half of "Cheech and Chong") was Jordan Belfort's cellmate in prison. After laughing at some of Belfort's stories from his days running the firm, Chong encouraged him to write a book. -TheDailyBeast.com

Why is Jordan Belfort's memoir filled with so many exclamations?

Jordan Belfort attempted to model his writing after Hunter S. Thompson ( Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ), who was known for using plenty of exclamation points.

What happened to Belfort's partner, Danny Porush, portrayed by Jonah Hill in the movie?

Danny Porush, renamed Donnie Azoff for the movie and played by actor Jonah Hill, served 39 months in prison for his part in the corrupt dealings of Stratton Oakmont, the firm that he co-founded with Jordan Belfort. Porush currently runs a medical supply business in Florida, where he lives with his second wife Lisa in a $4 million mansion. A 2008 Forbes article pointed out his company's fraudulent tactics, which included trying to persuade people to order diabetic supplies and getting them to provide information about their physicians that could be used to bill Medicare. A number of complaints surfaced accusing Porush's company of sending unsolicited packages that were accompanied by unexpected Medicare charges. Back in 2001, Porush was arrested in connection to a fraud scheme surrounding Noble & Perrault Collectibles, a company that sold commemorative coins over the phone. Victims saw their credit cards charged repeatedly, at times for thousands of dollars, while often never receiving any merchandise for purchases that were largely unauthorized to begin with. -Sun Sentinel Enjoying a well-to-do life in Florida, Daniel Porush and his wife drive matching Rolls-Royce Corniche convertibles. With regard to The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Porush said, "I really have no comment other than to say I would never try to profit from a crime I'm so remorseful for." -NYPost.com

I heard that Jordan Belfort is a motivational speaker, is that true?

How much did Jordan Belfort earn from his books and the movie?

Catching the Wolf of Wall Street includes more of Belfort's outrageous stories that were not included in his first book. As we investigated The Wolf of Wall Street true story, we discovered that Jordan's books, The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street , netted him a $1 million advance from Random House. He also earned $1 million for the film rights to his story ( TheDailyBeast.com ). In a response to criticism over these profits and future profits from the movie, Jordan Belfort said the following via his Facebook page, "I am not turning over 50% of the profits of the books and the movie, which was what the government had wanted me to do. Instead, I insisted on turning over 100% of the profits of both books and the movie, which is to say, I am not making a single dime on any of this." According to Jordan, the money is being used to pay back the millions still owed to those who were scammed by his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont.

Does Jordan Belfort have a cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street movie?

Yes, the real Jordan Belfort appears at the end of the movie as the person who introduces Leonardo DiCaprio's character before he takes the stage at his Straight Line seminar.

Have any other movies been based on Jordan Belfort's story?

Yes, but only loosely. The brokerage firm in the movie Boiler Room , released in 2000, was inspired by the illegal practices of Jordan Belfort's Stratton Oakmont firm. In the movie, actor Ben Affleck portrays Jim Young, the Belfort-esque co-founder of the firm, who, like Jordan Belfort, trains his brokers in the "pump and dump" scheme. -NYTimes.com

Watch The Wolf of Wall Street movie trailer. Also, view Jordan Belfort interviews and home video footage of him speaking at a Stratton Oakmont party in the 1990s.

• Jordan Belfort's Website
• Danny Porush's Website (played by Jonah Hill)
• Mark Hanna's Website (played by Matthew McConaughey)
• The Wolf of Wall Street Official Paramount Movie Site

Everything The Wolf Of Wall Street Doesn't Tell You About The True Story

Martin Scorsese's film "The Wolf of Wall Street" is an over-the-top celebration of greed and excess, inspired by the memoir of the notorious stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film. It tell of the rise of Jordan Belfort from a low-level assistant at L. F. Rothschild to a Long Island penny stock pusher, as well as Belfort's dramatic fall from filthy rich CEO of Stratton Oakmont to a stint in federal prison for stock fraud and money laundering.

Despite being ostensibly based on a true story, many question the veracity of the film because of how absolutely outlandishness of Belfort's claims, and how outrageous the antics at Stratton Oakmont are. Scorsese obviously recognized Belfort is an unreliable narrator with a penchant for exaggeration. In the film, Belfort breaks the fourth wall, addressing the camera and the audience directly. This was a strategic choice by the screenwriter and director. Screenwriter Terence Winter told Esquire , "Jordan is talking directly to you. You are being sold the Jordan Belfort story by Jordan Belfort, and he is a very unreliable narrator. That's very much by design."

