Real Life Bankers Reveal Disturbing Truth We Didnt See In The Wolf Of Wall Street

Aside from providing us with two hours of unparalleled entertainment, Martin Scorsese's epic The Wolf of Wall Street acted as a powerful critique of the drug-fuelled, money-obsessed, and ultimately morally-bankrupt world of corporate finance. Scorsese's tale of excess attempted to shine a light on banking culture in its heyday. But despite featuring the requisite amounts of narcotics, flashy cars and you-name-it, The Wolf of Wall Street also attempted to show another side to banking culture: the human toll. Now, I'm not particularly too fond of bankers, and chances are you're not either. The press, in particular, have made their stance on the issue quite clear - in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, tabloids everywhere condemned investment bankers as being everything from "greedy" to "parasitic". Credit: Sky Now, Scorsese's 2013 comedy-drama was after all, just a film. However, its depiction of such unbridled partying and reckless drug and alcohol consumption left us all wondering, was it really that obscene? Economy took it upon itself to uncover the reality of working in finance during its veritable zeitgeist and what they discovered may just surprise you... As it turns out, bankers have a fair amount to say about what they did before the crash of 2008, and they're rather self-aware of how they are perceived in the public eye, too. Richard, who has worked in the sector for over a decade told Economy that he's aware that "people think we’re scum [...] I think it’s just envy. We did earn too much money… that’s probably the root cause of it." And a new recruit to one of the top dogs of the financial world, James, corroborated, "they think we're sitting around plotting how to become rich." One thing, that won't come as a surprise to anyone is that bankers certainly did (and still do) earn a lot of money. US investment banker Jeff confirmed that bonuses really are as high as reported: "generally, my bonus is between 25 and 75 per cent of my salary. But I’d freak if it dropped below 40 per cent, actually. It can go up to 200 or 300 per cent, depending on the firm.” And if you're worried about impressing the in-laws, look no further. Melissa, who worked at Lehman Brothers in 2007 said: “Status-wise, a lot of people think it’s one of the top places to be [...] You earn way more than you would in any other job right out of university - or you did back then, anyway. I’ll never earn that much in one year again. It’s a ridiculous sum.” However, there is certainly a price to pay, and it's something that all of the interviewees seem united on. Jeff, an investment banker on Wall Street seemed to sum it up for many when he stated, "I have had weeks where I wake up, work out, then work for 15 hours straight. I’d pass out, wake up, rinse and repeat. The industry tends to murder its young employees with work because they never stand up for themselves. Then they kick the weak or stupid ones to the curb." In fact, the gruelling working hours are something that mass media seem to look over. Bankers don't exactly work a 9-5; rather, their working hours seem to be a pretty solid 14-19 hours, and each hour seems to be more intense than the last. Melissa offered a pretty cogent anecdote on the latter: "We had a coffee shop inside the bank, and when I was relatively new, I literally just got up from my desk to get a coffee, and took about five minutes, but I didn’t take my Blackberry. And when I got back, the whole team was like ‘How were you not responding to our emails?!’ You’re always expected to be on call, like it’s an operating theatre." So yes, whilst there are parties galore and rather impressive salaries and bonuses, the image we're getting of the day-to‑day life of investment bankers seems to be more mundane than Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of a revelling, frolicking Jordan Belfort. As Kevin eloquently surmised, "it was less Wolf of Wall Street and more ‘Sad, Abused Dog of Wall Street’": "These are not millionaires and billionaires who have crazy yacht parties and do cocaine on the hoods of their Lamborghinis. Most of them are 22, 23, working 100 hours a week on the most boring stuff imaginable, and they just want to make enough money to pay back their student loans and quit to do something they’re actually passionate about." Well, there you have it. The life of banking, though incredibly well‑paying, and yes, filled with some rather bountiful job perks, really isn't as glamorous as popular culture will have you believe.

The ex-wife of Jordan Belfort - better known to audiences as the Wolf of Wall Street - has revealed how accurate the movie's depiction of their relationship was.

Nine years after the release of the Martin Scorsese film adaptation of the 60-year-old businessman, his second wife Nadine Macaluso, formally known as Nadine Caridi, took to TikTok to speak about her past relationship.

