{"id":119632,"date":"2023-12-15T14:21:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T18:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=119632"},"modified":"2023-12-19T16:49:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T20:49:12","slug":"jordan-belfort-early-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jordan-belfort-early-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan Belfort’s Early Life and Stratton Oakmont’s Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What was Jordan Belfort’s early life like? When did Belfort build Stratton Oakmont<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Belfort’s memoir The Wolf of Wall Street<\/em> starts at the height of his power, he provides snippets throughout that describe his life before Wall Street and illustrate how success affected him. He takes a look at his early days and his lifestyle once he’d achieved massive wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn more about the man behind Stratton Oakmont.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Meet Jordan Belfort<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Wolf of Wall Street<\/em> paints a picture of Jordan Belfort’s early life\u2014his father was at turns abusive and caring, and his mother did nothing to protect him.<\/strong> As a child, he was always at the top of his class, but even then he was plagued by insomnia, anxiety, and a mind that wouldn\u2019t stop racing. In college, he dropped out of dental school when he learned that dentistry was no longer a path toward guaranteed riches. He started a business in food services that failed, and he also met his first wife\u2014whom he\u2019d cheat on and later divorce\u2014and eventually entered the stock trading game at the firm LF Rothschild in 1987 during the heyday of the bond securities market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Childhood Trauma and Adult Dysfunction<\/strong>

Belfort doesn\u2019t blame his parents for his actions as an adult, but it\u2019s likely that his childhood shaped his adult life, especially if his parents were as emotionally volatile and distant as he suggests. In Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents<\/em><\/a>, psychologist Lindsay Gibson says that emotionally underdeveloped parents expect their child to intuit their feelings, then act out in anger if they don\u2019t get what they want<\/a>, much as Belfort\u2019s father did with him, even into adulthood. Children of such parents often suffer from chronic stress<\/a> as Belfort did, since they never know when the next outburst will come.

For Belfort, being identified early in life as an unusually bright student may have brought its own host of problems. In The Drama of the Gifted Child<\/em><\/a>, Alice Miller pointed to emotional difficulties in adulthood as a result of linking a child\u2019s self-worth to their capacity for achievement. More recent studies show that so-called gifted children feel emotions more intensely than their peers<\/a>, an experience that can be misconstrued as emotional immaturity and manifest as behavioral problems<\/a> in response to isolation and parental expectations<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By 1993, when Belfort\u2019s narrative begins, he\u2019d established his own investment firm, Stratton Oakmont, situated on Long Island, New York, not Wall Street itself. Even though he\u2019d remarried\u2014to the model Nadine Cardi\u2014his life was filled with parties, prostitutes, and drugs. Belfort contends that sex and substance abuse were common ways <\/strong>for <\/strong>Wall Street traders <\/strong>to cope with their stressful jobs.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: While the illicit behaviors that Belfort cites as normal may not be uncommon on Wall Street, neither are they universal. In Liar\u2019s Poker<\/em><\/a>, Michael Lewis writes about his experiences at Salomon Brothers<\/a>, the firm that birthed the bond securities market<\/a> that Belfort cut his teeth on. While at Salomon, Lewis recounts that bond brokers\u2019 vices of choice were bullying, pranks, and gluttony\u2014rather than sex and drugs\u2014although Salomon\u2019s culture of machismo and excess mirrored what Belfort instituted at Stratton Oakmont, along with the firm\u2019s process of indoctrinating new recruits<\/a> into its strong-arm sales practices and general philosophy toward money, as we will cover next in this guide.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Island Boys\u2019 Club<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Belfort wasn\u2019t alone in the wild life he led\u2014he cultivated an organizational culture<\/a> to embody it. Being a member of his Stratton Oakmont team wasn\u2019t just about making money, but also spending it in the most outlandish ways possible. Belfort details the example he set for Stratton Oakmont\u2019s cadre of brokers, the type of lifestyle he encouraged them to lead, and how he used that lifestyle to control them. Thanks to the electronic NASDAQ stock exchange, it was no longer necessary for investment firms to be physically located on Wall Street, so Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont on nearby Long Island in 1989. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Launched in 1971, the NASDAQ allowed brokers to trade stocks electronically<\/a> and eliminated much of the inefficiency of the older, in-person trading system. The NASDAQ traded many more companies\u2019 stocks than were commonly found on the New York Stock Exchange, and beginning in 1975 it listed the Initial Public Offerings<\/a> of companies going public.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fill Stratton Oakmont\u2019s desks, Belfort says he deliberately recruited young, malleable traders and indoctrinated them into his way of thinking<\/strong>, the tenets of which were as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Money is the solution to every single problem.<\/li>
  2. It\u2019s vital to make money while you\u2019re young and still able.<\/li>
  3. If you act like you\u2019re already rich, then the universe will make it so.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    Money as Both a Solution and a Problem<\/strong>

    The third of Belfort\u2019s principles above taps into a concept that\u2019s become known as the \u201cLaw of Attraction.\u201d In The Secret<\/em><\/a>, Rhonda Byrne popularized this idea, asserting that your thoughts and attitude affect the universe around you so that you will attract whatever\u2019s on your mind\u2014be it romance<\/a>, better health<\/a>, or financial success<\/a>. While many people have put trust in this idea, others claim that it\u2019s bunk. In Happy<\/em><\/a>, Derren Brown argues that believing in \u201cattraction\u201d and positive thinking as a means to control the world around you sets you up for disappointment<\/a> and shifts the blame on you <\/em>when things inevitably don\u2019t go your way.

    As to Belfort\u2019s first principle, financial experts tend to agree that money solves certain kinds <\/em>of problems, such as     providing the basic necessities of life<\/a>, but it also creates a nest of problems of its own. In The Total Money Makeover<\/em><\/a>, Dave Ramsey cautions readers that though becoming wealthy<\/a> is a realistic goal, being obsessed with wealth is an emotional trap<\/a>, and money can amplify your negative traits as much as your positive side. To stop money from bringing out the worst in you, financial growth must be coupled to emotional growth.

    Perhaps Belfort\u2019s wisest suggestion is that you should prepare for retirement when you\u2019re young. In     I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em><\/a>, Ramit Sethi points out that if you invest early in life, your money will have longer to grow<\/a>. While many young people are afraid to invest because of low wages and their lack of investment knowledge, Sethi lays out an actionable plan in which even small savings can produce results<\/a> if made on a regular, sensible basis. Note that none of the money-making tips from Sethi, Ramsey, or Byrne involve getting rich quickly by committing securities fraud.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In addition to Belfort\u2019s basic principles, he told his brokers that the point of getting rich was to indulge your every fantasy and whim.<\/strong> To that end, he led by example and encouraged his brokers to do the same\u2014buying expensive houses, cars, and boats; going to expensive clubs and restaurants; engaging in high-adrenaline pastimes, and indulging themselves with drugs and prostitutes. In what was once a staid, refined Long Island small town, Stratton Oakmont\u2019s brokers supported a whole cottage industry of gambling, vice, and the sale of high-end goods. The behavior of Stratton Oakmont staff grew so extreme that Belfort recalls having to send a memo asking staff not to have sex on company property during working hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: The lifestyle led by Belfort\u2019s brokers isn\u2019t unique to Stratton Oakmont. After the 2008 financial crisis, \u201cWall Street psychologist\u201d Jonathan Alpert<\/a> observed that financial professionals often struggle with drug abuse and high-risk sexual behavior<\/a> due to extreme stress. Alpert says that drug use, especially that of cocaine, is far more widespread in finance than in other industries. Alpert also notes some financial professionals exhibit traits of antisocial personality disorder<\/a>, such as manipulation, law-breaking, and disregard for others’ well-being. He says that these financial high-rollers\u2014which, presumably, would include Belfort\u2014don\u2019t usually seek help for their problems until after getting caught in questionable activities.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Belfort writes that he encouraged this behavior to keep his traders competitive and hungry, even as they raked in millions of dollars. Belfort wanted his employees to spend their money as quickly as they made it,<\/strong> keeping them on the hook to Stratton Oakmont and dependent on him as their leader. The flaw that Belfort discovered in this plan was that since he had to lead by example<\/a>, he was just as trapped by his lifestyle as his brokers. Once he\u2019d established his \u201cWolf of Wall Street\u201d persona, he was expected <\/em>to maintain it. If he didn\u2019t party, have promiscuous sex, and take every drug known to mankind, his staff would have seen it as a sign of weakness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: Belfort\u2019s narrative demonstrates how identity shapes behavior, and vice versa. In Awaken the Giant Within<\/em><\/a>, Tony Robbins discusses how we often perceive our identities as fixed features<\/a>, leading us to enact behaviors that reinforce the self-image we\u2019ve created. While Belfort perceived his \u201cWolf of Wall Street\u201d image as a trap, Robbins points out that behaviors are transient and changeable, so if self-destructive patterns are tied to your sense of identity, you can change your life\u2019s course by reframing how you perceive yourself and your actions<\/a>. Since Belfort\u2019s self-destructive persona was closely tied to his financial success<\/a>, a strong motivation for him to change was lacking in his life at this time.)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What was Jordan Belfort’s early life like? When did Belfort build Stratton Oakmont? Though Belfort’s memoir The Wolf of Wall Street starts at the height of his power, he provides snippets throughout that describe his life before Wall Street and illustrate how success affected him. He takes a look at his early days and his lifestyle once he’d achieved massive wealth. Keep reading to learn more about the man behind Stratton Oakmont.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":119773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1351],"class_list":["post-119632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-the-wolf-of-wall-street","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nJordan Belfort's Early Life and Stratton Oakmont's Beginnings - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jordan Belfort's early life didn't start out with love, but he turned his trauma into the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. 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