What I Really Think of Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush

Ever since “The Wolf of Wall Street” came out, everyone wants to know what I think of the main character’s real-life inspiration, Jordan Belfort.
After all, he was involved with penny stocks, too. My life must be just like his, right?
Absolutely not.
Jordan Belfort broke the law. He defrauded his investors. He was arrested — and pleaded guilty to — money laundering and securities fraud.
Nope. I’m not a fan of Jordan Belfort.
In fact, I hate that people associate his schemes and thievery with my niche — penny stocks. It keeps people from taking advantage of the crazy spikes that penny stocks can experience in short periods of time. My strategy for trading penny stocks is completely legal.
I’m no scammer. The companies offering penny stocks might be sketchy and dishonest, but I’m totally transparent about who I am, what I do, and how I trade.
I use informational inefficiencies to my advantage with penny stocks, trading based on patterns that I’ve identified over the past 20+ years. I share every single trade publicly.
And I use trading as a means to teach my Trading Challenge students my strategy. I don’t scam people out of their money.
Let’s take a look at my problem with Jordan Belfort — why I don’t believe him when he says that he’s changed, and why his story should inspire you to become self-sufficient.
Table of Contents
The Problem With “The Wolf of Wall Street”
In case you’re the only trader in the world who’s never seen the movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street” is a movie based on Jordan Belfort’s autobiography.
It chronicles the founding, heyday, and eventual downfall of his investment firm, Stratton Oakmont.
Belfort and his partner, Danny Porush (portrayed as “Donnie Azoff” in the movie to avoid a lawsuit) used the oldest trick in the penny stock book to lure in unsuspecting investors. They pumped up stocks to inflate the price — then they’d unload their own shares, leaving people holding the bag.
Yup, a classic pump scenario.
The problem? The movie paints a drug-and-prostitute fueled picture of large-scale financial scamming … But I don’t think it tells the whole story behind Jordan Belfort’s activities.
Giving Penny Stocks a Bad Name
Does the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” give penny stocks a bad name?
Well, the staff of Stratton Oakmont allegedly used deceptive tactics to pump up low-priced stocks for their own benefit.
In watching that, people who don’t understand the stock market might think, ‘oh, penny stocks are illegal and dangerous. Better stay away.’
Trading penny stocks is not illegal.
The companies offering penny stocks might often be sketchy … but these stocks can still experience massive gains in short periods of time based on informational inefficiencies.
I don’t trust these companies any further than I could throw them.
I don’t invest in penny stocks. But I’m happy to trade them for very short time periods to capture those big price moves.
It’s all about your approach. You’ve got to understand the penny stock game.
That’s what I teach students in my Trading Challenge. Trading penny stocks isn’t about finding a company you believe in. It’s not about getting in on the ground floor. It’s about taking advantage of short-term price fluctuations.
Trading penny stocks isn’t the problem. It’s what pumpers like Belfort did that’s a problem.
What About the Victims?
Another problem? I don’t think the movie did justice to the victims.
People seem to think that Belfort only took money from wealthy people.
But in reality, that’s not the case. According to the New York Times, many small business owners are still trying to recover financially from Belfort’s scheme…
This makes my blood boil. I’ve had my fair share of scammers pretending to be me — I’ve witnessed firsthand how scams can harm individuals and small businesses.
It’s a terrible thing. Jordan Belfort took advantage of people. I find that unforgivable.
What’s Jordan Belfort Up to Now?
In 2003, Belfort was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $110 million.
He ended up serving 22 months. It was during his time behind bars that he got the idea to write his memoir — an idea fueled by his cellmate, comedian Tommy Chong. Nope, you can’t make this stuff up.
These days, Jordan Belfort makes his money in different ways — through motivational speaking engagements and sales training programs. Apparently, he can command as much as $100K per day…
But he still gets really touchy when people start asking him about his fraudulent activity. During one 60 Minutes Australia interview, he got angry, called it a “hatchet job” and walked out.
Belfort claims to have reinvented himself for the better and that everything’s on the level…
I’m not buying it. If you ask me, he’s still a wolf — only now, he’s dressed in sheep’s clothing.
Jordan Belfort: I’m Not a Believer
As Jordan Belfort told the New York Post, “It’s easier to get rich quick when you don’t follow the rules.’’
Nice, right? But what do you expect from a guy who’s been compared to Bernie Madoff, the operator of a Ponzi scheme and considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S. history?
Here’s why I’m not heading up the Jordan Belfort fan club…
Restitution and Money Woes
In 2003, Jordan Belfort was sentenced to pay about $110 million in restitution.
