I’ve read some interesting autobiographical stories. Rock stars, drug users, former prostitutes – they all end up writing books about their escapades for the public to read.
What I had never heard before was a story from a stock broker (one that wasn’t in the “get rich quickly” financial section). This summer I picked up Jordan Belmont’s The Wolf of Wall Street and it was absolutely outrageous.
Belmont prefaces the story by telling the reader that these are the events as he best recalls them due to intoxication and drug use. No mincing of words there. The story that follows is appalling, one that is certainly not for those with a weak constitution.
Belmont presents his life as lavish, and then lists all the problems that can accompany said lifestyle. This isn’t as much a “poor little rich boy” story as it is a tale where you watch a man lose everything that he had worked for.
Not many details were spared. Belmont describes his drug use, sexual encounters, and dangerous stunts in detail, not leaving much to the imagination.
His inner monologue is often cold and certainly selfish. What makes this different than many other autobiographies is that Belmont just lays it out on the table.
You know from the beginning that he regrets the decision but he manages to describe his lowest points while using the voice of reason guiding him at the time. Therefore, many of these actions take place seemingly with no remorse or guilt.
The story was almost so unbelievable that I went online and looked this up, thinking that he couldn’t possibly be telling the truth about breaking so many federal laws. It turns out that he is telling the truth, right down to chop stocks and midget tossing.
The book is long, and could have benefited from a more skilled editor, but otherwise it’s a wild ride through the fast paced, dysfunctional life of a man who practically self-implodes. Due to the violence, sex, drug use, numerous federal and SEC violations I would once again remind reader that this isn’t a “clean” story, no matter how interesting it was to read.
