Top 10 Things The Wolf of Wall Street Got Factually Right

After getting a job at L.F. Rothschild, Jordan's first day as a licensed stockbroker was, in fact, on Black Monday. This major stock market crash on October 19, 1987 impacted markets around the globe and saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall about twenty-two percent. It was the biggest single day drop in its history and reignited fears of another Great Depression. Due to the financial hardships that followed, Jordan was subsequently laid off from his firm. It might seem like a small detail in Belfort’s timeline, but Stratton Oakmont might never have existed had this inciting incident not occurred.

Along with the excess number of drugs many of the employees did, Stratton Oakmont did have wild parties on a regular basis. While Belfort claims that some incidents only occurred after he left the firm, many of the vulgar scenes depicted are accurate. Employees did bring in sex workers, Stratton’s co-founder did eat an employee’s goldfish (more on that later), and one woman was paid to shave her head. Belfort even claimed that the drug use and crude culture at the firm was heavily toned down for the film compared to what occurred in real-life!

It’s a miracle that Jordan Belfort even survived these wild years. Within the movie’s first few minutes, we see him passing out while piloting his helicopter. This happened in 1993, when Jordan was flying to his estate in Long Island and almost dove the helicopter straight into Little Neck Bay. Despite this, he insisted on landing himself, so his copilot suggested that he close his left eye to help with the double vision - which is just what we see Leonardo DiCaprio doing in the film. They hit the ground and shot back up into the air before thudding down again. Incidentally, the real Jordan’s copilot was apparently also the captain of his yacht, and as we’re about to see, boy did he earn his danger pay...

In the film, Jordan decides to travel on his yacht from Italy to Monaco in order to make his way up to Switzerland. However, there’s stormy weather ahead ... While the circumstances were different in real life, the most important parts of this story really happened. As in the film, Jordan was extremely high. However, he was actually travelling with seven guests, including his wife, and they were on their way to Sardinia. It was the drugs that made him adamant about braving the storm. The helicopter did end up in the water, but it didn’t fall off; they had to push it off the deck so that another helicopter could drop down their rescuer!

Watching “The Wolf of Wall Street”, viewers could have been forgiven for thinking that some of the craziest scenes were added or at least embellished for the screen. But sometimes, fact is just as strange as fiction. Case in point: the infamous goldfish scene, which really happened. Danny Porush, whom Donnie Azoff is based on, was incensed that an employee was cleaning his fishbowl, and the fact he was wearing a bowtie also somehow added fuel to the fire. And so to punish and humiliate him, Danny reached into the bowl, plucked out the man’s pet … and ate it.

In perhaps one of the most outlandish scenes in the film, Jordan realizes his house has been bugged after taking expired Quaaludes. As he rushes home to warn his friend, he absolutely demolishes his Lamborghini. Jordan has said publicly that this scene and the events leading up to
it were accurate. Jordan did, however, point out one inaccuracy in the film’s depiction: the car he crashed was a Mercedes, not a Lamborghini. It’s hard to believe that this major plot point isn’t something Scorsese conjured up for entertainment purposes. But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

After Jordan is arrested, the FBI get him to wear a wire in order to incriminate one of his good friends, Donnie Azoff. Jordan passes Donnie a note to warn him, but the FBI finds out about it, landing Jordan in more hot water. As previously mentioned, Donnie is based on a real person, Danny Porush. However, the person that Jordan Belfort actually passed the note to was another close friend, Dave Beall. To this day, Belfort doesn’t know for sure how the FBI found out about the note.

Stratton Oakmont used pump and dump schemes and stock market manipulation to scam millions from investors. This is how Jordan and his firm were able to accumulate so much wealth during their reign on Wall Street. After artificially inflating a stock, Jordan and his friends would then sell their shares at a high price, after which the stock would tank to its true value. This left investors stuck with worthless assets that they were then forced to sell at a major loss. According to Jordan, their firm didn’t start off attempting to intentionally hurt anyone. However, once fame and money got to their heads, their morals slowly went out the window.

When Jordan laundered his money into Switzerland, a Swiss banker aided him after being introduced through a Stratton employee. The banker was then arrested on unrelated charges while visiting the US. Although neither Jordan nor the FBI have publicly given away details, it got Jordan placed in handcuffs. Belfort later pled guilty to securities fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to four years in prison. As part of his sentencing agreement, he also was ordered to pay $110 million in restitution to his victims. As of 2018 however, only a fraction of that had been paid.

After serving just twenty-two months of a four-year prison sentence, Belfort decided to turn his life around and direct his talents in a new direction. He became a successful sales trainer as well as an author. The release of Martin Scorsese’s film gave him even more fame, allowing him to pursue a wider range of entrepreneurial endeavors. He hosts a popular podcast where he’s discussed much of his life in detail. As shown at the end of the movie, he’s also become a popular motivational speaker, running seminars teaching his Straight Line System.