Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio directed the black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013, but what are the best quotes?
Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street is a dark comedy crime epic that tells the true story of the rise to power and fall of stockbroker Jordan Belfort. Although the film received positive reviews, it was panned by some viewers who felt that it celebrated Belfort's criminal lifestyle.
Updated April 23, 2021 Kristen Palamara: Scorsese's film based on the true story of Jordan Belfort is widely popular and has fairly positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. While the film received good reviews overall, with some feeling that it contains questionable comments about business and personal ethics, there are surprisingly moments when the characters offer helpful, insightful, or hilarious advice. The audience can also relate some of the quotes and dialogue, even if they have most likely never been in a similar situation as the characters in the movie.
20. "No one knows if a stock is going up, down or sideways, least of all the stockbrokers. But we have to pretend we know."
Mark Hanna takes Jordan under his wing and intends to teach him all about the stock market, giving him tips and tricks about working over lunch together.
He tells Jordan that stocks are unpredictable and no one knows exactly what will happen, but stockbrokers need to sell their clients confidence that they know what will happen. This phrase is clear to anyone who felt out of place and just pretended to know what he was doing until he figured it out and pretended until he succeeded.
19. "Risk is what makes us young."
Aunt Emma and Jordan meet during his wedding to Naomi, quickly become friends, and Emma tells him this line. It's a wonderful feeling and an accessible reminder for everyone.
While it's good to be careful in life, sometimes it's good to take risks from time to time and keep a balance between the two. If people don't take risks, nothing will happen in their lives, so it's good to remember to take risks from time to time.
18. "You can watch me, make fun of me, try to block me, but you can't stop me."
Once Jordan Belfort has settled into a new job, he quickly rises through the ranks to the top position, and everyone he works with strives to be like him, but there are also those who try to stop his business practices and criminal activities.
Jordan is infinitely confident in himself and becomes completely selfish, thinking he can't be stopped. Everyone can probably understand that they want to be confident, but maybe not to the same degree as Jordan.
17. "Fall in love with a person who enjoys your insanity, not an idiot who makes you be normal."
Jordan finds Naomi in the movie and decides to start a relationship with her because she goes well with his new bold and sassy personality. Naomi keeps up with him, and they make a good couple.
This Jordan quote is a nice and understandable feeling that the person you fall for should be a good fit for you and hopefully you both appreciate each other's quirks.
16. "When you live by poor standards, you harm everyone who crosses your path, especially those you love."
Jordan certainly does a lot of damage to people throughout the film, including his clients and those he loves, as he loses control of his life, ignores his own moral compass, and makes several self-destructive decisions.
He is aware that his actions are hurting people when he says this, and it's a good reminder for everyone to be a little more compassionate and hold themselves to a higher standard.
15. "I made $49 million, which made me very upset because it was a little over three million a week."
One of the problems that mega-rich people face is that no amount of money is ever enough. When they become millionaires, they want to become billionaires. When they become billionaires, they want to become trillionaires.
Jordan Belfort sums it up when he says, "The year I turned 26, as the head of my own brokerage firm, I made $49 million, which really pissed me off because it was a little over three million a week."
14. "How else the fuck can you do this job? Cocaine and prostitutes, my friend."
The specificity of this quote does not necessarily apply to everyone. A dentist doesn't need cocaine and prostitutes to get through a day of appointments. But no job is easy, and people must do whatever they need to do to get through each day's work. In the case of Mark Hanna, this includes cocaine and prostitutes.
When Hanna recommends taking drugs at work to young, aspiring Jordan Belfort, he asks, "Mr. Hanna, can you take drugs during the day and still function, do your job?" Hannah replies dryly, "How else the fuck are you supposed to do this job? Cocaine and prostitutes, my friend."
13. "If anyone here thinks I'm superficial or materialistic, go work at McDonald's because that's where you belong!"
When The Wolf of Wall Street was first released, it was accused of glorifying the criminal lifestyle of its hero, Jordan Belfort, and praising a life of excess.
But, as Jordan himself points out in the film, the alternative to living in material superficiality is a lifetime job at McDonald's.
12. "Then two more every five minutes until one of us faints."
Matthew McConaughey's "The Wolf of Wall Street" character really knows how to order a drink: "Bring us two Absolute martinis. You know how much I love them, straight made. In seven and a half minutes, you bring us two more, then two more every five minutes until one of us f*cking passes out."
After Hannah places the order, Belfort says he's fine with the water, and Hannah replies, "It's his first day on Wall Street. Give him time."
11. "In the real world, it was indecent. But who the fuck would want to live there?".
When Jordan's father Max looks through his ledgers, he is horrified at all of his expenses, but Jordan claims it's all to keep his employees motivated. Max says it's "obscene" and leaves.
Off-screen, Jordan admits he's right, but offers some sage advice: "It was obscene in the real world. But who the hell wanted to live there?"
10. "The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you tell yourself why you can't achieve it."