But despite the fact that he was ordered to pay 50% of his income to victims once free, his payments haven’t made a huge dent.
After an initial chunk that he paid with proceeds from selling property, his succeeding payments haven’t been exactly fast and furious. This has put him in ‘deadbeat’ territory.
As of 2018, he still owed about $97 million.
The government noticed — and tried to pin him down to start paying back his 1,500+ victims.
Prosecutors believed that Belfort earned “at least $9 million in speaking engagements between 2013 and 2015 but pocketed it all.” They also claimed that he was collecting income from a design business.
And what about income from the wildly successful book and movie?
In a Facebook post, Belfort insisted he’s “not making a dime’’ from the movie, saying all of his profits from the book and film will go to paying back the investors he cheated.
But consider this…
In 2011, Belfort was paid a little over $1 million for the rights to his story. But government documents reveal that he only paid $21K in restitution that year.
The math just doesn’t add up…
Just this year, it was announced that Belfort was suing Red Granite, the production company responsible for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The company was later linked to a huge embezzlement scandal.
Why take legal action?
According to Belfort’s lawyer, Red Granite’s “did not disclose to Mr Belfort that they were using funds obtained from engaging in racketeering and other criminal activity.”
Interesting logic from someone who made his fortune from scamming others…
Living Large in a Land Down Under?
In 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that Belfort was living in Australia in an attempt to avoid repaying his victims.
Belfort took issue, saying: “the US Attorney’s Office, through my attorney, has issued me a personal apology” because of the claims. Later, the Wall Street Journal issued a retraction.
But wait, there’s more sketchiness…
For a while, Belfort’s speaking engagements were handled through an Australia-based company called Face to Face Training.
The company reportedly wasn’t on the level. It ran into trouble after receiving millions of dollars from the government to be spent on service training and certifications that allegedly didn’t happen…
Not long after, Face to Face collapsed into liquidation.
Belfort claims he had no idea what was going on with Face to Face Training.
However, as this article reveals, Belfort had close ties to Career Pathways Australia, a company run by Paul Conquest — who also owned the majority of Face to Face Training.
Belfort apparently helped Conquest’s company in a variety of ways — brokering deals, coaching them on how to deal with media inquiries, and helping promote the business to potential clients.
What About His Partner?
As for Belfort’s partner in crime, Danny Porush? I wouldn’t exactly call him a role model.
After his federal indictment, Porush was convicted of insider trading, perjury, conspiracy, and money laundering.
He was ordered to pay $200 million in restitution and sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in 2004 after serving 39 months.
After his release, he reportedly got into medical sales … and in more trouble with the law.
In 2006, he was sued by his first wife — for not paying child support.
Then, in 2014, Porush got in trouble again for alleged shadiness with his medical sales company.
After initially being named in a whistleblower case involving fraudulent Medicare claims, the lawsuit was amended and refiled, alleging that Porush urged telemarketers to use high-pressure tactics to get people to buy medical supplies they might not need. Eventually, though, the case was thrown out.
What about his restitution? Apparently Porush, like his old buddy Belfort, has only paid a small portion of what he took from people.
Fact vs. Fiction: What’s True About Jordan Belfort?
Some of the events in “The Wolf of Wall Street” might seem a little off the wall … So what’s true and what’s not?
According to TIME, all of these things are true…
- One of Belfort’s first bosses, a broker named Mark Hanna, told him early in his career that the keys to success were “masturbation, cocaine and hookers.”
- Belfort and his partner, Danny Porush, had their Stratton Oakmont brokers aggressively sell shares of risky stocks to inflate the prices. Then, when the prices were at highs, they unloaded their own shares to earn profits.
- In 1991, Forbes actually exposed Belfort, referring to him as “a twisted version of Robin Hood, who robs from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers.” Counterintuitively, this scathing profile only attracted more brokers to want to work for Stratton Oakmont.
- Stratton Oakmont did in fact take Steve Madden public. Despite the fact that the company is real, Stratton Oakmont’s brokers did their typical thing with it, driving up the price.
- The Switzerland money-laundering scheme from the movie actually happened. Belfort did indeed launder money into Swiss accounts by having his wife’s mother and aunt smuggle the money abroad.
- Belfort’s real-life partner, Danny Porush, was actually married to his cousin. But they’re now divorced.
- That infamous driving on quaaludes scene from the movie? It lines up with Belfort’s memoir — but the car was actually a Mercedes, not a Lamborghini.
- Stratton Oakmont office parties featured a “midget-tossing competition.”
- Talk about a tax break … Stratton Oakmont as a company billed prostitutes to the corporate card — then wrote off the charges in their taxes.
