The Wolf of Wall Street

By: Jordan Belfort

Narrated by: Bobby Cannavale

Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht, crashed a Gulfstream jet, and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to the wife and kids who waited for him at home, and the fast-talking, hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did his bidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of the ill-fated genius they called...

The Wolf of Wall Street

In the 1990s Jordan Belfort, former kingpin of the notorious investment firm Stratton Oakmont, became one of the most infamous names in American finance: a brilliant, conniving stock-chopper who led his merry mob on a wild ride out of the canyons of Wall Street and into a massive office on Long Island. Now, in this astounding and hilarious tell-all autobiography, Belfort narrates a story of greed, power, and excess no one could invent.

Stratton Oakmont turned microcap investing into a wickedly lucrative game as Belfort’s hyped-up, coked-out brokers browbeat clients into stock buys that were guaranteed to earn obscene profits - for the house. But an insatiable appetite for debauchery, questionable tactics, and a fateful partnership with a breakout shoe designer named Steve Madden would land Belfort on both sides of the law and into a harrowing darkness all his own.

From the stormy relationship Belfort shared with his model-wife as they ran a madcap household that included two young children, a full-time staff of 22, a pair of bodyguards, and hidden cameras everywhere - even as the SEC and FBI zeroed in on them - to the unbridled hedonism of his office life, here is the extraordinary story of an ordinary guy who went from hustling Italian ices at 16 to making hundreds of millions. Until it all came crashing down.

©2007 Jordan Belfort (P)2007 Random House Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"A cocky bad boy of finance recalls...[his] career as a master of his own universe....A hell of a read." ( Kirkus Reviews)

No doubt

This was a flawless piece. The narrorator was great. As expected it was better then the movie. I would reccomend it to anyone.

THIS VERSION IS ABRIDGED.

Any additional comments?

When I downloaded this in April 2013, it was the only version available on Audible. I did not realize that it was abridged until I was discussing the book with a friend. We realized that there seemed to be a lot that I was missing. There now is an unabridged version available (that they released just before the movie)...get that one! There was a lot missing from this one.

Abridged version was unfortunate

What did you like best about The Wolf of Wall Street? What did you like least?

Great story telling, unfortunately the abridged version lacks certain elements that made the novel so captivating. However, the audiobook is still worth a listen.

Captivating

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have recommended this book to many friends and family and even loaned the audio book to a few as well. I found it it utterly fantastic (if a little cliche at times) and have enjoyed it so much that it has been listened to in full five times in a month.

What other book might you compare The Wolf of Wall Street to and why?

While I'm sure there are MANY other books out there of a similar nature, I myself haven't read any of them, and so I found this to be fresh and Jordan's way of writing did make it very easy to visualize the complete madness of his life in this time.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

My favorite moment in the book without a doubt has to be the scene where he was shredding the furniture with what I can only describe as extreme prejudice looking for a crack rock. It was so strange to me to be somewhat involved in that thought process that it has stuck in as a very bold memory.

Any additional comments?

While I am aware that some people aren't as in love with this book as me, I would say that anyone who can listen to/read it should at the very least give it a go.

Eh

Book is too short. The movie was more entertaining because you saw a lot of the craziness. Probably more in the sequel, but not interested enough to continue. Worth checking out, though.

Great for all young professionals.

I absolutely loved this book and I think everyone in the business world, especially entrepreneurs, should indulge. Not only will it motivate you to be great, it should hopefully teach a lesson of unethical practices and unhealthy habits in your lifestyle.

Good story of life in the 90's Bull Market

Loved it what a wild life he lived. It'll make some people very angry to see the lies and deceit he caused so many

Extremely Entertaining

I have a long train commute to work everyday. I laughed my ass of listening to this book for 4 days straight.

The drug addict of wall street

Would you consider the audio edition of The Wolf of Wall Street to be better than the print version?

Saw the movie, but didn't read the book. Who the hell reads a book and listens to the audio version anyway?

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wolf of Wall Street?

Helicopter landing? Blue ball treatment from his wife? I'm not sure, because there are a few to choose from. Personally, I would say the story of ordering Martini's until either Belfort or the stock broker he worked for passed out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sometimes but not always.

Any additional comments?

Surprisingly little dirt and detail about the securities fraud. I wanted to hear more of the dirt and less details about Belforts family life. All of the details about doing drugs were great, but enough is enough already! I just think that part was a bit overdone.

The book reads like a story from Tony Soprano or your local mafia boss. It's got this wise guy feel to it that sort of explains some things about Jordan Belfort.

I like how the people in the book are given nicknames like the spitter and the drizzler. I also like how Belfort describes everything from his point of view, which is frequently distorted as hell due to his drug use and his self centered outlook on everything. It works because it's real. That's the main thing about this book that makes it worth reading, it's real. The people are real, the problems are real and Belfort is real.

Has to be one of my favorites

I watched the movie and have always watched Jordan on YouTube. So I decided to give his book a shot. It’s was amazing. The details make you feel like you were there!