for pay back politics, allegations against chris christie's administration. piers morgan live starts now. this is "piers morgan live." welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. the movie was raunchy, raw and some people say crosses the line. >> one, two, three. >> stop. safety first. >> safety is first. we don't want to get a bad reputation. >> the wolf of wall street. the man who was the inspiration for leonardo dicaprio's character. >> i think what you just did was try to bribe a federal officer? >> technically i didn't bribe anybody. >> technically -- >> according to the u.s. criminal code, there needs to be an exact dollar figure for the exchange of services, that would not hold up in a court of law. >> no -- >> no, no, no, no, no. that's the truth. >> yes, the real life wolf of

wall street, jordan belfort is here tonight live and unleashed. hollywood has made him into a big story, it doesn't get better than watching leo dicaprio play you on the big screen, in real life he used a pump and dump to scam 1500 million investors. he ended up behind bars for securities fraud and money laundering, spending 22 months in the sentence. he joins me now exclusively. you're like one of the most notorious people in the entire world. >> you don't give interviews, certainly not for a long time. you haven't given them for this movie until now? >> right. >> now, you've let yourself loose here for the next hour. how do you feel about this extraordinary mayhem erupting around you, your story this movie? >> well, it's a bit surreal, for sure, because i think

controversial more than notorious, and i chose not to give any interviews for a while. and i want the movie to play it. i thought this would be a good place to sort of get the message out, and i'm sure people have questions, you have questions. >> what is the message you want to get out? >> i mean, i guess for me, i -- it's important the movie's viewed the right way, certainly as a cautionary tale. there's a big issue of people glamorizing what happened. i think that kerry winter said it best, if you look at this movie and you walk away thinking this is how you want to live your life, then you have a screw loose. >> well, people said that about wall street and gordon gecko, even you admit that gordon gecko became this weird inspiration to be a gordon gecko. many other people did too. people will look at jordan belfort's life played by leo, and it is glamorous, a large part of it. you don't see much of the human side of the victims, we're going

to come to that later there, is a danger that all this movie will do is create a lure to the old jordan belfort, not the guy you now are. >> right, the old one. >> even you admit was a pretty bad guy? >> i don't think that is going to happen, i'll tell you why, that is a fundamental difference between the gecko character and myself. he's a fictionalized character and they never saw his downfall. in the end of it he got taped and you push his button, that's that. this movie it's pretty clear i lost everything, and also my story is known throughout the world, i ended up in jail, it was a disaster personally, professionally, i think that being said, though, there's a lot of great things to glean from the movies, i think that hopefully when people see this, they can say there's some things in there that are inspiring, starting from nothing, the stuff selling motivation, i think it does inspire, it should move people. they need to get it in the

context, if you're not dealing with ethics and integrity, it's a disaster for yourself and everyone around you. >> let's watch two clips. the first one is leo in character talking about you. >> my name is jordan belfort, the year i turned 26 i made $49 million, which missed me off, because it was 3 million shy of a million a. >> this is leo talking about the real you, not the movie, talking about what he thinks of you personally. >> i've been in his company many times, there is nothing quite like jordan's public speaking and his ability to train and empower young entrepreneurs. he stands as a shining example of the transformative qualities of ambition and hard work. and in that regard, he is a true motivator.

>> i suppose my first question would be, pretty extraordinary, right? there's you, you had it all, you lost it all, you're down, everything's gone, now you have the hottest movie star in the world paying you that kind of compliment, in a piece he wanted out there for people to see. what does that feel like? >> it's amazing. it's a testament to leo's character that he could -- obviously speaking about my new life and not my old life in that clip, and i think that originally when he saw this project, he wanted to get it on screen. it represented the mistakes i made, the altitude i had at the time, represents a lot of what went wrong ultimately, many years later with wall street. it was important to him, and i think that -- what impressed leo, i think about my new life so much, is that he saw me make this radical turn, and i think that moved him. and that was -- i was really proud and shocked that he did that. >> how much time did you spend with leo? >> a lot. >> like what?