Portrayed by Margot Robbie in the film under the name Naomi Lapaglia, Nadine was married to Jordan Belfort during the time the critically acclaimed film spanned.

While the flick wasn’t supposed to be a true-to-life depiction of Nadine - who is now a licensed marriage and family therapist - the comparisons are still evident.

Watch her TikTok video below:

Belfort launched a career that included drugs, women, and white-collar crime over the time of his marriage to Nadine. It didn’t end well for him, as he was convicted of his financial crimes and spent a number of years in prison.

Since her split from the stockbroker, Nadine has moved on with her life and is able to reflect on some of the things that originated the movie's storyline.

In her video which was posted on August 22 and has amassed 569.5K likes and 5.8 million views, she said: "So, can you imagine having a movie made about your life, about your love life, that was a Greek tragedy?"

"It’s not fun, but guess what - I had that happen," she said. "How accurate was the movie? I think that if you look at it through Jordan’s lens it was really accurate."

"I think that if you look at it through my lens it wasn’t, and that makes sense because that was actually how our marriage was," she said, before explaining that she became a therapist, got a Ph.D., and became an expert in "relational trauma".

"And so, I am able to discern his truth, my truth, and everything in between, so stay and watch," she concluded.

Margot Robbie as Nadine. Credit: TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy

In a follow-up video on her page, Nadine shared some accurate scenes from the movie, including the "love bombing" scene when Robbie was sitting in a chair with flowers all around her.

"Oh my God that scene where Margot [Robbie] has all the flowers around her apartment, that’s love bombing," she said. "I actually came home to an 800 square foot apartment with 1400 square feet of flowers, and that’s love bombing, and that’s what made me fall so in love with Jordan."

Love bombing is when someone tries to attain someone's affection through different displays of attention and has been identified as a possible part of a cycle of abuse.

The overwhelming display of affection is meant to influence and manipulate someone into doing whatever you want or get them on your side. "That’s what happens," she said. "It’s also love conning and idolization - he just adored me."

After her divorce, Nadine enrolled at the Pacifica Graduate Institute and earned her Masters in counseling as well as a Ph.D. in Somatic and Depth psychology.

Featured image credit: TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy

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Jonah Hill's career in Hollywood has taken some surprising turns. After playing minor roles in several smaller movies, he was first noticed by many in his brief but memorable role in Knocked Up in 2007, and quickly became part of that comedy crew, frequently appearing in various movies starring or written by the likes of Seth Rogen and James Franco. His real first big role was in Superbad later that same year, where he made a name for himself as a relatable (while still absurd) portrayal of being a teenage boy desperate to grow up. From then on his career was only on the up, but he surprised everyone by taking a serious dramatic turn in Moneyball, where he earned an Oscar nomination starring opposite Brad Pitt. The meeting point between these two worlds was his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas). The 2013 movie was a mix of the outright hilarious and the serious, often brutal, reality of a world in which men pushed the boundaries of what was moral in the workplace, eventually going straight over the edge into all-out debauchery. His portrayal of Donnie Azoff, partner to Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort (based on a real man), was one of the highlights of the film. But the experience was even better for the actor, who spoke on The Howard Stern Show about how he realised one of his bucket list goals. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BNOHTBdgAUO/?hl=en&taken-by=jonahhill_]] "I got to f**king be in a Martin Scorsese movie and I just got nominated for an Oscar," he said of not having any career regrets. "I'm tripping out, Howard . . . I'm in shock. I'm totally in shock." While it's not exactly a surprise that a mega star like Leonardo DiCaprio pulled in the biggest paycheck on the set of the seven-month shoot, the difference between his and Hill's earnings is quite large. While Jonah Hill's $60,000 is nothing to sniff at, DiCaprio earned a ridiculous $10 million for the role - showing how much actors can get paid on projects like this. "They gave me the lowest amount of money possible," he told Howard Stern, "It was the minimum, I think SAG (Screen Actors Guild) minimum is something like $60,000 before commissions and taxes." But he was not interested in disputing the contract, even if there was a chance he could earn a little more. "That was their offer and I said, 'I will sign the paper tonight. Fax them the papers tonight. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind. I want to sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can't change their mind'." "It's not about money for me. None of this S–T is about money. I want to make money to pay my rent, and hopefully have a family one day and have kids and stuff." "I would sell my house and give him all my money to work for him [Martin Scorsese]." "I would have done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second." You can understand where he's coming from. Working with one of the most talented people in your industry is one thing, but being paid $10 million for your trouble? That seems like a pretty good deal to me.