Despite how unlikely this story is, most of what transpires in the film actually happened. Winter added, "I assumed he must've been embellishing. But then I did some research, and I talked to the FBI agent who arrested him, who had been tracking Jordan for ten years. And he told me, 'It's all true. Every single thing in his memoir, every insane coincidence and over-the-top perk, it all happened.'" 

That said, this film is Belfort's truth, not necessarily the definitive truth. Keep reading if you want to learn everything "The Wolf of Wall Street" doesn't tell you about the true story of Jordan Belfort's meteoric rise and fall.

Belfort's wives' names were changed for the film

Although their real-life counterparts are obvious, the names of Jordan Belfort's ex-wives were changed in the film, giving the filmmaker creative license with the characters. Belfort's first-wife in the film is Teresa Petrillo (Cristin Milioti), but her real-life counterpart is Denise Lombardo. Denise met Belfort in high school, and the childhood sweethearts married in 1985 after Denise graduated from college. Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont while married to Denise, and they divorced after she found out about his affair in 1991 (per The U.S. Sun ). After their divorce, Denise led a low-profile life, staying out of the public eye.

Belfort's second-wife in the film is Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie). Naomi's real-life counterpart is Nadine Macaluso. Like Naomi, Nadine was a model and met Belfort at a party before they married in 1991. Nadine and Belfort had two children together and separated in 1998 as depicted in the film (per the U.S. Sun). Nadine got a Ph.D, becoming a marriage and family therapist. She lives in California with her second husband (per Daily Mail TV ).

Margot Robbie , who played Naomi in the film, met Nadine while preparing for her role. Robbie told IndieWire meeting Nadine helped her understand her character's motivations, saying, "I could do or say any horrible thing and know that my character's motivation was out of protection for her child. Whether or not the audience sees my side of events is another matter, but just to know my motivation can give me an authentic performance." She added how strong Nadine is, saying, "She's has to be, to have put up with Jordan and his shenanigans."

The original crew Belfort recruited from friends are composite characters

Although Belfort recruited the original crew for his Long Island brokerage firm from a group of friends; Alden "Sea Otter" Kupferberg (Henry Zebrowski), Robbie "Pinhead" Feinberg (Brian Sacca), Chester Ming (Kenneth Choi), and Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff (PJ Byrne) are composite characters with fictitious names. These characters are an amalgamation of numerous people who worked at Stratton Oakmont and do not represent actual people.

This didn't stop Andrew Greene, a board member of Stratton Oakmont, from filing a defamation suit against the film's production company. He was offended by the depiction of "Rugrat" in the film, saying the character damaged his reputation. He called the character a "criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved and devoid of any morals or ethics" (per The Guardian ).

In 2018, Greene lost his suit . In 2020, an appellate court threw the suit out, stating that the filmmakers, by creating composite characters and fictitious names, "took appropriate steps to ensure that no one would be defamed by the Film," (per the Hollywood Reporter ). The filmmaker included the hijinks of the employees at Stratton Oakmont in the film to illustrate the raucous corporate culture of the brokerage firm, rather than defame former employees.

Donnie Azoff doesn't exist, his real-life counterpart is Danny Porush

Jonah Hill 's character Donnie Azoff in "The Wolf of Wall Street" doesn't exist. He is a composite character created to avoid defaming anyone while making the film. To anyone who is familiar with Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont's story, it's obvious Danny Porush is Azoff's real-life counterpart. Porush disputes the veracity of both Belfort's memoir and the film, telling Mother Jones , "The book ... is a distant relative of the truth, and the film is a distant relative of the book." Porush admits to swallowing the goldfish, but under different circumstances than depicted in the film.

As reported by Mother Jones, Porush was Belfort's friend and business partner between 1988 and 1996. Like Belfort, he cooperated with authorities, ultimately serving 39 months in prison for his securities and financial crimes at Stratton Oakmont. Porush disputes the throwing of dwarves, insists there were never animals in Stratton Oakmont — other than the goldfish he ate — but admits to the wild parties and taking part in the depravity and excesses encouraged at the brokerage firm, saying "Stratton was like a fraternity."