>> countless hours, hundreds of hours. >> hundreds of hours? >> yeah, 100 plus hours. >> how did you find him and when defined you? when you were interacting together? >> by telephone in my house or his house, or -- we were just literally, one thing i don't think people realize about leo, is his excellence is not -- he strives for it, he works really really hard, i think he was so determined to suck every bit of information from me. and he -- stuff that wasn't in the book, and what was on my mind, just really trying, you don't realize how much he's looking at you. i saw it, oh, my god, i thought his -- i was in -- it was mind-boggling to see. >> i can tell already the voice is pretty well perfect. you don't look massively dissimilar to -- i guess in your younger days to how he is in the movie. and so on. when you watch the movie, what did you feel about the reality? because only you would know, really?

>> i -- you know, it was shocking, i saw the movie with my fiancee the first time, and we were speechless afterwards, and i was. >> in a good or a bad way? >> in a good way, i guess for me, it's different than -- the audience sees it, i think they're speechless because they're overwhelmed with sensory overload. for me, it was trying to -- i had come to terms with my old life. it was a cathartic experience for me. to see it on film like that, with someone that did such a good job, i literally felt like i was sweating in certain points, where the cocaine was being snorted. i got sympathetic reactions to it. >> all that was true. >> the thing about jordan, it's all true. let's go through some of the things about the movie. it's a brilliant movie. incredibly entertaining. >> scorcese for sure. >> matthew mcconaughey, jonah hill, they're all terrific,

let's go through some of the stories. a female employee shaved her head for $10,000 in front of the obeying mob of stars? >> to get breast implants. so it's worst. >> to get breast implants she shaved her head for 10,000? >> yes, the idea was her hair would grow back and it would all be perfect in six months. that was a scene that personally disturbed me, and i think it sunshine disturbed a lot of people when you see it. >> were you just too high -- >> it wasn't that i was so high, it doesn't start that way. it started we shaved a guy's head for $10,000. within a year, a head shaving is $50. the price went down. >> $50? >> that's what happens, with insanity. what seems amazing at first, becomes commonplace after a while. you don't lose your soul all at once. when i lost my ethical way, it did not start off -- i'm sure

we'll get to that later, it's like these tiny steps over the lining before you do it. each time he moves around, you are doing something you never thought you would do. it seems okay. yeah, let's shave a guy's head, he needed the money, it all made sense. and then a year later, flash forward, and it's completely off the rails. >> dwarfs being thrown on to velcro darlt boards? >> i wasn't there at the time. >> you heard it happened? >> i don't think it's appropriate for sure. obviously i think it would be humorous to watch it in an outside sort of way. >> it was said there was so much sex in your office you had to have a sign saying, sex free zone.

>> the problem with that, we had all these young guys, everyone was 18 to 23, and all the young girls and everyone's making a lot of money and there's a lot of drugs going around, i don't think it takes much of a leap of imagination to figure out what happened next. it started with the elevator, and we christened the elevator early on. i look back at it now and i can scratch my head, that i was instigating it in a way, not that i was responsible for all of it, by being the leader, it becomes a reflection of what i was at the time. i take responsibility for, even though i wasn't there for a lot of it. >> your number two ate a goldfish that belonged to an employee. did that happen? >> it happened. >> you saw it happen? >> yeah. the real life guy -- >> in the movie he represents a bunch of different characters.

>> in fairness to danny -- >> he ate the goldfish? >> yes. >> when you watched that happen? >> it was -- >> no doubt, these things do happen on wall street. they just do, and insanity happens. >> i get gordon gecko, is that what it's about really? it's about who can go the furthest? >> i think that sort of behavior isn't indemic to wall street, it's indemic to large groups of men who are drinking or doing any sort of substances in a frat house, where people -- it's the herd mentality, where people individually never do these things, you put 50, 100 in one spot, and all of a sudden, the rules of behavior start to change. >> did you have a champ pan zee in the office handing out mail? >> people had pets in the office, there was an iguana, a rattlesnake, boa constrictor. >> you're saying this like it's

all perfectly normal. if i came into my cnn office one day with a boa constrictor, i would be marched out of there. >> i heard storyies in silicon valley, people bring their pets to work. we took it in a different direction. >> what was the most appalling thing you ever saw. >> i can't say it on television. it happened at my bachelor party. they wrote the scene -- >> it's so bad you can't even tell me. >> not on air. i'll tell you -- >> can you give me a clue. >> it had to do with an act of sexual depravity that was so depraved that even i was speechless. it's the most disgusting thing i've ever seen in my life. there were probably 50

prostitutes there. >> okay, let's take a break so you can tell me what lapped. i'll decide whether we can put it on air. >> you can't. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job and i don't have time for unreliable companies.