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Sometimes it takes dozens of roles before audiences catch on to the talents of an actor, but in some cases, one major role is enough to propel someone from anonymity to super stardom. That role of a lifetime for Margot Robbie, now one of the biggest stars on the planet, was her appearance in The Wolf of Wall Street. The 27-year-old Australian actress started off with a number of independent films in the late 2000s, before landing a role in the soap opera Neighbours, which she appeared in from 2008 to 2011. Two years later, she was cast as Naomi Lapaglia alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's epic tale of excess and debauchery. According to the actress, this was incredibly intimidating. It would have been difficult enough to stand alongside legends of the industry in the first place, but she also lacked confidence about whether she suited the character when she was first cast. In a recent interview with Wonderland, she said her character was described as "the hottest blonde ever", and she was "acutely aware" that she didn't fit the bill, at least in her mind: "I was just terrified that people would see the movie and think ‘eugh! She’s not that great.'" "When I was playing Naomi in The Wolf of Wall Street it was so high-tempo sexy. I was acutely aware that the line in the screenplay was 'the hottest blonde ever' – I'm clearly not the hottest blonde ever" This isn't the only thing she was anxious about as the film was released. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel she admitted she had lied to her family about certain aspects of the movie, including the infamous nude scene: "I just flat out lied to my family for a really long time. I said, 'I don't care what you hear, there is no nudity, I'm not doing any nudity. Ignore anything anyone's saying, there is no nudity'. "And then I thought, 'Well, the movie's going to come out and they'll see there's nudity', so I changed that. The lie evolved to, 'Well actually it's a body double, and they just CGI-ed my head onto someone else'. "My family don't have anything to do with the entertainment industry so they totally bought it. They were like, 'They can do that?' And I was like, 'Oh, technology these days, you wouldn't believe what they do in Hollywood'." During the Wonderland interview she also talked about her new film I, Tonya, in which she plays Tonya Harding, the controversial Olympic skating champion. The film has recently received rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, but Robbie was frustrated with the way the press handled it. "All the reading, all the acting coaching, and then someone reviews the movie or interviews you and all they do is focus on the aesthetics," she lamented, "You think, 'F**k you. You've totally discredited the work I did and it's not fair'." Further proving her ability to transform, Robbie is also set to star as Queen Elizabeth I in the historical film Mary Queen of Scots, which is set to come out in November next year.

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Michael Burry, best known for being portrayed by Christian Bale in the 2015 hit film The Big Short, has warned us about the state of the economy and the stock market.

It's not good news from the hedge fund manager, who has highlighted the instability in the market as a result of rising geopolitical tensions, the rise of AI and other factors.

The rising prices of goods and oil have been something that can be primarily attributed to the restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane responsible for exporting a fifth of the world's oil.

While Donald Trump is reiterating that he's not struggling financially from the spike in oil prices, other investors who have money in the industry are also claiming to see benefits.

But Burry claims that these positives will only be short-lived, and that something far scarier might be on the horizon for those in the stock market.

Michael Burry made headlines for betting against Nvidia in the past. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

A 'bloody' financial event

Burry took to his Substack, claiming that we are moments away from a 'bloody' event which could devastate the economy, giving us shades of the 2008 financial crisis.

While many may believe that this is the case anyway, Burry says that he isn't bothered with the current Nasdaq 100 index, going as far as claiming that it may be too good to be true.

“This, all of it, is the scene of the bloody car crash, minutes before it happens," he wrote.

Burry is best known for being one of the few people who predicted the devastating economic crash in 2008, as he believes that history may be repeating itself.

