Entrepreneur, investor, speaker, and author Jordan Belfort is best known as The Wolf of Wall Street, a persona that was the name of his bestselling book and a movie of the same name. The film covered many aspects of his life including his experience with penny stocks.
An exclusive interview with Benzinga reveals Belfort’s thoughts on the movie, the cryptocurrency sector, the rise of the retail investor and his new book.
Belfort On 'Wolf Of Wall Street' Movie: In 2013, a movie based on Belfort’s memoir “The Wolf of Wall Street” was released. It was directed by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie.
Belfort said the movie portrayed many parts of his life accurately, but one item sticks with him as being inaccurate.
“Idea that we were trying to lose people money was wildly inaccurate,” Belfort told Benzinga CEO Jason Raznick on an episode of “The Raz Report.” “That was never the idea.”
Belfort said that his approach involved initially selling big stocks to clients and subsequently transitioning to more speculative stocks, but the goal is to never lose the clients' money. Belfort said that if you lose your client’s money, you have to find new customers.
Another element that was inaccurate and Belfort wishes he could change about the movie was the scene where he punches his wife in the stomach, something the entrepreneur said never happened.
Belfort said the scene didn’t bother him initially because he knew it wasn’t true and the film crew asked for his permission.
“There’s some poetic license,” Belfort said of making movies.
Aside from those two items, Belfort said the movie is super accurate and greatly captures the wildness, drugs and partying of his life. “It was fun, no denying.”
The movie grossed $116.9 million domestically and $392 million worldwide and was nominated for five Academy Awards.
Related Link: Exclusive: Wolf Of Wall Street Jordan Belfort Says He Was Right About Crypto Being A Scam, But Bitcoin Is Different
Belfort On Cryptocurrency: Belfort once called cryptocurrency a scam, something he has since backtracked on slightly. While Befort acknowledges that many cryptos are scams, he was wrong on Bitcoin BTC/USD and also potentially Ethereum ETH/USD.
The investor said that some people turned to the cryptocurrency sector from Wall Street hoping for less corruption, but that wasn’t the case.
“The common denomination is human beings,” Belfort said. “Whenever you have humans involved, there’s going to be fraud.”
Belfort said the cryptocurrency sector needs regulation.
The author and entrepreneur recalled seeing the large amounts of money destroyed for investors through cryptocurrency. “I think I was mostly right.”
On Bitcoin, Belfort said he was wrong and the cryptocurrency is “really an elegant thing.”
NFTs were another item Belfort called out as a scam and said despite several offers that could have made him millions of dollars, he avoided launching his own collection.
“I just don’t see how this isn’t going to be a f***ing disaster in the end.”
Belfort said he lost money on several altcoins and now the only coins he owns are Bitcoin and Ethereum. “I’m long a lot of Bitcoin.”
Belfort said he doesn’t think it makes sense to trade Bitcoin, but it could be a good investment as a small percentage of an overall investment portfolio.
“My belief is that Bitcoin is going to go higher over the long term.”
Belfort On Retail Traders: Belfort was asked how things have changed for investors over the last 20 years and if retail traders are smarter today.
He wouldn’t say that retail traders are necessarily smarter today, but “they certainly have better tools” and access to more information.
“Wouldn’t say smarter, but better informed,” Belfort said.
The author added that the gap between investment bankers getting information has been obliterated. “With that becomes the opportunity to level the playing field.”
Belfort’s New Book: The author of several books previously, including the memoir that became a hit movie, Belfort has another book on the way.
“The Wolf of Investing,” will be released in October and Belfort said it covers advice and tools for investors.
“What I really talk about is it’s okay to speculate with anything if it’s a very small percent of your portfolio,” Belfort said.
He added that investors can play penny stocks and the pump-and-dump game and in some cases make money, but most of the time will lose. “That’s not investing, that’s speculation.”
Belfort said investors should put the vast majority of their money in an S&P 500 index fund. “That’s where the bulk of your money should be.”
Another item Befort goes into in his book is a Wall Street complex that keeps people trading and the money market industry alive.
He said passive investing beats active investing over time. “I hope it’s a must read.”
Watch the full interview with Belfort on “The Raz Report” below.
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