Reel People: Leonardo DiCaprio is Jordan Belfort

The film is The Wolf of Wall Street. The film is directed by Martin Scorsese with a debut feature film screenplay written by Terence Winter (Sopranos producer/writer, Boardwalk Empire producer/writer/creator). The film is based on the memoir The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort.

Jordan Belfort

Jordan Belfort was born July 9, 1962 in Queen, New York. He was the son of Jewish parents, Leah and Max Belfort, who were both accounts.

Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont, an over the counter brokerage fund in the late 1980s. As an over the counter brokerage, the firm sold outside of the market. The firm was responsible for 35 initial public offerings, including Steven Madden Ltd.

Jordan Stratton became very wealthy and developed a large and aggressive firm with over a thousand stockbrokers. During this time, he is also characterized as living a party lifestyle that included an addition to Methaqualone (brand name: Quaalude), a central nervous system depressant.

Jordan Belfort made the news in 1997 when his luxury yacht crashed off the coast of Sardinia near Italy, having gone out against the advise of his captain and requiring being rescued by the Italian Special Forces.

In 1998, Jordan Belfort would be indited for money laundering firm came under suspicion for some of it's practices and would be charged with a pump and dump scheme in which stocks were bought at one price and then false information was spread to falsely inflate the price prior and the firm would sell the stock prior to it falling back down to it's previous levels. Belfort was put in prison for a scheme that reportedly lost investor $200 million. Belfort was ordered to return $100 million of the stolen funds to stock brokers.

This scheme inspired the 2000 film Boiler Room.

Upon release from jail Jordan has published two memoirs The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street.

The Wolf of Wall Street

The film tells the story of Jordan Belfort with a strong cast and crew. In addition to DiCaprio playing the lead role, the film also features Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Jon Favreau and Jean Dujardin.

Will Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of a Wall Street Master Heister receive awards attention, and maybe even an Oscar nomination (or win) for this Reel (Real) Person?