Porush told Mother Jones, "My main complaint [regarding the memoir] besides his inaccuracy was his using my real name," something that was remedied when the filmmakers created the composite character of Donnie Azoff. Ultimately, Porush doesn't seem to hold a grudge despite his grievances with the inaccuracies saying, "Hey, it's Hollywood ... I know they want to make a movie that sells. And Jordan wrote whatever he could to make the book sell."

Danny Porush's wife introduced Jordan Belfort to her husband

In "The Wolf of Wall Street," Donnie Azoff (Danny Porush's fictional counterpart) approaches Belfort at a restaurant about what he does for a living, after seeing Belfort's Jaguar in the parking lot. In reality, Belfort met his future business partner, Danny Porush, through Danny's wife Nancy.

Porush and Nancy lived in the same building in Queens where Belfort lived with his first wife Denise, as Nancy told Doree Lewak with The New York Post in 2013 shortly before "The Wolf of Wall Street" came out. Nancy explained how she took the same bus into the city for work as Belfort, saying, "the commute to the city each day was hard because I became pregnant right away. There was a nice boy from our building on the same bus who always gave up his seat for me. His name was Jordan Belfort, and he worked in finance ... I pushed Danny to talk to Jordan ... After just one conversation, Danny came back and announced he was taking the Series 7 exam to get his stockbroker's license."

In the New York Post article, Nancy detailed how her husband changed once he began working with Belfort and making serious cash, saying, "Up until then, Danny never seemed to care about money ... I saw him morph from a nice wholesome guy into showy narcissist whom I hardly recognized anymore." After being arrested for securities fraud, Porush left Nancy for another woman. They are now divorced, and he lives in Florida with his second wife. We can't help wondering if Nancy ever regrets introducing her ex-husband to Belfort.

Belfort's destroyed yacht once belonged to Coco Chanel

Jordan Belfort bought a yacht and named it after his second wife. In the film, the boat is named Naomi after the character played by Margot Robbie, but in real life the boat was called the Nadine . True to the film, Belfort insisted his boat's captain take the yacht into choppy waters, where the boat happened upon powerful but unpredictable mistrals, leading to the Nadine sinking into the Mediterranean Sea in an event known as Mayday In The Med . Belfort, his guests and crew, were rescued by the Italian coast guard.

What the film doesn't tell you is that Belfort's yacht had an interesting past. Belfort's vintage yacht once belonged to none other than the famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel. Chanel is known for her outspoken nature and is associated with quite a few fiercely female quotes. Chanel is quoted as saying , "As soon as you set foot on a yacht, you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom." Rather than avoid luxury yachts all together, Chanel made the boss move of buying her own in 1961, naming her the Matilda (per Boss Hunting ).

As bizarre as this interlude of the film was, it actually happened, with one major difference. In an interview with The Room Live , Belfort explained how the group waiting to be rescued had to push the helicopter off of the boat to make room for a rescue team to lower down onto the yacht. In the film, the waves knock the helicopter off of the yacht. Belfort also explains that although his private jet also crashed, it was 10 days after the yacht sunk, not at the same time, as it was depicted in the film for dramatic effect.

Steve Madden spent time in prison for stock fraud

Although they don't talk about it in the movie, Steve Madden also went to prison for stock fraud and money laundering along with Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush. The New York Times reported in 2002 that Madden "was arrested in 2000 as a result of an investigation of a scheme to manipulate 23 initial public stock offerings underwritten by the companies Stratton Oakmont and Monroe Parker Securities ... It included the initial public stock offering of his own company in 1993."

True to the film, Danny Porush, Azoff's real-life counterpart, really was childhood friends with Steve Madden. Like Belfort and Porush, Madden loved debauchery and Quaaludes, so much so he didn't finish college because of how much he was partying. Although Madden wrote about his wild days in his memoir, his time partying with the Stratton Oakmont "fraternity" was not included in the film. Stratton Oakmont took Madden's company public, making him instantly rich ( per The New York Post ).

As reported by the New York Post, Madden wrote about this period of his life in his memoir "The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell from Grace & Came Back Stronger Than Ever." In his book, Madden wrote, "Jordan was like no one else I have ever met before or since. He became one of the most influential people in my life ... I was pumping and dumping [stocks] right alongside them." Madden wound up serving 31 months for his financial crimes and his involvement with Stratton Oakmont's schemes. Unlike Porush and Belfort, Madden could continue working at his company after being released from prison.

Belfort was ordered to pay restitution to his victims

When Belfort was convicted of money laundering and stock fraud in 2003 for Stratton Oakmont's "pump and dump" schemes, he was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay over $110.4 million in restitution (per Crime Museum ). Belfort only served 22 months for his crimes and a judge ordered him to pay half of his income once he was released from prison.

