A wolf in a 2,000 dollar suit

Described by Forbes as "a twisted version of Robin Hood, who robs from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers", Jordan Belfort (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Oscar nominated film The Wolf of Wall Street) served 22 months in prison for securities fraud and money laundering. He used his brokers to aggressively sell risky stock that he owned shares in to inflate the price and then sell this stock on to make a profit. The film was criticised for portraying his lifestyle as glamorous with little mention of the victims of his scam. Belfort himself has said that his life of sex and drugs was even worse than shown in the film.

Is it really ethical to portray these characters as those with luxury lifestyles when their actions affect real people? Do these portrayals only serve to make society forget about the actions of others who have committed these crimes?

Enron - the seventh largest company in the United States. The company hid hundreds of millions of dollars worth of debt and fooled investors and analysts into thinking it was a stable company. Their shell companies recorded fake revenues to create the illusion of incredible figures. After being found out, Enron's chief auditor ordered employees to shred documents. It is incredible that after being so deceitful, these individuals still feel no guilt and try to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.

WorldCom - they recorded operating expenses as investments. They thought it acceptable to "invest" in the cost of pencils, pens and paper. The $3.8 billion that should have been recorded as expenses was actually classed as investments. After discovering the company was actually unprofitable, investors had to watch the stock price drop to less than 20 cents. This brought to light the unforgivable impact on the other people inside the company. Not only were investors affected, but thousands of employees lost their jobs.

The selfish actions of a few high and mighty men can severely impact the lives of "the little people" in society. It is important to remember this whenever you're innocently admiring Jordan Belfort's multiple sport cars and helicopters.