In 2013, the “Wolf of Wall Street” hit the big screens sharing the tall tales of the most infamous white collar offender of the 1990s, Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie very much glamorized the life and crimes of Mr. Belfort by depicting his hedonistic brew of chasing women, doing drugs, and defrauding several investors out of millions of dollars. While it may seem like this was all too outlandish to be true, most of the scenes described were fairly accurate in illustrating Belfort’s nature. However, the movie did romanticize and exclude key elements of this infamous white collar crime. He organized not only a band of greedy brokers, but he reeled in his close family and friends to help carry out his schemes. Out of a little
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From a very young age, his parents noticed Belfort’s business skills. His father, Max, once told New York Magazine that he thought it was “very entrepreneurial” of Belfort to try to grow pot in his closet and try to insist it was for a group project. Even Belfort had grotesquely described himself to have “exited the womb an entrepreneur.” His knack for innovation and risk flourished after graduating from The American University. At the age of 23 he started his own steak and seafood business, but it soon went downhill and lead him to filing for bankruptcy two years later. From there, Belfort started working for L.F. Rothschild, an investment banking firm in New York City. After gaining some success there, Belfort was soon laid off during the Stock Market crash of 1987. With his natural act of salesmanship and drive to get rich quick, Belfort soon opened up Stratton Oakmont, the infamous brokerage firm in Lake Success, New York. This Belfort’s first steps into his contrepreneurial …show more content…
Employees were instructed to sell Initial Public Offerings, or IPO’s, of businesses. These business could be anything from “a judo school, a bagel maker, a newfangled water purifier, or a recovering alcoholic selling shoes out of the trunk of his car.” From there, Stratton did not actually offer these shares to the public. Instead, they sold it to their friends who would act as “flippers.” After buying the IPO, they would sell it back to Stratton for a small profit and little risk. For instance, if they bought the IPO for $1, they would flip the sale right back to Stratton for $1.25. Stratton could not directly buy these newly issued IPO’s because the Financial Industry Regulation Authority issued rules and regulations restricting the number IPO’s underwriters can buy. Therefore, the organization required help from even outside company
From a very young age, his parents noticed Belfort’s business skills. His father, Max, once told New York Magazine that he thought it was “very entrepreneurial” of Belfort to try to grow pot in his closet and try to insist it was for a group project. Even Belfort had grotesquely described himself to have “exited the womb an entrepreneur.” His knack for innovation and risk flourished after graduating from The American University. At the age of 23 he started his own steak and seafood business, but it soon went downhill and lead him to filing for bankruptcy two years later. From there, Belfort started working for L.F. Rothschild, an investment banking firm in New York City. After gaining some success there, Belfort was soon laid off during the Stock Market crash of 1987. With his natural act of salesmanship and drive to get rich quick, Belfort soon opened up Stratton Oakmont, the infamous brokerage firm in Lake Success, New York. This Belfort’s first steps into his contrepreneurial …show more content…
Employees were instructed to sell Initial Public Offerings, or IPO’s, of businesses. These business could be anything from “a judo school, a bagel maker, a newfangled water purifier, or a recovering alcoholic selling shoes out of the trunk of his car.” From there, Stratton did not actually offer these shares to the public. Instead, they sold it to their friends who would act as “flippers.” After buying the IPO, they would sell it back to Stratton for a small profit and little risk. For instance, if they bought the IPO for $1, they would flip the sale right back to Stratton for $1.25. Stratton could not directly buy these newly issued IPO’s because the Financial Industry Regulation Authority issued rules and regulations restricting the number IPO’s underwriters can buy. Therefore, the organization required help from even outside company