It’s been a long time since I’ve read an entire 500 page book in only 4 days. The Wolf of Wall Street was just too good to put down and leaving the kids with the grand parents for a few days meant I actually had some spare time for a change. It might be a bit crude for some, but if you like stories about sex, drugs and Wall Street (you can see why I liked the book) then you will love this story.
I actually found this book by chance in the charity book shop, and the title jumped out at me straight away. The book is written by Jordan Belfont who was the founder of the notorious boiler room brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont who swindled investors out of millions in the 1990’s.
The story follows Belfort through the highs and lows of his career from when he started at a brokerage in his early 20’s and was “lower than pond scum”, to his rise to one the most powerful players on Wall Street. What struck me was the prevalence of drug abuse, prostitution, money laundering and fraud among wall streeters. I’m sure a lot of that is still going on today. The similarities between Belfort’s high pressure sales tactics the sub-prime mortgage debacle are too obvious to mention.
The stories of what this guy got up to are simply astonishing, from mid-throwing contents in the boardroom to having drugs flown over to him in London on the Concode. I don’t want to give too much away, but those are just a drop in the bucket.
There is a movie set to be released in 2013 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. Here’s the press release:
After four years in development, Leonardo DiCaprio has officially committed to star in the film adaption of Jordan Belfort’s bestselling memoir, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and Martin Scorsese, who became re-attached earlier this month, has officially committed to direct. The script was penned by Emmy award winning screenwriter, Terence Winter (“Sopranos”).
It’s an amazing story of how one man’s life can spiral out of control due to money, power and drugs. You may not learn a whole lot about trading, but you will get an insight into the inner workings of Wall Street. A very entertaining and easy to read story.
