Belfort has “reinvented” himself in the age of social media.

Where is Jordan Belfort now? Revisiting the real Wolf of Wall Street 20 years after his release from prison

Belfort has “reinvented” himself in the age of social media.

By Brianna Zigler

and Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer, and many other publications.

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July 14, 2026 6:00 p.m. ET

Jordan Belfort’s mugshot. Credit:

Federal Bureau of Investigation/Paramount+.

- Paramount+’s three-part docuseries *The Real Wolf of Wall Street* revisits the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont.

- Belfort served 22 months in prison for securities fraud and money laundering.

- He has since reinvented himself as a self-described “investment guru” and become a grandfather.

Jordan Belfort was a notorious figure on Wall Street during the 1990s, but he didn’t become a household name until Leonardo DiCaprio played him in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 biographical black comedy *The Wolf of Wall Street*.

Based on Belfort’s 2007 memoir of the same name, the cacophonous film chronicled the stockbroker’s meteoric rise. Belfort went from being a door-to-door meat and seafood salesman to becoming the architect of a lucrative pump-and-dump scheme involving penny stocks. His brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont, grew into a hugely profitable operation whose workplace culture was fueled by drugs, alcohol, and lavish spending. His steep ascent was followed by an equally precipitous downfall: After pleading guilty to securities fraud and money laundering, Belfort served 22 months in federal prison.

The movie was notable for its graphic portrayal of Belfort’s rampant drug abuse and sexual exploits, and debate has endured over whether Scorsese’s film glorifies or condemns his behavior. Belfort himself has said that, at least where the debauchery was concerned, the movie was tame compared with real life.

“In some respects, my life was even worse than that. Though I’d say I did more quaaludes than cocaine,” he told *The Hollywood Reporter* in 2014.

Belfort is back in the news thanks to *The Real Wolf of Wall Street*, a new Paramount+ docuseries promising a “darker and more debauched” account of the rise and fall of Belfort and Stratton Oakmont, according to its official logline. Belfort didn’t respond to interview requests, according to a postscript, but many of his former friends and associates did — and they don’t have the nicest things to say about him. “Selfish,” “manipulative,” “arrogant,” “rat,” and “scumbag” are just a few of the epithets hurled his way.

Below, we take a look at what Jordan Belfort has been doing since serving his prison sentence.

Who is Jordan Belfort?

Jordan Belfort.

Nadine Macaluso/Paramount+

Jordan Belfort is a former Wall Street stockbroker who founded Stratton Oakmont, Inc. in 1989. The company purported to be a legitimate brokerage firm, but in reality it defrauded investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. At the height of his success, Belfort took home an estimated $1 million per week.

The company carried out a scheme known as a “pump-and-dump,” in which brokers aggressively sold low-priced stocks to investors. Once enough investors bought in, artificially inflating the stock price, Stratton Oakmont sold its own holdings at a profit before the shares inevitably crashed, leaving unsuspecting investors with massive financial losses.

Belfort and his cronies used their ill-gotten riches to decadent ends, cultivating a lifestyle that was both lavish and indulgent. Belfort purchased a mansion, multiple sports cars, a yacht, and more. He also used his earnings to fuel his addiction to cocaine and Quaaludes, as well as frequent encounters with sex workers. Eventually, those excesses contributed to problems in his personal life and the collapse of his marriage to his second wife, Nadine Macaluso (reimagined as Naomi Lapaglia and played by Margot Robbie in the film), with whom he shares two children, Carter and Chandler.

In the same interview with *THR*, Belfort said he was impressed with Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of him (though the actor later admitted he was grateful none of Belfort’s “attributes” rubbed off on him).

“I was blown away,” Belfort said. “The way he was able to capture my energy, especially during the sales scenes and the speeches. He didn’t try to duplicate my voice so much as my mannerisms, my tonalities, and my gestures.”

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Jordan Belfort spent 22 months in prison, where he wrote a memoir

Jordan Belfort.

Ross Portenoy/Paramount+

After years of regulatory scrutiny from the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), Stratton Oakmont was expelled from the organization in 1996. Belfort was subsequently indicted on securities fraud and money laundering charges in 1999. After his arrest, he pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $110 million in restitution to the victims of his scams.

Belfort also cooperated with authorities in exchange for a reduced prison sentence, wearing a wire and implicating many of his associates. He was ultimately sentenced to four years in prison on July 18, 2003. However, he served only 22 months before being released in 2006.

As he explained to Piers Morgan in a 2024 interview, there was one silver lining to prison: It gave him the opportunity to hone his writing skills. A year after his release, he published his memoir, *The Wolf of Wall Street*.

Where is Jordan Belfort now?

Jordan Belfort on Dec. 7, 2019, in Miami.

Romain Maurice/Getty

As depicted at the end of *The Wolf of Wall Street *— in a scene featuring a cameo from Belfort himself — Belfort continues to work as an entrepreneur, author, and public speaker.

“Like the phoenix rising, Jordan Belfort is actually able to reinvent himself,” *Bloomberg* reporter Patricia Hurtado says in *The Real Wolf of Wall Street*. “He goes on TV shows to pitch a sales technique, starts giving lectures, and is able to start a whole motivational-speaking lifestyle business.”

As the years went on, Belfort became a savvy user of YouTube and social media, which he uses to promote his brand. According to his website, Belfort dubs himself an “investment guru,” “entrepreneurship expert,” and “the world’s #1 sales trainer.” Following the success of his memoir, he wrote three more books and now hosts corporate training programs and courses built around his “Straight Line System for Sales & Persuasion.” He also sells merchandise, including a shot glass that reads, “I will not die sober.”

“Jordan is treated by social media influencers as a kind of influential figure, a role model,” *Bloomberg*’s Jason Leopold says in the docuseries. His words are accompanied by clips of Belfort speaking with popular influencers and podcasters such as Logan Paul and Patrick Bet-David.

“He has reinvented himself, but he really is at his heart just a salesman. But he’s just selling a different product now — and the product is Jordan,” says Donna Schlessinger, a former Stratton Oakmont employee.

“Anyone who falls for that crap is an idiot,” adds former Stratton Oakmont vice president Jordan Shamah.

The docuseries also addresses how Belfort has repaid only a fraction of the $110 million in restitution he owes the investors he defrauded. He was initially ordered to contribute half of his gross income toward restitution during his period of supervised release, although that requirement later expired. As of 2018, Belfort had repaid only about $13 million of the $110 million.

“Anyone who falls for that crap is an idiot,” says former Stratton Oakmont vice president Jordan Shamah.

The docuseries also touches on how Belfort has only paid back a fraction of the $110 million he owes to the investors he defrauded. As decreed by a judge, Belfort is required for the rest of his life to contribute half of his profits to the restitution fund. As of 2018, he had only paid roughly $13 million of that $110 million.

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In 2021, Belfort married his fourth wife, Cristina Invernizzi, who shared their proposal story on Instagram the following year.

In November 2021, Belfort celebrated the marriage of his daughter, Chandler. “Such a special day with my beautiful daughter,” he wrote in the caption of an Instagram photo commemorating the occasion.

Chandler later gave birth to a daughter, making Belfort a grandfather. Belfort posted a photo of the family together in June 2025. “Enjoying Father’s Day with my rapidly expanding family!” reads the caption.

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