Ever wondered what the real-life “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort is doing following the events of the Martin Scorsese film? Well, the former stockbroker famously played by Leonardo DiCaprio is attempting to distance himself from an international crime scandal that all started when he sold the rights to his wild memoir to a financier armed with billions of dirty money. So, a lot…
For over five years now, Jordan Belfort has been in the middle of a huge scandal since he found out the major producers on the four-time Oscar nominated Wolf of Wall Street were major criminals. It’s an incredibly complicated headache to have, and the latest news is Belfort is now suing the production company, Red Granite, for $300 million.
The real “Wolf of Wall Street” is asking Red Granite to pay him millions because he was not aware he was selling the rights to his story to crooks, per The Hollywood Reporter. Jordan Belfort’s lawyer said in a statement that the issue has “significantly damaged” Belfort and has asked that the production company cuts its ties with him.
The scandal involves former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who bought the rights to the Scorsese film with cash from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (also known as 1MDB). Razak has been accused of illegally draining $700 million from the government-run company to fund his own excessive lifestyle, and Jho Low – who is currently an international fugitive – drained $4.5 billion from that same fund.
In April 2019, the former prime minister faced trial over in Malaysia for his financial transactions and is now facing potential jail time there. His stepson and Red Granite co-founder, Riza Aziz, is also in the same boat, but he previously cut a $60 million deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to block off a lawsuit in California.
The government returned the $60 million to Malaysia last May, but that’s not much when billions of dollars were taken from the 1MDB fund. In Jordan Belfort’s new case against Red Granite, he is suing for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, violation of the RICO Act, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Considering the spot Red Granite is currently in with the Malaysian and U.S. goverments, it’s slim that Jordan Belfort will be getting the $300 million he’s asked for in his lawsuit. However, he could be freed from the rights agreement he made with the production company. Belfort could negotiate the rights to his Wolf of Wall Street sequel memoir, Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. Check out what Red Granite’s lawyer said about the case:
Jordan Belfort's lawsuit is nothing more than a desperate and supremely ironic attempt to get out from under an agreement that for the first time in his life made him rich and famous through lawful and legitimate means.
Things are going much better for Leonardo DiCaprio, the man who brought Jordan Belfort to life on the big screen. He has another Oscar nomination for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and director Martin Scorsese had a huge year with his film The Irishman. The pair of collaborators are going to be working on a movie called Killers of the Flower Moon.
