i finished my latest read last night, the wolf of wall street by jordan belfort. it came highly recommended from both pat and dr. it is another memoir, this time about jordan belfort and his mad mad life.

belfort made millions after starting a brokerage firm that scammed people out of money by manipulating stocks. the memoir takes you through his maniacal lifestyle - including drugs, hookers, sinking his yacht in the mediterranean, rehab, and finally, to being convicted for his crimes. it’s a wild read and unbelievable that someone lived that life.

when i first started reading, i was very turned off by belfort’s style. he came off as very arrogant, boastful, and proud of his behavior. however, as i kept reading and as he lost control of his life, he became a very sympathetic figure. i’m not convinced that belfort is truly sorry for his actions, but i believe he might be and he may have truly written this as a cautionary tale for others.

there is quite a bit of information about belfort, his memoir, and his pending movie deal available on the internet. his company, oakmont stratton, closed in the mid ’90s and he didn’t go to prison until the end of the decade. the best article comes in two parts from the LAist. there is a video of belfort in the first part from a stratton oakmont party.

as i mentioned when discussing angela’s ashes, stories based partly or wholly on the truth are so much more exciting. even if belfort’s stories are just told from memory, a memory which can’t be that great based on all of the drugs he was on, we live in an age where some of his stories can be verified because they were covered in the press. further supporting that his stories are real is his connection to steve madden, the shoe guy who built his own company into one of the most popular footwear companies in the country. madden also ended up serving prison time.

belfort is supposed to come out with a follow up to the wolf of wall street. the next one telling more of how he came to start his company. i’d be really interested in finding out more about how he lives now. is he still a millionaire, how have his kids adjusted to his past, how did his parents react to his conviction, does he plan on paying back the millions he owes, is he still sober? i guess i can never really know if he has changed or if he is sorry, but it would make it so much better if he was.