In 2013, just after the film was released, CNN reported Belfort had only contributed a little over $11 million to the fund for victims, much obtained from confiscated possessions. At the time the film came out, Belfort allegedly stated he would hand over all of his royalties from the film and the book. But in 2018, Fortune Magazine reported government officials claimed Belfort still owed $97 million, meaning that over the previous 5 years, Belfort only contributed an additional $2 million dollars to the victims' fund. $2 million dollars is more than most of us will ever see, but Belfort is still making good money as a motivational speaker.

As reported by Fortune Magazine, there is a disagreement between Belfort's attorneys and prosecutors over what income can be garnished for restitution. Belfort reportedly earned around $9 million dollars between 2013 and 2015, but neglected to pay half of those earnings to the victims' fund. Although Belfort claims he will feel better after he has paid the money back, he doesn't seem to be fulfilling his end of the court order. Belfort obviously still enjoys a life of luxury and it is hard to reconcile his claims of being reformed with his reluctance to pay the restitution to his victims. In her New York Post article Nancy Porush reminded us, "Greed is not good — it's ugly."

Tommy Chong was Belfort's cellmate in prison

"The Wolf of Wall Street" ends with Jordan Belfort in a cushy white-collar prison with tennis courts, but the film didn't tell us who Belfort's cellmate was. Belfort and Tommy Chong of the comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" were cellmates before Chong was released. In 2014, Belfort spoke to Stephen Galloway with The Hollywood Reporter about his time in prison. He explained, "[Chong] was in the process of writing his book. We used to tell each other stories at night, and I had him rolling hysterically on the floor. The third night he goes, 'You've got to write a book.' So I started writing, and I knew it was bad. It was terrible. I was about to call it quits and then I went into the prison library and stumbled upon 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' by Tom Wolfe, and I was like, 'That's how I want to write!'"

In 2014 Chong spoke with Adrian Lee at Maclean's about how he met Belfort in prison and giving Belfort feed back on his pages, saying "After a while he showed me what he had written, and it was the only time I had critiqued someone really heavy — usually when someone writes something, you say, 'Oh yeah, that's great, keep going.' But I knew instinctively he had a lot more to offer than what he showed me ... I told him ... 'No, you've got to write those stories you've been telling me at night. Your real life is much more exciting than any kind of imaginary story you could come up with.'"

Stratton Oakmont was never on Wall Street

Although the memoir and film are titled "The Wolf of Wall Street," Jordan Belfort only worked on Wall Street for several months in 1987 at L. F. Rothschild. Black Monday put an end to his days at a Manhattan based brokerage firm. As we see in the film, it was on Long Island that Belfort got a job at the Investor's Center selling penny stocks from the pink sheets and found his calling: his get-rich-quick scheme, selling nearly worthless stocks for a 50 percent commission to people who couldn't afford to lose the money (per NY Times ).

Belfort soon went out on his own, founding Stratton Oakmont with Danny Porush, where they began targeting rich investors using a persuasive script and "pump and dump" tactics — making Belfort, Porush and their brokers rich, while leaving their clients broke. As reported by the Washington Post in 1996, Stratton Oakmont was disciplined for securities violations as early as 1989, and continued to be disciplined almost annually.

Jimmy So with The Daily Beast, maintains, "The problem with 'The Wolf of Wall Street' is that the self-fashioned wolf was nowhere near the real Wall Street." The memoir and film made the brokerage firm seem like a much bigger deal than they really were, despite the financial ruin they left in their wake. Stratton Oakmont's offices were on Long Island, not Wall Street.

Jordan Belfort was never called 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Scorsese's film makes it seem like Forbes gave Jordan Belfort the nickname, "The Wolf of Wall Street" when they published a takedown about Stratton Oakmont's questionable business practices. Forbes wrote an article about Stratton Oakmont's dirty deeds in 1991, but the article did not call Belfort "the wolf of wall street." In 2013, Forbes revisited Roula Khalaf's original article, where she called Belfort a "twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers." 

Danny Porush, Belfort's former partner and one-time friend, told Mother Jones  that nobody at the firm ever used the "wolf" moniker. As reported by CNN , Belfort came up with the nickname himself for his memoir. As Porush told Mother Jones, Belfort's "greatest gift was always that of a self-promoter." But as Joe Nocera with the NY Times said, "who would ever buy a ticket to a movie called 'The Wolf of Long Island'?"