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in the case of truth being stranger than fiction, the real story may be over the top than the movie version. the securities fraud and money laundering he spent time behind bars. tweets pouring in, good, bad, ugly. someone here, jake craussen tweeted me with your views, it looks like he really misses his

old life. do you? >> no. listen, again, there's some aspects of the camaraderie in the early years when it first started year one, it was pure, it was beautiful. we invented a system for training sales men, we were trying to make our clientses money, that was great, i loved that. it spirld out of control everything that happened. i don't miss that, especially the drugs, i've been sober now for 17 years, i almost died because of the addiction. i think people mistake that for me being happy about it, i don't miss that life. >> he looks like he's glorying into what happened. >> not glorying for sure. >> how would you categorize it? >> a bit of embarrassment. >> do you have shame about it? do you feel ashamed? >> it's not the right word. you go through these different transitions of guilt and shame,

i'm in a stage of remorse, which is the active form of that, i'm doing things right now to make up for any transgressions. you feel so guilty, you would low up and die, versus going out and learning from your mistakes, and trying to make them right. >> let's go back to 1991, this is a home video made at a house party in the hamptons, at the height of your behavior. >> i make one more guarantee, six months from now, what you're doing right now is going to be nothing again, okay? that's the bottom line. you're doing 200, 400. it's still going to be one guy that's going to break that million dollar mark. >> i want to go back to the very early days. >> sure. when was it you realized you had this ability to sell? >> the first time, it really started in the meat business. i went to dental school, i was

there for a day and i dropped out, i realized the golden age of dentistry was over. i left, my mom wanted me to be a doctor. >> day one of dental school, you bailed? >> yeah. >> you couldn't get rich doing it? >> yeah, i always wanted to be rich, i did. i always -- i was a hardworking kid, from a paper route at the age of eight. and i hit it big for the first time when i was 16 selling ices on the beach. i made a lot of money, put myself through college that way, my parents were always really really supportive of me. i went to dental school and dropped out, i answered an ad for selling meat and seafood door to door. the first day i broke the company record. i opened up my own business within a month after that, i trained 26 sales men, had 26 trucks, i made every mistake a

young entrepreneur could make. i was overextended and out of business within a year and a half. and from there, that's how i got down to wall street. >> you were bankrupt, i think? >> yes. >> didn't it teach you anything? >> i learned everything i think i know about business stems from the first disasterous mistakes i made. you learn a lot more from your mistakes in life than you do from your successes. >> up to that point were you legitimate? did you cut corners, were you illegal? >> no, it was totally legitimate. i was a very hardworking guy. i was the sort of guy that was on the beach, we were going blanket to blanket. i would outgross everybody by double, i would get there earlier and run faster and work harder, smile more broadly when i had people in front of me, i was a hard worker, a lot of success in life -- obviously the strategy involved as well. but it's about hard work. >> people have said about you, people who know their stuff in wall street, if you had stayed

ledge mit the entire time you would have been a billionaire by now. you were such a brillian the salesman and motivator. had you just not been so unethical and breaking the law all the time. you would have been anything you wanted to be. >> that's the shame of it all, i do a lot of speeches at colleges, charity work, and i always say to kids going into the workplace, the biggest mistake i made is not delaying my own gratification, it was a character flaw i had as a kid. i wanted everything tomorrow, and a lot of kids are like that, because of that i went for the short term bucks, very often in business you can make a little extra money by being unethical. it doesn't last, you're building a foundation on sand and it collapsed because of it. >> you went down to australia, on your very first day in 1987, literally the first day you're

there, the company that you're working for goes bust in the great crash which happened that day? >> well, not -- i went down there, it's even worse than that, i went down there and i trained for six months while the market was soaring to the very top. >> you're thinking this is -- >> i'm thinking, this is it. my first day of being a broker, and just like that it's black monday and it's over. >> when you say over. didn't the firm -- >> well, yes, the thing is worse than that, if you remember back then, the attitude was like, people thought it was the next great depression, no one knew the economy would bounce back, people thought it was going to be 1933 all over again. on the subway ride home, the gloom and doom, i was absolutely devastated. when i was working and i was broke, and that was -- i had no money, i was working for $100 a week, and it was costing me more than that to commute into the city back then. i knew i could do the job. i would be a great salesman. i said, my future's bright even

