Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street: “Everyone loves the dollar”

In his usual rest in Punta del Este with his Argentine wife, Cristina Invernizzi, Jordan Belfort -known to the world from the movie “The wolf of Wall Street”– He received Infobae at his home in Manantiales and shared his points of view on various topics.

In 2013, his incredible life story made it to the cinema under the direction of Martin Scorsese and with Leonardo DiCaprio as the protagonist, who competed for the main role of the film with figures of the stature of Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

At barely 21 years old, this New Yorker became one of the most controversial characters in the world of finance on Wall Street, where he earned millions of dollars with his company, Stratton Oakmont. His fierce way of doing business and making money quickly earned him the nickname of “The wolf”.

At the age of 24, he touched the sky with his hands. New York idolized him, his bank accounts did not stop generating millions of dollars, he had a lot of power and a life full of luxuries. But he indulged in excesses and ended up jailed for two years on charges of stock market manipulation and money laundering. In that span of time, he wrote his life in the book that made it to the big screen, he learned from his mistakes and managed to resurface off Wall Streetmaking his way again among the millionaires.

Today, Jordan Belfort travels the world giving conferences on finance, investments, ethics and transparency in business. He is accompanied by his Argentine wife, Cristina Invernizzi, with whom he receives the New Year every summer in Punta del Este and, together, they visit his family spread between Córdoba and Buenos Aires.

Jordan and Cristina met in Mexico, in 2019, when the finance guru -who has more than 2 million followers on Instagram– was preparing to give a conference in Guadalajara. At the beginning of the relationship, language seemed like a big impediment for the couple, but the Wolf of Wall Street learned Spanish in record time. On February 23, 2021 -in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic- they were married in Las Vegas.

Cristina Invernizzi -born in Córdoba- She is a public auctioneer and real estate broker, and together with her family is dedicated to real estate in Argentina, an area in which Jordan Belfort plans to invest hand in hand.

-Would you live in Uruguay or Argentina?

I would live a few months of the year. Cristina and I have talked about it. We probably have a house there, or an apartment to spend more time with family and friends. Uruguay is great to be a few months a year. Spend Christmas, New Year… Definitely, I would love to stay longer. In Argentina, you could also live part-time. In Buenos Aires, there are beautiful areas and neighborhoods.

Why do we Argentines have an affair with the dollar?

Because the dollar is a relatively stable currency. Not that there are many problems with the dollar, but I guess in the world it is the best bad option there is. It maintains its value. It’s not just in Argentina, it’s all over the world.

You go and you find that the dollar is everywhere. America is a country where you don’t have to worry about one day the government going totalitarian, confiscating your money, and the next thing you know, it’s going to be worth nothing. For that reason, everyone love the dollar.

And of course, the United States has the largest economy in the world. In Argentina, you cannot save in pesos: you always have to resort to the dollar due to the instability of the country and high inflation. There were certain times in history when the currency was stable. There was no inflation for short periods of time, especially in the 1940s and some before.

-ANDWhat do you recommend investing today?

The best thing to invest is the S&P 500 index. This is the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States. Why do I recommend it? Because in the last hundred years it has proven to be the best investment there is. So you buy this, hold it for the long term, reinvest your dividends… And you just can’t beat it.

– And to Argentines, what do you recommend investing in?

In the same. I am sure that you can invest in the same things in Argentina. I know there are some currency controls but through financial products, you can have the same exposure to the US stock market. Without a doubt, I would recommend it to Argentines. I have done it myself in the past.

-Inpours in Argentina?

I haven’t invested in Argentina yet, but I’ve been looking at a lot of things over the years. I have looked at lithium and cryptocurrency investments. I haven’t done anything yet, but probably The first thing I would buy in Argentina would be real estate, which is my wife’s family business. Without a doubt, I will have the best advice.

-What do you think about investing in cryptocurrency?

I would not say cryptocurrency. I think Bitcoin serves as an excellent long-term hedge, especially in Argentina where there is a threat of inflation and you can’t always transact in dollars. I think Tham stablecoins they are also really the thing to own and transact business in Argentina. I use them when I’m there. But I would not buy other minor “cryptocurrencies”, NFTs and other low quality ones.

–Finally, if one of your children tells you that they want to live in Argentina, what business would you recommend they venture into?

I would say that you try to get a business that allows you to earn in US dollars, or take advantage of some of the weird money issues, where you can be on the right side of these different kinds of dollars: the blue race and the white race. I would try to make it one of those businesses.

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