Belfort had a head-on collision while driving under the influence of Quaaludes

When the real Jordan Belfort crashed his car while on Quaaludes, he was in a Mercedes Benz rather than a Lamborghini, and someone was actually injured. Belfort had a head-on collision while driving home from the country club where he used the pay phone, sending the woman he collided with to the hospital (per The Daily Beast ). None of Belfort's crimes are victimless.

This type of discrepancy is central to the complaints about both Belfort's memoir and the film. Although Belfort says he regrets his crimes, he is too busy boasting about the parties, the riches, the drugs, and the sex to sound like he regrets anything except getting caught. Belfort's memoir and the film it inspired might seem like a celebration of greed and excess, but they are also a depiction of the ostentatious behavior that eventually drew the attention of the authorities.

Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" might not tell you everything about the true story, but what it does is reveal how audiences love watching someone else's destructive behavior. We get all the thrills and none of the consequences. As screenwriter Terence Winter told Esquire, "I'd much rather watch somebody who isn't responsible, who makes all the wrong decisions and hangs out with the wrong people. That's more satisfying. We may live like saints, but when it comes to our fantasy life, everybody's got a little larceny in their soul."

Martin Scorsese Went To The Mattresses To Keep The Boat Sinking Scene In ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’

When things start heading south for Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street , he demands that his yacht sail through a monstrous storm that, shocker, sinks his boat. The scene has almost nothing to do with the plot and everything to display the lengths of desperation and unearned confidence the cheating money man has stuffed in his pockets. It turns out all the money in the world can’t stop nature from sending your luxury party barge to the bottom of the sea. It also turns out that we almost never got to see the absurdist comeuppance because unnamed powers that be were interested in cutting the thing altogether to bring down costs.

According to screenwriter Terence Winter , Martin Scorsese fought to keep it in, much to the delight of schadenfreude connoisseurs.

“Because [the script] was so long, you know, the fear was there were going be things that we were gonna have to cut — like the sequence where the boat sinks and they get rescued at sea,” Winter said. “It was on the chopping block for the longest time because it was so wild and so expensive. To his credit, Marty just kept fighting and said, ‘We have to have that. I have to have that.’”

He makes a great point! There are a multitude of bizarre and shocking things in the movie, but nothing on such an epic scale. It’s the rug that really ties the room together.

Now if we could only get that four-hour cut …

(via The Hollywood Reporter )

Top 50 by Year

Lists Explorer

100 Most Featured Movie Songs

100 Most Featured TV Songs

The Wolf of Wall Street Soundtrack [ 2013 ]

List of songs.

Stratton Oakmont

Theodore Shapiro

Opening score music.

Dust My Broom

Elmore James

Jordan narrates his life at the start of the movie. He talks about his white Ferrari and his model wife.

Dust My Blues

Song as Jordan is trying to land his helicopter while high at the start of the movie.

Howlin' Wolf

Jordan talks about the all the drugs he use.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans

Jordan arrives at Wall Street on his first day.

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

Jordan is at the strip club doing cocaine after 6 months on wall street.

Bang! Bang!

Jordan sells his first penny stock, he meets Donnie at the diner.

Tear It Down

Clyde McCoy

Jordan and Donnie smoke crack.

Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

Jordan brings together his sale friends to introduce them to his brokerage idea.

Surrey With the Fringe On Top

Ahmad Jamal Trio

Jordan buys his wife a diamond necklace.

Road Runner

Stratton Oakfield start expanding and selling penny stocks to rich people.

Stars and Stripes Forever

John Philip Sousa

The marching band and strippers parade through Stratton Oakfield to celebrate their week.

Smokestack LIghtning

They all celebrate their end of week profits. They roll around with strippers as the DEA starts to investigate their firm.

Double Dutch

Malcolm McLaren

After the Forbes article, hundreds of kids rock up trying to get a job with them. Jordan also hires the enforcer, Mad Max.

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross

Jordan talks about the different types of hookers the office use.

Insane in the Brain

Cypress Hill

First song at Jordans huge house party.

King Arthur, Act 3: What Power Art Thou

The Monteverdi Choir

Donnie is high on Quaaludes at the party. Slow motion shot as he leans over Jordans shoulder as they play beer pong.

Never Say Never

Naomi arrives at Jordan's party and they are introduced for the first time.

