Do we like them?

Do we like Jordan Belfort?

Our score: 2 out of 10. A guilty plea over a scheme that hit more than 1,500 clients, years of fights over repayment, and no verified good deeds to set against it.

Jordan Belfort was born in Queens in 1962. His dad was an accountant, and he got into the game after a meat and seafood business he ran in the 1980s went under. He started at a brokerage in 1987 and by 1989 he was running his own firm, Stratton Oakmont.

Stratton was a pump and dump operation: brokers pushed stocks on clients to inflate the price, then the firm cashed out its own holdings. The SEC moved against the firm in 1992. In 1999 Belfort pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering, and in 2003 he was sentenced to four years. He served 22 months and was ordered to pay about $110 million.

The money is where it gets messy. Biography.com says a 2013 change to his restitution plan requires at least $10,000 a month for life, and that he has reportedly paid about $14 million. TMZ's July 2026 report says the obligation has now expired, and that a court-appointed trustee paid a much lower amount than the headline figure to 1,513 victims. Belfort says he met every court-ordered obligation. I found no second outlet or court filing confirming the final numbers.

On the harm check, the search turned up nothing from him on trans or LGBTQ+ people, climate or vaccines, so there's no verdict either way. He told finews in 2017 why he voted for Donald Trump, citing his dislike of how the press treated him. In 2022 the New York Times covered a crypto workshop at his Miami Beach home, where about 40 people reportedly paid around $40,000 each. That's a business built on his notoriety, not a campaign against anyone.

The Paramount+ docuseries The Real Wolf of Wall Street, listed as debuting on 14 July 2026, revisits the Stratton story with the victims in the frame. Whatever you thought of the Scorsese film, this is a reminder that the fun-looking version sat on top of real people losing real money.

The good-stuff column is thin. He turned the story into books, a sales-training business and a speaking career, and he did his time. I couldn't verify any charity work, and I won't pretend there is some. Being a good salesman isn't the same as doing good for others.