Apparently, a financial crash this year could be even worse than any previous crash, because of the high levels of debt involved, and what's known as the AI bubble.

This theory suggests that the perception of AI and its hype is so high that people are putting significant amounts of money into its potential, which may never materialise, and leave investors out-of-pocket.

“In the next two days, I will release a valuation exercise that seems to suggest almost no tech stock, not even bombed out software stocks, are inexpensive when held to strict accounting standards, more strict and more forensic in nature than GAAP," he penned.

The hedge fund manager has warned that the stock market may not continue at its current rate. Credit: Jim Spellman/Getty

Certain factors will affect stock prices

Burry explained in his article that other things could have a negative impact on stock prices.

He told investors to delve into potential issues such as depreciation practices, construction-in-progress spending, M&A expenses and capital leases.

It's not all about GAAP income, as Burry explained: “In addition, there are the future write-downs, such as Nvidia’s growing contracts with TSMC, securing over one hundred billion dollars of capacity at TSMC.

"CSCO in 2001 and 2002 wrote down years of its best earnings when it had to write off the same types of contracts with its suppliers.”

While you may have made a sizeable earning from the recent upsurge in values, you may be better off selling your shares before disaster strikes.

He claimed: “History tells us that even if the party goes on for another week, month, three months, or year, the resolution will be to much lower prices.”

Featured image credit: Jim Spellman / Getty

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Growing up watching television shows like Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and the OC, it's hard, especially when you're an adolescent, not to compare your lives to the one per cent. While the majority of us attended state-run schools, and ate the crustless sandwiches our mothers made us for lunch, others went to elite boarding schools, and drank mimosas in the bars of Manhattan come happy hour. But ponies and expensive gifts aside, every teenager experiences a moment in their lives when they realise that they have a hell of a lot of growing up to do. And the filthy rich kids of the world are no exception. Here, 10 privileged teens from Reddit pinpoint the moment when "real life" finally hit them...

1. Sometimes it takes a bankruptcy

"About 2nd grade. That's when my family went bankrupt (my dad got f**ked over by his business partner) and we went from new cars, games, eating out constantly, and computers, to filling water bottles at the library, pooling baths, and having variations of pasta for weeks for dinner, in the course of months. We're still on the climb back to full middle-upper class. I'm very fortunate to have great parents that do their best."

2. Taking a job as a camp counsellor turned out to be life changing

"I was a spoiled rotten child and also into my teen years. My parents bought me a brand new red convertible for my 16th birthday. I threw a fit over it because what I actually wanted was my brother's old car (that we still had) which was dark blue in colour. I was so shallow and a horrible person back then..

"So what really turned me around? That next summer I took a job as a camp counselor at a local day camp. I did not have to work but I was bored and sounded like something easy to do. God, I was so wrong. This day camp was specifically geared to the lower classes who could not afford child care during the summer. We served them breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. For a lot of the camp kids this was all they would eat that day and on Friday's they would beg for extra food/snacks to take home for themselves and/or their siblings because they may not get to eat again until Monday. This really hit me hard but the part that got me the most..

"This one kid (around 5-6) would refuse to take their shoes and socks off, even if we were going to the public pool that day. I couldn't understand why until one day he came in limping, like his feet were causing him so much pain. I convinced him to let me help him get his shoes and socks so I could see what might be bothering him. Once I did, it took everything in me not to break down right there. His socks were covered in blood. His poor tiny little feet were covered in sores and his toes seemed to curl under a bit. He was in so much pain from the state of his feet. As it turns out, he had been wearing shoes about 3 sizes too small. His family couldn't afford new shoes. I took my lunch break and went out to buy him new socks and a few pairs of shoes.

"This broke me..which I definitely needed. It changed my way of thinking forever."

3. It's all about the brand names for this individual

"When my Dad was sued and we went from having 3 Mercedes, a Lamborghini, and a Ferrari to having a Toyota Sequoia."

4. Well, this is pretty funny

"I grew up in Indonesia, a 3rd world country where you'd definitely have maids if you're posting on reddit. I grew up thinking it's common to have multiple maids.

