A former partner at Stratton Oakmont, the infamous stock-trading firm that inspired the movie 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' has spoken out about his experiences as a new documentary premieres on Paramount+. Howie Gelfand, who rose to become a partner at the firm, described his lifestyle as 'insane' in an interview on 'CBS Mornings.'
The three-part docuseries, 'The Real Wolf of Wall Street,' provides an inside look at the firm run by Jordan Belfort, who was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the feature film. Gelfand joined Stratton Oakmont at the age of 19 and reported earning over $100,000 a month within a year, far exceeding his previous salary of $35,000 a year. At his peak, he was making over $1.5 million annually.
Gelfand revealed that he initially believed the firm's illegal activities were standard practice on Wall Street. However, he later acknowledged the toll of his lifestyle, which included substance abuse and severe health issues. 'I was the most miserable millionaire — 325 pounds, drugs, booze,' Gelfand said. 'I couldn't figure enough ways to subconsciously kill myself because what I was doing was horrible, so I had to anesthetize myself every day to do what I was doing.'
The documentary includes new revelations from over 15,000 internal FBI and government documents obtained by investigative reporter Jason Leopold using the Freedom of Information Act. 'The Real Wolf of Wall Street' is now streaming on Paramount+, a division of Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.