There are many motivating quotes in The Wolf of Wall Street. The film features Jordan Belfort as a role model, and many of the scenes revolve around him rallying his fighters in the marketplace. This was noted by some critics as a negative point, since a guy who deceives the poor for his own gain is hardly a hero.
However, there are a few lines in the film that have a lot of truth in them, such as the one where Jordan gives advice that can be found in the first chapter of most self-improvement books.
9. "I choose wealth every F****** time."
Jordan Belfort has an interesting relationship with money. He did not grow up in a wealthy family. He grew up in a small apartment, raised by two middle-class accountants.
Belfort became one of the richest people in the world by cheating investors, and he realized that the idea that earning money by honest work and working hard for a stable salary was overrated. As someone familiar with both the world of the rich and the world of the poor, Jordan definitely has a preference for the former.
8. "If you show me the payroll for $72,000, I'll quit my job right now and work for you."
We meet John Hill's character Donnie Azoff at the very beginning of the film when he approaches Jordan Belfort and tells him about the world of brokerage. He asks him: "How much money do you earn?". Jordan replies, "$70,000 last month." Immediately, incredulous Donnie says: "Get out of here!". Jordan corrects himself: "Well, technically, $72,000 last month."
Donnie then makes the stunning statement: "If you show me a $72,000 payroll, I'll quit my job right now and work for you." A few seconds later, we see Donnie talking to his boss on a pay phone. He says, with Hill's perfect comic delivery, "Hey Paulie, what's up? No, it's all right. Hey, listen, I quit!"
7. "How to be sober?" "It F****** sucks."
When the feds finally catch up with Jordan and he is temporarily placed under house arrest, Donnie comes to visit him. Jordan asks him if he wants a beer and says he drinks non-alcoholic beer after he sobers up. Donnie doesn't understand what non-alcoholic beer is.
Donnie says, "I can't imagine ever not enjoying being drunk," and asks, "What's it like to be sober?" Jordan replies, "That f*cking sucks." To be fair, Jordan's criminal status at the time probably didn't help sobriety.
6. "I'll tell you what, I'll never eat at Benihan again. I don't care whose birthday it is."
One of the most surprising twists and turns in The Wolf of Wall Street is that Jordan Belfort is ultimately destroyed by the CEO of Benihana. Belfort explains which criminal charge ended his career:
Something about laundering drug money through offshore boat races and a guy named Rocky Aoki. You know, the founder of "Benihana"... Why were you so cruel that you chose a chain of damn hibachi restaurants to kill me?!
Later, during the visit, Donnie tells Jordan, "I'll tell you what: I will never eat at the Benihan again. I don't care whose birthday it is."
5. "I won't die sober!"
One of the most cinematic moments in the three-hour film The Wolf of Wall Street is when Jordan demands his sailor to get his yacht through a storm so he can solve a business problem. The lower deck of the yacht is flooded and it looks like they might not survive.
Jordan tells Donny to go downstairs and "get the crabs". Donnie says, "I can't go down there! It's all flooded! It's three feet of water!" Who wants to die sober?
4. "Let me give you a little legal advice: Shut The F*** Up!"
One of the most underrated roles in The Wolf of Wall Street is that of Kyle Chandler, the FBI agent who leads Belfort to his ultimate downfall. Their passive-aggressive conversation on the deck of Belfort's yacht is one of the most well-acted scenes in recent memory.
As the film progresses, Chandler's character becomes more and more open with Belfort. In the end, he just tells him, "Let me give you a little legal advice: Shut up!". In truth, this is excellent legal advice. If you don't say anything, the feds won't have anything. It is so simple. That's why they are taught to interrogate people.
3. "I want you to solve your problems by becoming rich!".
Jordan Belfort is great at giving motivational speeches to his employees, like this one: "So you listen to me, and you listen well. Are you overdue on your credit card bills? Okay! Pick up the phone and start dialing! Is your landlord ready to evict you? Okay! Pick up the phone and start dialing! Does your girlfriend think you're a worthless loser? Okay! Pick up the phone and start dialing!
I want you to solve your problems by becoming rich! All you have to do today is pick up the phone and say the words I taught you. And I'll make you richer than the most powerful CEO in the United States of fucking America!"
2. "I'm not going anywhere!"
When the feds try to kick Jordan Belfort out of his own brokerage, he refuses to leave. Instead, he delivers an impassioned speech about it:
Here is the land of opportunity. This is America. This is my home! The show goes on! They'll have to send the National Guard to get me out because I'm not going anywhere!
No one likes to be told what to do - though for most of us the demands don't come from the FBI as a result of a federal investigation - so we can all take Belfort's statement into account.
1. "Sell me this pen."
There is an interesting story about where this phrase came from. On the way to the set to film the diner scene, the cop assigned to guard Leonardo DiCaprio told him that he once interviewed for a job with the real Jordan Belfort. During the interview, Belfort handed him a pen and said, "Sell me that pen."
So DiCaprio included her in the scene. When the actors work with it, it's pure improvisation. The line ended up becoming so iconic and memorable that it was brought back into the film's final moments at a conference hosted by Belfort to show how frustrated he is with a new generation of business minds.