"Moved to Singapore, a 1st world country where people still have maids, but it's more of an upper-middle class & above thing. Got assigned to sweep the floors by the teachers, and that was my first time holding a broom.

"Swept it back and forth like in cartoons, and everyone was looking at me going, 'Er, what the f**k are you doing?'

"Turns out I was just creating a dust cloud around me. You have to sweep in one direction and gather all the dust into the dust pan.

"Mind blown."

5. This would be a "shock to the system"

"Grew up in a fancy home, more rooms than you could ever need on a large property in a pretty rural area. I got everything I wanted whenever I wanted; huge plasma tv, dslr camera, motorbike, pony etc. I never knew what my parents really did for a living, I remember kids always asking what my parents did as a job in the playground and I never really knew how to respond.

"I soon figured out what my parents did when my dad was arrested for drug trafficking and the house, cars and everything else was repossessed by the government as profits of crime. I now live in a shitty house that barely stands in a dodgy area of town, it definitely was a shock to the system but I'm adjusting just fine I guess."

6. Oops

"When I was 16 my parents left for a week vacation and gave me money for the week. Since I didn't know how to do laundry (never even seen it done) I took all my clothes to the dry cleaner. Even my panties. The cleaners asked 3 times if I was sure I wanted them dry cleaned. I said yes. 2 days later I got 8 pair of panties safety pinned to individual hangers. My "laundry" cost about $90 that week. I just assumed this was all normal."

7. Being spoilt as a child can impact your adult life

"I was raised by my great grandmother. She was well to do, active well into her 80's and her world revolved around me. Ballet, gymnastics, all the music classes I could fit in my schedule. I had a menagerie of pets. Christmases were obscene. She catered to my every whim as a child.

"Now that I'm an adult and my wonderful Gram has passed, I've learned that what I had was really unique. The world does not wait on me, I'm not special to everyone. I struggle with entitlement and narcissistic tendencies. It's isolating at times and I miss her."

8. This is unfortunate

"My parents went bankrupt. Twice. Went from private school to having cars and the house repossessed. Yay."

9. This person didn't realise how privileged she was until she compared her childhood to her husband's

"At 20, when I started dating my now husband. He was raised by a single mom who worked three jobs and they still barely got by, while my mom was a SAHM and my dad was/is a successful in his line of work.

"Husband and I went to high school together. At the beginning of every school year my parents would easily drop $15k on me and my sister for school clothes; my husband would go with our HS secretary to get clothes that were paid for by the school district. I didn't even know that was a thing....

"Edit: Yes, I am aware and I agree that this is a stupid amount of money to spend on clothing. To clarify, a large portion of that amount was spent on designer items/accessories."

10. Wow.

"Military bootcamp. Wanted to eat an orange, didn't know how to peel one. Slyly waited for someone else to start peeling before emulating him. End up with a badly squashed, untidily peeled orange ball that tasted like sour reality. BOOM. Evolved."

Well, there you have it. Even the rich kids of the world have to get schooled eventually.

Real-life bankers reveal disturbing truth we didn't see in 'The Wolf Of Wall Street'

Follow Up Articles

Jordan Belfort's ex-wife speaks out on how accurately 'The Wolf of Wall Street' portrayed their relationship

This is the reason Jonah Hill only got paid $60,000 to star in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Margot Robbie reveals huge problem she had with 'Wolf Of Wall Street'

The Big Short's Michael Burry warns of 'bloody' financial event with devastating consequences worldwide

10 Filthy rich kids pinpoint the moment 'real life' hit them

Jordan Belfort's ex-wife speaks out on how accurately 'The Wolf of Wall Street' portrayed their relationship

This is the reason Jonah Hill only got paid $60,000 to star in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Margot Robbie reveals huge problem she had with 'Wolf Of Wall Street'

10 Filthy rich kids pinpoint the moment 'real life' hit them

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Featured image credit: TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy

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The Big Short's Michael Burry warns of 'bloody' financial event with devastating consequences worldwide

A 'bloody' financial event

Certain factors will affect stock prices

Featured image credit: Jim Spellman / Getty

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