- Jordan Belfort crashed a helicopter in his front yard while he was high.
- He purchased a yacht that once belonged to Coco Chanel, named it after his wife … and later sunk it in Italy.
- Belfort called his second wife “duchess.”
- His prison sentence was reduced after he ratted on his friends.
The Bottom Line on Jordan Belfort
Can people change? Sure. Has Jordan Belfort changed? I’m not convinced.
Jordan Belfort has proven time and time again that he’s an effective salesperson. He can make money. But does that make him an inspiration?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life is that once you have a platform, it’s your responsibility to use it for good. That’s what I’ve chosen to do with my charity work.
I wish that Jordan Belfort would use his intelligence and influence for good.
I hope that in reading this, you’re starting to see the reason why I’m always telling you that the key to ‘success’ in trading is becoming self-sufficient.
When you rely on others to tell you what to trade and when, you’re at their mercy. Some people might have good intentions. Others might be self-serving pumpers…
It’s not just about figuring out who to trust. It’s about building a solid foundation of knowledge so you can rely on yourself and your own judgment when making change.
Real consistency in the stock market takes self-reliance. It requires time, determination, and a ton of studying.
Do you want to graduate from the class of newbie followers and become a smart, self-sufficient trader? It starts with education.
My Trading Challenge is the sum of everything I’ve learned in 20+ years in the market. I want my students to learn from what I did right and wrong so that they can do even better than me.
Is it effective? Well, my top student, Tim Grittani, has made over $12 million* — about double what I’ve made. And he did it in about half the time as it took me to hit $6 million in profits.*
Not ready to take that step yet? I’ve also got a new 30-Day Bootcamp for traders. I filmed it with one of my top students, Matthew Monaco — it’s an incredible resource to familiarize yourself with the penny stock niche.
It’s my honor and my privilege to educate traders and help them find their own way — legitimately.
Do you promise to trade responsibly? Are you ready to take the next step?
Hey Everyone,
As many of you already know I grew up in a middle class family and didn't have many luxuries. But through trading I was able to change my circumstances --not just for me -- but for my parents as well. I now want to help you and thousands of other people from all around the world achieve similar results!
Which is why I've launched my Trading Challenge. I’m extremely determined to create a millionaire trader out of one my students and hopefully it will be you.
So when you get a chance make sure you check it out.
PS: Don’t forget to check out my 30 Day Bootcamp, it will teach you everything you need to know about trading.
I have seen the movie and read quite a bit on Jordan Belfort and his illegal activities. I enjoyed reading this article, and it provides more detail.
I enjoy following your penny-stock investments and hope to continue to prosper in my investment journey.
Why can’t someone just train me themselves to make money?…I mean if they are truly rich what do they have to lose…If someone did that I would work my ass off and promote them heavily…You always have to buy their book or system…I question all of these programs that are out there…someone take me under your wing and I will be glad to pay you back for helping me…
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Just another example of why Jews just don’t fit in America. Bloodsuckers
Are you f**king kidding me? Take your racist BS somewhere else.
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I haven’t seen the movie or knew too much about him. Does sound like a complete asshoe who got away w/ a slight sentence. I’m sure many people he stole from are still trying to get back on their feet or set their lives straight. He should still be in jail. Got away financially too easy in repaying victims…
I have money sitting around. Honestly don’t know what to do with it. What do you recommend?
Thanks for the article
Timothy, it’s almost like people blaming the devil for going to hell; While I can empathize with the victims, they need to own up to the choices they’ve made. No one forced them to. Will you reimburse people who used your strategy and lost money? When you look deeper, it’s trust in the form of money people placed in him, as much as they do with you. NO DIFFERENCE! The man was a crook. True. He came up with a system, standardized it and it works. What I’m trying to say is: Mind your own business.
Ummmm… WRONG! I’m trying to educate people about the unethical scumbags in this industry and that they are dangerous pieces of shit and need to be treated as such.
Knowledge supports growth and development.
Martin Scorsese and Leo did their job. I don’t know what movie you were watching but from what I gathered Jordan was an asshole. He cheated on his first wife, left her for his mistress married her then cheated on her as well. Took penicillin regularly because he slept with prostitutes unprotected. He stole from anyone who would listen to his lies. He was a dickhead drug addict who crashed a car with his daughter aside him after doing cocaine. Then he ratted on his friends only doing three years in federal prison after stealing from god only knows how many people only to come home and get rich again. Martin Scorsese did a hell of job portraying this character. The movie was also hilarious. What sucks is the judicial system. The end of the movie summed it up well. The FBI agent riding a bus home while Jordy vacas in prison.