though i'm broke. >> you thought you had the skills in some other way to make money doing what these guys had been doing to make money? >> correct. every hope and dream i had was dashed. i thought it was over, i went home that night. for about one day i was paralyzed, i was so upset about it. we picked up the help wanted section, i stumbled on an ad for a brokerage firm in long island. >> you end up going there, this is the pump and dump operation it was to become. and a lot of victims, so we may get tough with you after the break. >> i deserve it, probably. ♪ [ male announcer ] what kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all this? natural gas.

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$26,000 for one dinner. >> dad, we're not poor any more. >> what are these sides, do they cure cancer? >> the sides did cure cancer, that's the problem, that's why they were expensive. >> a pivotal moment for martin scorce scorcese's film the wolf of wall street. >> i got a tweet here, tweet me at piers morgan. the tweets pouring in on this, all sorts of opinions, you polarize people like i've rarely season. a guy here says i worked for your company, for jordan in 1993. it was an insane asylum run by

criminals. accurate? >> 1993? yes. >> you go to this place on long island, they're selling penny stocks, it's a dodgy operation compared to what you came from on wall street. day one it goes brilliantly, what do you realize in that moment? >> one important extinction for people to know here is that in the movie, when i walk in to the firm and i get my first look at it, i sit down, i think spike jones plays the manager and i asked him a question, i said, is this all legitimate, he says to me, well -- in truth he says, of course it's legitimate. look at the license on the wall, we're part of the nesd. that's a danger that every kid goes into the workforce faces, one of the things i always say to colleges is that just because someone is out there and they're in a company and they have a

license on the wall, you have to use your own gut check to say, is this happening? >> you're spinning a brilliant line in terms of its ability to be successful. not for the guy on the other end of the phone. very quickly in the movie, dicaprio playing you crosses that ethical boundary. >> yes. >> is that what happens in real life? >> no, not really. >> the kind of pump and dump scheme, for those that aren't familiar with it, you inflate these penny stocks to be something they're not in reality. people pump in loads of cash and it gets dumped and people lose their money. >> yes, but the brokersen are the in on them. i came from a big firm, it's all legitimate now it's lower priced stocks. to me, i'm selling a lower priced stock. i had no idea there was anything wrong with it. >> when did you realize there

was something wrong? >> about a month in i realized in was something wrong. >> was that the moment when you crossed the line? >> there was a series of moments. that was the first moment where i allowed greed to get the best of me. in the movie my first wife said, aren't you tired of losing people's money? in reality, i said that. i opened up my own firm and thought i could get legitimate companies. >> when it became this big firm and you were making millions and millions and millions, how much of it do you think looking back on it, be completely honest here, you have been about many things. how much of it was legal and how much of it was illegal. >> i would say 90% was legal in terms of the day to day operati operation. but the 5% was incredibly

destructive and disgusting and poisoned everything else. >> and you knew that? >> yes. not in the beginning, but it didn't happen all at once. >> what happened? here's the fascinating thing about you, you had good parents that were supportive of you. all your early life you're buzzing around, selling newspapers, ice cream on the beach. it's all going great, and you're doing it all legitimately. and you come from a good family and good background. there's nothing there that suggests criminality? >> right. >> what happened, why did you become this criminal? >> i think what happened was, when you get into this section of wall street, there's rationalizing what you're doing. i rationalized them one step at a time. and one rationalization allows you to cross a line. but your morality is loose. you can just say, how did the

gfc happen, how did all these people that went to ivy league schools, how could people who have degrees in economics and accounting be staffing documents -- >> what is the easy answer? >> they didn't lose their soul at once, a little bit here, a little push there. >> did you lose your soul completely? >> i think that's hard to say, because i think i got to a point in my life where i was probably about as awful a person as i was capable of being and still walking around, and to say well, i was able to get back to the person my parents seth sent out into the world. that's another journey in itself. >> are all those people on wall street? one little step at a time. >> are you surprised more people on wall street haven't gone to prison since the financial crash? >> yeah, i'm a little bit surprised, but i understand why it happened. i think it's very difficult for

