It’s an ending far happier — but perhaps no less instructive — than Martin Scorsese’s: Jordan Belfort, whose memoir The Wolf of Wall Street turned into last year’s Scorsese-directed hit starring Leonardo DiCaprio, says he expects to earn more this year from motivational speaking than he did in his best years as a stockbroker with Stratton Oakmont.
“My goal is to make north of $100 million so I am paying back everyone this year,” Belfort said at a conference in Dubai, according to Bloomberg News.
Related: Before 'The Wolf' — 5 Hollywood Takes on Wall Street
The disgraced fraudster says the money will enable him to pay back investors burned by his pump-and-dump schemes. Belfort bilked investors out of more than $200 million over seven years and then spent nearly two years behind bars for his money laundering and securities fraud.
Belfort is set to embark on a 45-city speaking tour. He reportedly makes around $30,000 a speech along with royalties from his memoir and the Scorsese movie. (Even at that handomse rate for speeches, it would take a few thousand speaking engagements to get close to $100 million. That's a lot of motivation.)
As part of his $110.4 million restitution agreement with the government, Belfort is required to give half his income to pay back the more than 1,500 clients he defrauded. Prosecutors alleged earlier this year that Belfort had been shirking his required restitution payments.
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