Top 10 Things The Wolf of Wall Street Got Factually Right
If this film proved anything, it's that sometimes truth is wilder than fiction. For this list, we’ll be looking at what was historically fact and fiction in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 Oscar nominated hit.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 So I want you right now to give a warm Auckland, New Zealand welcome for my good friend and
00:06 the world's greatest sales trainer, Mr. Jordan Belfort.
00:18 Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:19 And today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 things the Wolf of Wall Street
00:23 got factually right.
00:24 Look at this.
00:25 The Wolf of Wall Street, they call me.
00:28 Look.
00:29 We'll be looking at the true tales in Martin Scorsese's 2013 Oscar-nominated hits.
00:34 Do any of these shock you?
00:36 Let us know in the comments.
00:38 Number 10.
00:39 Jordan's first day as a stockbroker was Black Monday.
00:42 After getting a job at LF Rothschild, Jordan's first day as a licensed stockbroker was, in
00:47 fact, on Black Monday.
00:56 This major stock market crash on October 19, 1987 impacted markets around the globe and
01:02 saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall about 22%.
01:05 It was the biggest single-day drop in its history and reignited fears of another Great
01:10 Depression.
01:11 Due to the financial hardships that followed, Jordan was subsequently laid off from his
01:15 firm.
01:20 It might seem like a small detail in Belfort's timeline, but Stratton Oakmont might never
01:25 have existed had this inciting incident not occurred.
01:29 Number 9.
01:30 Stratton Oakmont regularly had wild parties.
01:33 Along with the excess number of drugs many of the employees did, Stratton Oakmont did
01:37 have wild parties on a regular basis.
01:45 While Belfort claims that some incidents only occurred after he left the firm, many of the
01:50 vulgar scenes depicted are accurate.
01:53 Employees did bring in sex workers, Stratton's co-founder did eat an employee's goldfish
01:57 – more on that later – and one woman was paid to shave her head.
02:06 Belfort even claimed that the drug use and crude culture at the firm was heavily toned
02:10 down for the film compared to what occurred in real life.
02:14 Number 8.
02:15 Jordan almost crashed his helicopter while high.
02:18 It's a miracle that Jordan Belfort even survived these wild years.
02:23 Within the movie's first few minutes, we see him passing out while piloting his helicopter.
02:27 This happened in 1993, when Jordan was flying to his estate in Long Island.
02:32 In real life, he almost dove the helicopter straight into Little Neck Bay.
02:37 Despite this, he insisted on landing himself, so his co-pilot suggested that he close his
02:42 left eye to help with double vision, which is what we see Leonardo DiCaprio doing in
02:47 the film.
02:48 He landed on the ground and shot back up into the air before thudding down again.
02:54 Incidentally, the real Jordan's co-pilot was apparently also the captain of his yacht,
03:01 and as we're about to see, boy did he earn his danger pay.
03:07 Number 7.
03:08 Jordan's yacht sunk in a storm.
03:10 In the film, Jordan decides to travel on his yacht from Italy to Monaco in order to make
03:15 his way up to Switzerland.
03:19 However, there's stormy weather ahead.
03:23 While the circumstances were different in real life, the most important parts of the
03:27 story really happened.
03:32 As in the film, Jordan was extremely high.
03:34 However, he was actually traveling with seven guests, including his wife, and they were
03:38 on their way to Sardinia.
03:43 It was the drugs that made him adamant about braving the storm.
03:46 The helicopter did end up in the water, but it didn't fall off.
03:50 They had to push it off the deck so that another helicopter could drop down their rescuer.
03:55 Number 6.
03:56 Donnie/Danny swallowed a goldfish.
04:00 Watching The Wolf of Wall Street, viewers could have been forgiven for thinking that
04:03 some of the craziest scenes were added, or at least embellished for the screen.
04:08 But sometimes fact is just as strange as fiction.
04:11 Case in point, the infamous goldfish scene, which really happened.
04:23 Danny Parash, whom Donnie Azoff is based on, wasn't sensed that an employee was cleaning
04:28 his fishbowl.
04:29 And the fact he was wearing a bow tie also somehow added fuel to the fire.
04:33 And so to punish and humiliate him, Danny reached into the bowl, plucked out the man's
04:37 pet, and ate it.
04:39 Number 5.
04:40 Jordan crashed his car while high on quaaludes.
04:46 In perhaps one of the most outlandish scenes in the film, Jordan realizes his house has
04:51 been bugged after taking expired quaaludes.
04:54 As he rushes home to warn his friend, he absolutely demolishes his vehicle.
04:58 Jordan has said publicly that this scene and the events leading up to it were accurate.
05:02 It's hard to believe that this major plot point isn't something Scorsese conjured
05:06 up for entertainment purposes.
05:08 But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
05:15 Number 4.
05:16 Jordan attempted to save his friend from incrimination.
05:32 After Jordan is arrested, the FBI get him to wear a wire in order to incriminate one
05:36 of his good friends, Donnie Azoff.
05:39 Jordan passes Donnie a note to warn him, but the FBI finds out about it, landing Jordan
05:43 in more hot water.
05:45 As previously mentioned, Donnie is based on a real person, Danny Parash.
05:49 However, the person that Jordan Belfort actually passed the note to was another close friend,
05:54 Dave Beal.
05:55 To this day, Belfort doesn't know for sure how the FBI found out about the note.
06:00 Number 3.
06:01 Jordan scammed investors out of millions.
06:14 Stratton Oakmont used pump and dump schemes and stock market manipulation to scam millions
06:18 from investors.
06:22 This is how Jordan and his firm were able to accumulate so much wealth during their
06:25 reign on Wall Street.
06:27 After artificially inflating a stock, Jordan and his friends would then sell their shares
06:31 at a high price, after which the stock would tank to its true value.
06:49 This left investors stuck with worthless assets that they were then forced to sell at a major
06:53 loss.
06:54 According to Jordan, their firm didn't start off attempting to intentionally hurt
06:58 anyone.
06:59 However, once fame and money got to their heads, their morals slowly went out the window.
07:10 Number 2.
07:11 Unrelated charges against a Swiss banker led to Jordan's arrest.
07:17 When Jordan laundered his money into Switzerland, a Swiss banker aided him after being introduced
07:22 through a Stratton employee.
07:27 The banker was then arrested on unrelated charges while visiting the US.
07:34 Although neither Jordan nor the FBI have publicly given away details, it got Jordan placed in
07:39 handcuffs.
07:40 Belfort later pled guilty to securities fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to
07:44 four years in prison.
07:52 As part of his sentencing agreement, he also was ordered to pay $110 million in restitution
07:57 to his victims.
07:58 As of 2018, however, only a fraction of that has been paid.
08:18 Number 1.
08:19 After prison, Jordan became a sales trainer and entrepreneur.
08:24 After serving just 22 months of a four-year prison sentence, Belfort decided to turn his
08:28 life around and direct his talents in a new direction.
08:31 He became a successful sales trainer as well as an author.
08:34 The release of Martin Scorsese's film gave him even more fame, allowing him to pursue
08:38 a wider range of entrepreneurial endeavors.
08:41 He hosts a popular podcast where he's discussed much of his life in detail.
08:45 As shown at the end of the movie, he's also become a popular motivational speaker, running
08:49 seminars teaching his straight-line system.
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