There Is No Greater Love

Jordan and Naomi have dinner together.

John Lee Hooker

Noami tells Jordan they're not going to be friends. They drive home together after their dinner.

C'est Si Bon

Eartha Kitt

Jordan is doing cocaine off of Naomi in the limo before his wife catches him.

Give Me Luv

Noami walks in on the gay orgy in her house.

Uncontrollable Urge

Jordan describes how a rat hole works as they play golf. The SEC visits.

Moonlight In Vermont

Jordan asks Naomi to marry him.

Pretty Thing

Jordans bachelor party at the mirage and continues onto the plane. Again at his wedding as they dance.

In the Bush

Second song on the plane as they have sex with hookers and do drugs.

Can't Help Falling In Love

Elvis Presley & The Jordanaires

A version of this song can be heard at the wedding reception on the beach.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Live song at the wedding.

Baby Got Back

Sir Mix-A-Lot

Dancing to this song at the wedding.

Foo Fighters

After Jordan buys Naomi a yacht for her wedding present.

Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Calling You

Jimmy Castor

Song after Jordans speech to his brokers, they start selling Steve Maddens stock.

Sloop John B

Me First and The Gimme Gimmes

Jordan kicks the agents of his boat. He talks about taking drugs so he can make the flight to Switzerland.

Boom Boom Boom

The Outhere Brothers

Jordan is dancing at a club during the drool phase of taking his ludes.

I Need You Baby (Mona)

Jordan goes to his aunt to ask if he can use her name for a swiss bank account.

Meth Lab Zoso Sticker

They strap their cash to the Swiss hooker. They start smuggling the cash into Switzerland.

Flying High (from Family Matters)

Bennett Salvay & Jesse Frederick

Belfort and Azoff watch an episode of Family Matters, waiting for the Quaaludes to kick in.

Dream Lover (from Popeye meets Hercules)

Clifford Grey & Victor Schertzinger

Azoff is on the phone while the show is playing in the background

Score from Popeye meets Hercules

Winston Sharples

Belfort and Azoff get into a fight while the sow is playing in the background

Popeye the Sailor Man (Remastered)

Sammy Lerner

In the house, after taking the lemmons, when Donnie is suffocating, Jordan takes some cocaine inspired by Popeye (on tv)

Hip Hop Hooray

Naughty By Nature

Brad shows up on the yacht party after his jail comeback

One Step Beyond

Inspector 7

Stratton Oakmont start getting subpoenas. Donnie pisses on them.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Charles Mingus

Jordan and Donnie go to Italy. They get a phone call informing them Steve Madden is unloading shares.

Umberto Tozzi

They are rescued from sea and dance with the Italians.

Infomercial

Belfort shoots an infomercial before being arrested by the FBI

Ça plane pour moi

Plastic Bertrand

Jordan is arrested by the FBI.

Get Us Down (from Family Matters)

Scene from Family Matters

Mrs. Robinson

The Lemonheads

The FBI makes arrest in the entire company.

Cast Your Fate To the Wind

Allen Toussaint

First song during end credits.

The Money Chant

Robbie Robertson ft. Matthew McConaughey

Second song during end credits.

Score from Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous

Michael Karp

Add scene description

Exotic Vacations

I Don't Want to Walk Without You

Frank Loesser & Jule Styne

Black Skinhead

Soundtracks

The Wolf Of Wall Street (Music From The Motion Picture)

Various Artists

Trailer Songs

Oh no! No trailer songs have been added yet. Add them by logging in.

Films with Similar Music

2001 • 26 songs

Varsity Blues

1999 • 31 songs

2015 • 37 songs

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

2017 • 22 songs

C'mon, there's no such thing as a stupid question. Get the ball rolling and be the first.

Music Supervisors

External Links

Contributors

WhatSong is the worlds largest collection of movie & tv show soundtracks and playlists.

© 2023 WhatSong Soundtracks. All rights reserved

Quick links

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Martin Scorsese ‘Kept Fighting’ for ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Yacht Scene to Be in Final Cut

Samantha bergeson.

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Share on LinkedIn
• Show more sharing options
• Submit to Reddit
• Post to Tumblr
• Print This Page
• Share on WhatsApp

Martin Scorsese was determined that “ The Wolf of Wall Street ” would have a sinking ship onscreen.

