The real-life Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort who was played by Leonardo DiCaprio, has told the Press Association he has “no doubts” Brexit will work for the City.
Belfort was a former penny-stockbroker who later founded a defunct brokerage company, Stratton Oakmont in the US. He spent 22 months in prison for scamming investors, after pleading guilty to money laundering and securities fraud in 1999.
He was forced to pay back $110m (£85m) back to investors, despite the US government still claiming he owes his investors.
Belfort said, “it’ll work out for the City, I have no doubt that stay, go, whatever, London is going to be a financial hub and it will remain a financial hub.
“It’s been there for hundreds of years, it’s not going to change, it’s all fear mongering on that level.
“People want to do business in London, they’re comfortable doing business here. They have been doing business for how many? 270 years, right?
“They’re still gonna do business here, it’s not going to go to Frankfurt or somewhere. No way is that going to happen.”
Belfort said those who voted for Brexit, voted with “emotion” over immigration however, the Brexit debate is now more “about logic” which is harder to sell.
Belfort added, “It [Brexit] was an emotional move people were making, they felt like Britain was losing its own sovereignty, its ability to make decisions, it’s an emotional thing … and that emotion is really powerful. And nothing can rile people up when they have an emotional need for something, right? And that’s what drove people to vote to leave [the EU]”.
“When you tell people, your country is going to change, and you won’t be safe anymore. All right, that’s some fear in there but that’s what causes people to vote in a way that you say, ‘why would someone vote to disrupt the economy that much because it’s not a logical reason why’.
“Logical reasons why will be better off financially, we can control our own currency, there’ll be more jobs, you can have better trade deals – no one is going to be moved by that – that’s what’s happening right now.
“So right now, she’s [Theresa May] trying to sell all the logical reasons. It’s all about logic. That’s not what Brexit was about. It was an emotional move.”
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