This article is lazily written. Most of your “reasons why Jordan Belfort is still a scumbag” are irrelevant, repetitive, or too opinion-based.
1. Valid. This is a little shady. 2. You don’t know what his current financial situation is. He has been stripped of most of his money, so he likely doesn’t have $100 million sitting around. 3. This is the same point as #2. 4. This is just factually correct, not scumbaggy. 5. It is NOT implied in his statement that this will pay the entire $100 million. 6. This has nothing to do with Jordan Belfort’s current scumbag status. 7. This has nothing to do with Jordan Belfort’s current scumbag status. 8. This wasn’t a direct advertisement and even if it was, it’s completely legal and morally sound. 9. Personal anecdote: I’ll take it. 10. This has nothing to do with Jordan Belfort’s current scumbag status. (PLUS: he was a drug addict!) 11-22. None of these have anything to do with Jordan Belfort’s current scumbag status!! 23. Actually interesting fact, but again this does not prove that he is currently a scumbag. 24. This has nothing to do with Jordan Belfort’s current scumbag status.
Throughout this entire article, you were able to compile 2 reasons why he is still a scumbag. The rest are either assumptions or reasons why he was a scumbag while with Stratton Oakmont. I’m not here to argue that Jordan Belfort isn’t a scumbag, but this article is just lazy.
How much is he paying you? He’s still a scumbag.
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And that is just a proof how stupid is US law…
In my country, after he served that super small (slap on the wrist) people will kick his ass
No way he could manage to walk around free, earn any money, or give motivational speeches.
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I am a broker and investment banker/trader for 30 years.I was one of the original brokers that started stratton in 1989.I left after 30 days. yes, I would have made a great deal of money, but through lawsuits, and issues with the regulators may have given much back.what these guys really did, was market for the most part, stocks that had little intrinsic value, little shareholder equity, and in most cases were outright fraudulent.but, they had the best trained sales forse in my working experience, and would have made the same fortunes, at least for the owners had they given the clients a fair shot.and would not be regarded by the world as rat-scumbags.but they had to have it fast and furious.
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Tim, I don’t work for him, but I do admire and study his techniques for manipulation and I’m a huge Scorsese fan. So you got me there. Belfort wrote the script that beat the system, almost… lol. That is my biggest attraction. This stuff is not exactly new either. I read “How to win friends and influence people” when I was a kid, so “manipulation” is my middle name, but since I am in real estate, I can only twist someones are so far. I kill people with logic, not bullshit, that is my game. While I don’t try to sell people some piece of crap they don’t want, sometimes a little push is necessary to prevent them from backing out of buying a home completely. “So you are gonna let your landlord set your hard earned cash on fire for a few more months?” lol Getting people financially approved and getting them to sign an exclusive buyer-agent agreement is the real closing for me, everything else is easy.
I am not defending his behavior manipulating stocks, but just a thought. So some slick stranger cold calls you on the phone, offers you some extremely risky penny stocks, you don’t research them or the stocks, you give them a credit card, you lose all your money, and it is Jordan’s fault? Lets just bail out everyone who has ever lost money on Wall Street like we did with the banks, and let’s refund everyone that has ever lost to a casino while we are at it. When you are a gambling addict, sometimes you buy into a rigged game. Only the dumbest people on the planet would fall for that, return their money and they will just lose it some other way. I don’t blame the bank because I did not take the time to understand my shitty subprime adjustable mortgage that made me lose my home 10 years ago. People need to wise up. With the internet and social media, these types of scams are hopefully short lived.
LOL there will always be financially naive people, all you can do is help educate them, NOT pitch them bullshit schemes…it’s sickening that people are defending this career criminal, but you probly work for him LOL
Preach it Tim
Admit it mr. Timy!!
Admit what?
For all those posts that are pro Belfort. I worked on Wall Street and believe me these guys were as bad as it gets. They are criminals that mocked being legitimate and mocked the clients they stole from. Their intentions were to steal to enrich themselves. These stockbrokers were total low life’s and they got off way too easy. Any one who justifies what they have done and are still doing thinks it is is ok to steal and are probably worms yourself.
YES!
Tim why do you waste your time to hate on JB. Did he get you to invest with him?
No but I expose liars and cheats all the time
Not a good person, thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Mr. Timothy…. You sir, know very well that anything with the name Jordan Belfort in it will attract people. I mean look at ur post! What are u trying to say? That he was corrupt and scammed people? Yes we know that already.
He got greedy and corrupt, cut that part, but u still can’t disagree that he is was a super good business man and investor. Stratton oakmont was the hottest company in USA once.