The blockbuster, Oscar-nominated 2013 film which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life disgraced stockbroker Jordan Belfort, was originally a whopping four hours long. While the film was eventually trimmed down to 180 minutes, screenwriter Terence Winter revealed that Scorsese refused to cut an expensive yacht sequence.

“Because [the script] was so long, you know, the fear was there were going be things that we were gonna have to cut — like the sequence where the boat sinks and they get rescued at sea,” Winter told The Hollywood Reporter . “It was on the chopping block for the longest time because it was so wild and so expensive. To his credit, Marty just kept fighting and said, ‘We have to have that. I have to have that.'”

The scene involves Belfort (DiCaprio) and his wife Naomi ( Margot Robbie ) having to be rescued by helicopter when sailing from Italy to Monaco in a desperate attempt to stop federal investigators from accessing bank accounts.

“There was actually a four-hour cut of that movie initially and it was just a lot more insanity — if you can believe there was room for any,” Emmy winner Winter continued. “But I was absolutely thrilled that everything got in there. Every possible thing… including the kitchen sink… is in that movie. I could not have been more happy with it.”

Acclaimed editor and longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker previously told IndieWire that the four-hour cut is beloved by those who had seen it, and Scorsese even considered releasing it in two parts. “Well, we thought about it,” Schoonmaker said. “But the film doesn’t work split in half. It has to have a certain arc.”

Actress Robbie recently revealed that the overnight success of “The Wolf of Wall Street” was overwhelming at times, saying, “Something was happening in those early stages and it was all pretty awful. I remember saying to my mom, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ And she just looked at me, completely straight-faced, and was like, ‘Darling, I think it’s too late not to.’ That’s when I realized the only way was forward.”

Most Popular

You may also like.

Please use a modern browser to view this website. Some elements might not work as expected when using Internet Explorer.

• Landing Page
• Luxury Yacht Vacation Types
• Corporate Yacht Charter
• Tailor Made Vacations
• Luxury Exploration Vacations
• View All 3697
• Motor Yachts
• Sailing Yachts
• Classic Yachts
• Catamaran Yachts
• Filter By Destination
• More Filters
• Latest Reviews
• Charter Special Offers
• Destination Guides
• Inspiration & Features
• Mediterranean Charter Yachts
• France Charter Yachts
• Italy Charter Yachts
• Croatia Charter Yachts
• Greece Charter Yachts
• Turkey Charter Yachts
• Bahamas Charter Yachts
• Caribbean Charter Yachts
• Australia Charter Yachts
• Thailand Charter Yachts
• Dubai Charter Yachts
• Destination News
• New To Fleet
• Charter Fleet Updates
• Special Offers
• Industry News
• Yacht Shows
• Corporate Charter
• Finding a Yacht Broker
• Charter Preferences
• Questions & Answers
• Add my yacht

• Yacht Charter Fleet
• Offers + Last Minute News

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Yacht ‘Lady M’ August Special Offer

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on X
• Share via Email

By Editorial Team   7 July 2014

Having graced the silver screen in Martin Scorcese’s blockbuster hit ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio, luxury motor yacht ‘Lady M’ is now being offered for charter in New England at the reduced weekly base rate of $100,000 throughout August.

This offers a fantastic opportunity for charter guests to embark on a yacht vacation in true Hollywood style while making a huge saving of $25,000 compared to her usual weekly rate of $125,000. Built in 2002 by Intermarine Savannah, the now famous 45m/147’ charter yacht 'Lady M' is available in the charter grounds of New England , a world-renowned destination known as the ‘yachting capital of the world’.

Superyacht ‘Lady M’ features a classic, comfortable interior which provides accommodation for up to 10 guests in five staterooms comprising a master suite, VIP, two doubles and one twin cabin. Her outdoor deck areas offer comfortable seating and al fresco dining areas and a large sundeck with a Jacuzzi, ample seating and great space for entertaining. This can be seen perfectly in ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ film in which she represents real life stock broker Jordan Belfort’s, played by DiCaprio, own superyacht ‘NADINE’.

