Daily Smart Fact #31: Boiler Rooms, Pump and Dump, and Leonardo DiCaprio

DiCaprio with a puppy, just because.

Takeaway: Jordan Belfort, the inspiration for the movie Boiler Room and the upcoming DiCaprio flick The Wolf of Wall Street, spent 22 months in jail for “crimes related to stock market manipulation and running a boiler room“.  He cooperated with the FBI and was indicted in 1998 for a “pump and dump” scheme that resulted in a $200 million loss for investors.  Jordan now lives in L.A. as a motivational speaker and lives the high life with hookers and cocaine. Fine, the last part may or may not be true. But 22 months seems a little light for screwing over thousands of investing suckers, don’t you think? Life is unfair.

Leonardo DiCaprio.  Dammit, what can’t that man do.  His most recent movie The Wolf of Wall Street is yet another testament of his abilities to make drugs, hot women taped in hundred dollah bills, and midget-throwing just look so darn fun.  I recently viewed the new movie preview and it inspired me to look into the man who inspired the movie – Jordan Belfort.  In the 90’s, Belfort founded a brokerage firm that functioned as a Boiler Room.  Boiler Room, you say?  Like that awesome movie with Ben Affleck and Giovanni Ribisi and quotes like “don’t pitch the bitch” movie?  Yup, the very one – since that movie was also inspired by Belfort.

Knowing little to nothing about Wall Street, I thought I would use today’s post to highlight these key terms and some interesting tidbits about Belfort’s life: