...ventures in the history of Wall Street; hence the nickname “Wolf of Wall Street”. The American dream of a luxurious lifestyle was quickly turned into reality for Jordan Belfort and his close-knit team, which in collaboration built the famous empire of Stratton Oakmont. Starting out owning just over 50% of the company, in 1989 Jordan partnered with a man by the name of Kenneth Greene who received 20% of Stratton (Khalaf, 2014). These two shared a collective aspiration in creating the biggest penny stock firm there was to date. Shortly after, they decided the margins weren’t big enough to grow the company on a corporate level and begin selling stocks to the wealthier percentage of Americans. Starting in the garage of a friends used car dealership, this corporation ran on all cylinders with the understanding of pumping and dumping stocks. (Biography.com, 2014). Keep in mind when a stockbroker sells a stock to an investor, the stock is sold at market rate; in Belfort’s case, Stratton was pushing stocks already bought by the firm giving the stocks a false face value for the investor of rising rates. Once all the stocks were sold they would almost immediately lose all value reverting to its original market worth. Stratton Oakmont over the span of 7 years employed over 1,000 stockbrokers, which...
Words: 1558 - Pages: 7
...Oakmont Country Club 1 Thomas W. Gilligan University of Southern California I t is the summer of 1996 and management must decide whether or not to alter the process used to trade the club’s 450 memberships. The current fixed price system, in which management sets the transfer fee for club memberships, offers some degree of financial certainty for existing and prospective members as well as for the club’s financial planners. However, the fixed price system promotes chronic imbalances between the number of members wishing to leave the club and the number of eligible candidates wanting to enter the club. These imbalances create frustrations for eligible candidates, hardships for long-time club members, difficulties in developing suitable new members and problems for club planners. Management is considering several alternatives. THE CLUB Oakmont Country Club is a private golf and social club located along the Arroyo Verdugo in northern Glendale, California. Established in 1922, Oakmont has long provided the kind of relaxed social life prized by many Southern California families. Oakmont’s mission statement reveals the club’s goals and orientation. . . . to provide its members with a premium golf and country club experience that includes a well maintained, highly respected and competitive golf course; an attractively designed and efficiently operated clubhouse that meets the membership’s requirements for excellent service, top-quality food and beverages and ample meeting...
Words: 4340 - Pages: 18
...people all over the globe and myself are questioning , Belfort: Good or Bad ? Rich or Broke? hiding money or not and when will victims claim their money back. Some victims claimed that they have lost all their money savings, others said that the movie showed Belfort as a myth of which triggered them to ask for more actions to have their money and many claimed that these type of movies shouldn’t show these people as heroes instead they should have shown real victims and how they suffer rather than showing the partying, prostitution and drugs. The movie globally affected public opinion in terms of injustice towards such frauds. 1989, as a talented salesperson who graduated with a Biology degree decided to set up his own company Stratton Oakmont, building up on his learnings from working as a stock broker in LF Rothschild which was to be known prestigious at that time before falling in 1987. The ambitious Belfort taught his employees sales calls for penny stocks and lead this company to being a boiler room: a term used to describe high pressure sales environment. Employees followed him blindly and he gained their trust with his everyday speeches and high commissions. It was said that he had around 1,000 broker dealing with a $billion worth of trades. The pump and dump scheme he followed affected the stock market, customers were not satisfied and began to send complaints that made security and exchange commission start investigating the company’s practice. Belfort was known for alcohol...
Words: 1664 - Pages: 7
...entrepreneur, and motivational speaker. He was the former kingpin of the notorious investment firm Stratton Oakmont. Jordan has been established as one of the most well known men of American finance. Belfort rose to his fame through his deceiving forms of stock market manipulation. At the age of twenty six Jordan was a multimillionaire making just shy of one million dollars a week from his Brokerage Firm. Belfort quickly became consumed in a life of sex, money and drugs. He was spending his money just as fast as he was making it. “I partied like a Rock Star and lived like a King” -Jordan Belfort. Drawing so much attention to himself even the FBI took...
Words: 2474 - Pages: 10
...his own investment company, Stratton Oakmont (Biography.com). He was on top of the world, making millions, investing in incredible assets, and living a fancy lifestyle. Then his world came crumbling down and no one was to blame other than himself. His first true business venture was selling Italian ice with a friend during the summer and due to his incredible salesmanship turned a $20,000 profit. Instead of using this money to buy something cool, being a teenager and all, he decided to use the profit for his next business venture. His first experience in a brokerage firm was as a “connector” at L.F. Rothschild. He saw how much money his fellow brokers were bring in, and decided he would try the same career path. He worked for multiple firms, but ultimately branched out on his own, and launched Stratton Oakmont. He started Stratton Oakmont in early 1990, and with his partner, Danny Porush, was using a “pump and dump” scheme to rake in the cash. He would push his clients to buy stocks in certain companies to inflate the prices, then his company would sell of its own holdings, turning a phenomenal profit! Belfort lived quite a reckless life. He was spending money left and right, buying a mansion, cars, and other expensive toys. He was a drug addict and that led to several accidents, including crashing his helicopter and sinking his own yacht. The Securities and Exchange Commission went out to shut down the fraudulent Stratton Oakmont in 1992 and by 1994; Belfort was banned...
Words: 487 - Pages: 2
...living in New York. (Smith 56). At an early age, it was evident that Belfort possessed the skills of a natural born salesman. He started utilizing these skills when he decided to channel his focus toward becoming a stockbroker. After working for a brokerage firm for a couple years, Belfort founded his own brokerage firm in 1990, which he named, “Stratton Oakmont.” It was an “over-the-counter” brokerage firm and quickly became the largest and most influential OTC brokerage firm of the late 1980s and 1990s. Jordan Belfort was engaged in a variety of fraudulent activities. Belfort’s heavy involvement in these activities led to a very time consuming investigation and eventually, a conviction. There were many devastating losses to investors from the white-collar crimes that Belfort participated in and promoted daily. Stratton Oakmont was the arena where Jordan Belfort, and his loyal band of trusted employees, came to battle everyday by pushing stock sales onto unsure investors. Belfort’s firm specialized in selling mid-range priced stocks to wealthy businessmen. The main operation behind the fraudulent activities at Stratton Oakmont was an illegal trading system known as the “pump and dump.” This is a type of Microcap stock fraud. Microcap companies are smaller than regular public companies, with securities trading at less than five dollars per share. They are not listed on a national exchange and are referred to as “penny stocks” (Wiley 160). “Pump and dump,” relies on positive information...
Words: 852 - Pages: 4
...Peirce College Author Note This paper was prepared for Ethical Leadership – MGT 310, taught by Professor Kristen Irey Table of Contents Abstract 3 I. DECISION MAKING MODEL 4 II. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES – TENETS 11 III. WHAT SPECIFIC LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWSHIP ETHICS LESSONS DID YOU TAKE FROM THIS FILM? 14 Reference List 17 Abstract Jordan Belfort loses his job as a Stockbroker for L.F. Rothschild on Wall Street in 1987 that was caused by the Black Monday. Belfort takes a job in Long Island in a brokerage firm that specialized in penny stock. Belfort managed to make a small fortune due to the high commissions by his bellicose smartness to pitch to buyers, which lead to his discovery to create his only company called Stratton Oakmont. His firms method to “pump and dump” scam made him a fortune which caused his exposure in Forbes. The firm managed to grab the 0attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the FBI. Jordan makes about $22 million in three hours upon securing the IPO of Steven Madden. Did Jordan Belfort care about that they were doing was wrong? Did they believe they were above the law and get away with inside trading? I. DECISION MAKING MODEL 1. Determine the fact. Gather all the relevant facts. It is critical at this stage that we do not unintentionally bias our later decision by gathering only those facts in support of one particular outcome. * This movie is based on a true story. * Jordan Belfort is a son of two...
Words: 3170 - Pages: 13
...The Wolf of Wall Street The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, committed a classic pump and dump scam, under the guise of his investment firm, Stratton Oakmont. This crime went on for several years before the company was investigated, closed, and Belfort sent to prison. The following paper outlines this case in detail. The Crime & How it was Committed The securities industry is governed by the Securities Exchange Commission, which exists in part to ensure that the capital markets are trustworthy. When investor trust in the markets is compromised, this makes it more difficult for firms to raise capital. Thus, it is imperative for any country to have securities regulators that ensure a fair and honest capital market system, including the stock market. There are many ways to commit fraud in the stock market, one of which is the pump and dump scheme that Stratton Oakmont committed. The principle is fairly simple. The company buys a large quantity of penny stocks. They then use their brokers to cold call people and convince them to invest. These people, who are usually fairly wealthy but not sophisticated investors, are convinced to put their money into this worthless penny stock. The influx of capital starts to push the stock price upward, so the investors are convinced that this is a good investment – that they are seeing the gains they were promised materializing. Then, when a large enough amount of capital has been gathered, the investment house begins to...
Words: 1615 - Pages: 7
...would be considered unethical. Do to the charges pressed against the firm, its partners, and the owner the company no longer exists so the obligation of maximizing a profit no longer exists. Along with the company falling apart. Happiness and pleasure are the only the things of inherent value and people should bring about these feelings since it is something all people are capable of feeling. In the case of Stratton Oakmont the most important stake holder would be its clients. Stratton Oakmont’s obligation to their clients was to advise them into making smart financial decisions about what stocks to invest in, in order to make a profit on their return. But, instead they advised people to invest in stocks that they knew the company had accumulated shares and by purchasing the recommended stocks the price of that stock would increase. So once the price was high enough Jordan and his partners would sell the stock for a massive profit, leaving the people they were supposed to help, out thousands of dollars. The next stakeholder would be the employees of Stratton Oakmont who did benefit and gain happiness from the illegal activities of the firm and were able to make a good deal of money from the work they were...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...TRADING STOCKS Stock trading has become one of the most popular and efficient ways to make money since it is easy to access and it could bring a lot of money back to investors. With some extra money, anyone can purchase stocks from a company or corporation and make profit. A stock is basically a type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation’s assets and earnings. There are two main types of stock: common and preferred. Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholders' meetings and to receive dividends. Preferred stock generally does not have voting rights, but has a higher claim on assets and earnings than the common shares. Owning a stock means that a stockholder (person that owns the stock) has a claim to a part of the corporation’s assets and earnings. We could say that shareholders are owners of a corporation. Ownership is determined by the number of shares a person owns relative to the number of outstanding shares. The higher number of stocks a person owns, the more benefit he/she will get. People that purchase stocks would have the following advantages and disadvantages: Advantages: -They would be able to gain a large amount of money -The potential loss from stock purchases with cash is limited to the amount of the initial investment. -Stocks offer limited legal liability -Most stocks are very liquid (they can be bought and sold quickly at a fair price) -Investment diversification (purchasing...
Words: 2827 - Pages: 12
...The Wolf of Wall Street. | Under the guidance of Professor – Rita Tina Olivia Limbu.Name – Abhishek Shah.Pace ID – U01285579.Submission Date – 03/31/2016. | The Wolf of Wall Street. | Under the guidance of Professor – Rita Tina Olivia Limbu.Name – Abhishek Shah.Pace ID – U01285579.Submission Date – 03/31/2016. | The Wolf of Wall Street. By – Martin Scorsese, 12/25/2013. Martin Scorsese’s Note – Martin Charles Scorsese is an American producer, director, actor, film producer and film historian. Born on 11/17/1942, Scorsese is 73 years old and belongs to Queens, New York, the United States of America. Scorsese, is the founder of “The Film Foundation” (1990), and “World Cinema Foundation” (2007). He has achieved many awards and is renowned personality in the United States of America. His awards include – AFI life achievement award, Academy Awards, Palme d’Or, Cannes film festival the Best Director Award, Silver Lion, Grammy awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and DGA awards. He has directed many landmark movies and has a great name today in the world of Hollywood industry. WORD COUNT – 121 Abstract Jordan repeatedly said, “There’s no nobility in poverty” (Scorsese, M. (Director). (12/25/2013). The Wolf of Wall Street [Motion picture on DVD]. United States of America: Paramount Pictures); the research is bout a young aspiring entrepreneur Jordan Belfort and about his lifestyle, convergence in the lifestyle, ethics, business culture, addictions...
Words: 1746 - Pages: 7
...Wall Street takes place in New York in the late 80’s. It reflects to the American dream to corporate greed, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of Jordan Belfort. Belfort is an American author, motivational speaker, and former stockbroker who pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock market manipulation and running a boiler room as part of a penny stock scam. Belfort spent 22 months in prison as part of an agreement under which he gave testimony against numerous partners and subordinates in his fraud scheme. In the movie The Wolf of Wall Street Belfort goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption. Excess success and wealth in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title "The Wolf of Wall Street." Belfort came from mostly humble beginnings, and after getting married, decided he wanted something more than the life he had created thus far for himself. After tapping into his talent to sell, he begins to accumulate a great deal of money. As his wealth grows, so does his propensity to indulge in a variety and quantity of drugs. He soon finds himself having to transport his money across international lines. He waffles back and fourth between helping the FBI,...
Words: 1159 - Pages: 5
...hunger games last till they is only one victor. If the victor wins they are giving money and food forever then they become mentors for their district. But this hunger game two people from district 12 became victors because of there would have been no victors because they were going to kill them self’s which was very bad to the public eye. Freestyle #2 My other favorite movie is the wolf of Wall Street. It’s about a middle-class, Queens-raised Belfort tried and failed to establish himself on Wall Street he worked at a blue chip firm, under the wing of a grinning sleaze ball. but got laid off in the market crash of 1987. He reinvented himself on Long Island by taking over a penny stock boiler room and giving it an old money name, Stratton Oakmont, to gain the confidence of middle and working class investors. The firm employed over 1000 stock brokers and was involved in stock issues totaling more than $1 billion. But at the end of the movie he ended up get caught by the feds because the firm was not really selling anything but taking people’s...
Words: 312 - Pages: 2
...The movie I selected is called the Wolf of Wall Street, and took place during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Jordan Belford is a young man from Queens who is first hired as a sales consultant, and forced to call over 500 business men a day. Soon after the crash, Belford is forced to leave, he continues his career selling penny stocks, or pink sheets. Belford does very well here, and soon is able to found their own brokerage firm, with his good friend Danny Porush, which they call Stratton Oakmont. The new-era thinking that Belford came up with was really a con. Belford and Porush would own shares of risky companies that were going public or that they were taking public, and they had their brokers aggressively sell the stock to try and inflate the price. They would then sell the shares to make a good profit. As the stock collapsed, the investor would be left with nothing. They did this with Porush childhoods friend, and shoe company owner, Steve Madden. They made about $23 million off Madden, all three ended up in prison. He would launder money into Swiss banks, and had mob ties. Swindling hundred of millions of dollars out of peoples life savings. There were many important political issues, social and economic changes that occurred while Belford was doing business, that very well did affect him. During 1987 was right when Belford got into the business. At this time the US has just ended the Cold War, with their fight with the Soviet Union. At this time international...
Words: 677 - Pages: 3
...------------------Remembering the Champ---------------------- "What a great par this is gonna be". Those of you that have had the pleasure of playing golf with Brian might recall hearing him call that one out. If you haven't heard it, then I'll give you his explanation for it. My name is Matt Lynch. As one of Brian's golfing buddies from Overbrook Golf Club I've been asked to make a few comments about the golf and Overbrook portion of his life. It is an honor to do so. Regarding his phrase "what a great par this is gonna be".....Brian was a very good golfer and part of that included being an accurate driver off of the tee. Occasionally though, even Superman would hit an errant tee shot...one destined for the trees or thick rough or some other obstacle. It's at that moment, when he knew that he'd hit a bad one, that he'd say "what a great par this is gonna be". He'd explain it like this. He saw no sense in cursing about the bad shot; no sense in slamming your club, much less ever tossing your club. That was all just wasting energy on something that was over. The shot was history and there's nothing you could do about it so why waste the energy crying about it? Instead, it would be so much smarter, so much more productive to channel all of that energy into the next shot. Look forward. Figure out what you can do to salvage the situation and turn a rough start into a great par. I KNOW that's how he conducted himself on the golf course and I believe that's how he...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