For further information regarding this special offer, contact your preferred charter broker or take a look at all charter yachts available in New England . 

a fantastic opportunity for charter guests to embark on a yacht vacation in true Hollywood style while making a huge saving of $25,000

More Yacht Information

45m Intermarine - USA 2002 / 2016

RELATED AREA GUIDES

View destinations guides, photo galleries & itineraries for areas related to this news article

• North America
• New England
• READ MORE ABOUT:
• Intermarine Savannah
• Wolf of Wall Street
• Special Offer
• Yachts in Films
• Leonardo DiCaprio

RELATED STORIES

Previous Post

Charter Superyacht NERO with no Delivery Fees

Explore Greece on board S/Y ‘Andromeda la Dea’

EDITOR'S PICK

Latest News

21 August 2024

19 August 2024

13 August 2024

• See All News

Yacht Reviews

• See All Reviews

Charter Yacht of the week

Join our newsletter

Useful yacht charter news, latest yachts and expert advice, sent out every fortnight.

Please enter a valid e-mail

Thanks for subscribing

Featured Luxury Yachts for Charter

This is a small selection of the global luxury yacht charter fleet, with 3697 motor yachts, sail yachts, explorer yachts and catamarans to choose from including superyachts and megayachts, the world is your oyster. Why search for your ideal yacht charter vacation anywhere else?

446ft | Lurssen

from $4,446,000 p/week ♦︎

378ft | Lurssen

from $2,895,000 p/week ♦︎

279ft | Golden Yachts

from $1,000,000 p/week ♦︎

289ft | Golden Yachts

from $1,223,000 p/week ♦︎

274ft | Feadship

from $1,111,000 p/week ♦︎

305ft | Feadship

from $1,556,000 p/week ♦︎

Maltese Falcon

289ft | Perini Navi

from $490,000 p/week

400ft | Lurssen

from $3,000,000 p/week

As Featured In

The YachtCharterFleet Difference

YachtCharterFleet makes it easy to find the yacht charter vacation that is right for you. We combine thousands of yacht listings with local destination information, sample itineraries and experiences to deliver the world's most comprehensive yacht charter website.

San Francisco

• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Follow us on Instagram
• Find us on LinkedIn
• Add My Yacht
• Affiliates & Partners

Popular Destinations & Events

• St Tropez Yacht Charter
• Monaco Yacht Charter
• St Barts Yacht Charter
• Greece Yacht Charter
• Mykonos Yacht Charter
• Caribbean Yacht Charter

Featured Charter Yachts

• Maltese Falcon Yacht Charter
• Wheels Yacht Charter
• Victorious Yacht Charter
• Andrea Yacht Charter
• Titania Yacht Charter
• Ahpo Yacht Charter

Receive our latest offers, trends and stories direct to your inbox.

Please enter a valid e-mail.

Thanks for subscribing.

Search for Yachts, Destinations, Events, News... everything related to Luxury Yachts for Charter.

Yachts in your shortlist

Movie - 2013

The Wolf of Wall Street

Discover outfits and fashion as seen on screen

Filter by character

Countach "25th Anniversary" from 1988 Bianco Polo

Help Ineedtoknowasap to find

Striped Nike Polo

By Ineedtoknowasap

Women's Ribbed Bardot Bodycon Dress Hot Pink

Walbusch Herren Hemd Tausend Poren einfarbig Gelb 43-44 - Langarm

Versace Ohrringe mit Medusa

Vintage Phzer Tie Pure Silk Rouge et Bleu Blanc géométrique

Enrico Sarto Seidenkrawatte schwarz grau weiß kariert - Krawatte Seide Tie | eBay

Herren Hemd Französische Manschette Hemden Normale Passform Business Hemden Lange Ärmel mit Manschettenknöpfe aus Metall Geschäft Weiß 45 Kragen / 94 Ärmel

Mens Tie Blue Mini Paisley Print Tie

Krawatte »Krawatte - Neviano - 6cm« Seide / Baumwolle online kaufen

Vintage Terenzi Floral Tie 100% Rayonne Tissu Importé 3 x 55

Figurumspielendes Mini Kleid Ärmellos

Krawatte original Ermenegildo Zegna, 100% Seide, 1990er Jahre - RAR, sehr gut | eBay

Krawatte Eden Park Einheitsgröße Rechts

Hose 'Marco Bowie'

Herren Regular Fit Polo

Hemd aus Baumwolle und Leinen

Hemde 'HANK' BOSS

Boucles doreilles en or gothique Black Heart pour le cadeau

Watch it & get it !

More than 350 000 products spotted by the community

Earn Money!

426559 € earned since 2017

Join us and be part of Spotern!

 is not one of our partner. To see this product, you have to login.

You need to be connected to add a product to your wishlist

You need to be connected to follow

Reset password

You can change the language at any time by clicking on the language option at the bottom of the page.