The Wolf of Wall Street is an autobiography by Jordan Belfort. As investors it is important to understand the range of people that we may come across from time to time, and the way they do business. Jordan Belfort is at one extreme of the spectrum – constantly crossing ethical and moral boundaries (and the law) to make a dollar.
Belfort was a stock broker who made his money by buying shares in a company, and then using aggressive sales tactics to get his clients to buy the shares off him at inflated values (this is most easily done using penny stocks which are often illiquid and have large bid-ask spreads). The book (and subsequent movie) are entertaining and disturbing at the same time, and reinforce the ‘buyer beware’ attitude that we all should take when making investment decisions.
This is an entertaining and highly recommended read.