At present he still manages to be in headlines, got a top actor to play his role, movie on his life turns out to be a big hit and reaches Oscar. That’s what pissed you off Mr. Timy. Admit it! He has got something!
I pray I win that lotto! I’ll use 5 million to learn with Tim S.
I know this is a old article but damn, Tim. I look up to JB and you as well, you guys are 2 of many of my wealth teachers. Hasn’t he paid everyone back? I do get the sense that he’s a somewhat better guy nowadays. If he hasn’t paid the people back yet, then he absolutely, positively needs to pay everyone back ASAP.
Sadly no, he’s paid back less than 10% of what he owes…once he pays its back thats cool but rumor is he’s doing all his business in Australia so he’s not on the hook to his US victims #ScumbagMove
Whoa, that is indeed a messed up move by JB. Let’s hope he comes to his senses soon.
‘Fact: Belfort and his partner owned shares of a risky stock and had
their brokers at Stratton Oakmont brokerage aggressively sell the stock
to inflate the price.’
You mean buy?
Interesting post, Jordan is one slimy guy
They aggressively sold the stocks to wealthy people and small business owners.
Timothy, I don’t read a lot of blogs (cause they suck) but yours is on my list already… I like your style, it says: “I don’t give a fuck, I’m rich”… don’t get why people get motivated by Belfort either…
This post makes me admire Jordan Belford even more and helped to finally reduce my admiration to Tim Sykes to almost zero. Wolf of Wall Street is the real hero for making and spending money 🙂
you admire someone who scammed thousands of people and now refuses to pay them back? pathetic
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Well.. Live with that 😛
Nobody gets the fact that both of these guys actually went to prison for their crimes, unlike the guys from the big firms who did the pump and dump with the “dot bombs” and eight years later buried everybody with the financial crisis. The fact is that if you bought $1000 worth of every Stratton IPO and held it until the publishing of this article you would be way ahead. What is wrong with these guys fulfilling their sentence and getting on with their lives? Belfort got a book published and made into a major motion picture and Porush runs a giant company in a highly regulated industry. Obviously they are both intelligent businessmen, and are entitled to make a living.
belfort is also supposed to pay back his victims, but he finds new way of cheating every year…i will hand it to the guy, if you want to learn how to be a career criminal, he’s the man to learn from!
But, but…I thought Jews stuck together like peas in a pod?
What a damn and toxic unqualified comment… As a German I strongly object against this nationalist bullshit. A good article about scumbag Jordan Beltfort is commented on by a moron. Go back to your cave and shut up.
Tony, please please tell me you can’t be that stupid. There is no way to profit from a pump and dump scheme. If anyone ever calls you and tries to sell you shares directly, question it, don’t be a sheep
I heard that if you would have invested in all of his stocks that by now you would have millions of dollars in profits. It would be interesting to look into it because if its true then basically the goverment screwed him.
if you had SHORTED all of his stocks, you’d be rich, he promoted scams, tell me how much is Belfort paying you to lie?
I think character makes a big difference, especially when choosing a financial representative. Would you hire somebody like him to babysit your kid? To housesit your mansion? Even drive your car? No. So you certainly wouldn’t trust him with your money.
Only scumbags defend scumbags..LOL
He went to jail for taking money to another country big deal. I’m sure that when you travel you take money to other countries. He only acidentaly got in trouble after a dum ass who owned some restaurant mentioned it. The goverment couldnt bust him for anything until that restaurant owner acidentaly said some things.People could also sue you for all the money they have spent and lost.
“Fiction: He only scammed wealthy people. One of the biggest complaints about the film was that it didn’t show any victims. Though Belfort claims in his book and in the film that he only took from the wealthy, the New York Times reports that many small business owners are still trying to recover financially from Belfort’s scheme.”
which kind of gives lie to the whole “twisted robin hood” moniker, these merry men weren’t just robbing the rich and giving to themselves, they were robbing the middle class and giving to themselves…even after they themselves got pretty damn rich. at which point it just became regular robbery (albeit with lies instead of weapons).
i noticed that the movie did in fact portray belfort’s victims as average middle class types.
While it may be fact most of it is pointless, so what if he smuggled money into another country to keep it safe? Your telling me in the exact same situation you wouldn’t? So what of he sunk his boat it’s his boat he coulda threw petrol and diesel on it and set it on fire still his boat as long as he didn’t claim (if he did what I said) so what if he called his wife the ditches? Never called your better half a nickname? I call mine the annoyer. So what if he charged things on the company card? If I owned my own business turning stupid amounts of profits id be doing the same tbh
Edit.
But it’s ok for adverts for me to