the u.s. attorney's office to make these cases, and it's very, a lot of the props were arcane. and a lot of it is the relationship between wall street and the government. they changed laws that allowed loopholes to exist for the people on wall street to jump through and make money. >> you were ordered to pay $110.4 million to a victim compensation fund. as of now you've paid back how much? >> about 12. >> 12 million. >> do you have any expectation or hope you'll ever pay them all back? >> listen, i think this movie, for that is an amazing thing, i'm giving 100% of all the profits from the movie, and both books, the books are really -- >> you are compelled to give, unless i'm wrong, 50% of all your gross earnings straight to -- >> no. that's not the case. >> was that ever the case? >> yes, when i was on probation. >> you're not compelled to

legally. >> not legally. >> are you continuing to do that? >> i'm giving 100% of the books and the movie. you can't say how many copies of a book will sell in 15, 20 years i think it will be many millions of dollars. i'm really happy about that. >> when i asked you earlier about shame. you said you didn't feel shame. there are real people, many, many people, tens of thousands who lost a lot of money, if not everything to your company and to you. >> that's not true, though. >> why is that not true? >> because we were calling rich people. we were not calling. >> well, an architect in mystic, connecticut. he lost half of his life savings. a retired dentist lost $250,000. one victim lost $130,000, he told the telegraph enough this. his depiction of the movie is annoying and disturbing, because it makes him into a more mythical figure. what he was about was harming people financially.

>> i think the movie clearly painting that picture. >> that's accurate, season the it? >> what? >> that you were deliberately? >> 1992, what did i say? >> i agree. you picked probably the highlight of what i considered to be the most depraved year of my life. >> you don't think thousands of people lost their money? >> some of them did. >> i don't know anyone who lost their life savings. >> let's just be accurate. >> how do you feel about these people losing a lot of money. on a human level have you ever met any of them? >> have you ever met one of your victims? >> i have not. >> why not? >> no one has sought me out. >> why haven't you sought them out? >> i don't want to intrude on anyone's life. >> that's a copout. >> no, i don't think it's appropriate. >> it will be part of your

self-redemption to track some of these people down, to know some of their names, know what they're saying about you, if you called them up and said, i actually would like to talk to you, i would like to apologize to you personally for what happened? >> i never considered it before, i think a better way for me is over the next 50 years, continue to go around the world and speak, all the money that flows in, i think actions speak louder than words, by what i'm doing here, turning over 100% of the profits, is probably the most genuine thing i can do. >> in a way, what you're doing now -- i don't mean this to be too cynical. you're doing the right thing as best you can. what i would say if you're being critical. you're talking about it as a financial thing to be resolved. you can deal with this with money in the same way, at the time you could make money out of these people, wasn't about human beings, when i read out these names, these are real people who have suffered personally, have you ever seen them as human

beings? or is part of the issue with the kind of culture we see in the movie, you become dehumanized? >> i think that's a very good point. one of the ways i allowed myself to do that was to sort of take a step back and they become account numbers and names versus people. and i think that's a problem with what happens on wall street sometimes. not with everybody, but it's a possibility. if you think that's how i feel now, you're completely -- you don't know what is in my heart, honestly i feel terrible about what happened. yes, i had shame back then yes. now, no. i'm not going to live my life in shame. that's a toxic emotion. i live in remorse, that means i go out and do things actively to make up for the wrongs i committed in the past and i think that for me -- most people who have made mistakes -- we've all made mistakes, i've made some really big ones and done

some good things as well. >> if i found a few of your victims, would you come see them? >> sure i would. you want me back on your show again, is that what you're saying? >> it would be a fascinating show. >> check the ratings first. >> i find it fascinating you have never met them. >> it's not that i would be against them at all. the one thing i said to my fiancee, she's an amazing lady, i said to her, some of this stuff, people lost their life savings which i know is not true. if someone really lost their life savings, because of me, i would like to meet that person. >> what about someone losing half their life savings. >> again, i -- >> he exists, he's an architect in connecticut. >> that's why all of this money is going into the fund. >> he lost half or all -- >> i think it makes a big difference. if you take an old person who

doesn't have much and you take all their money. i don't think what i did is right, it's wrong and disgusting. >> what do your parents think about all this? >> i'm fortunate that i have amazing parents that love me unconditionally. my mom is one of the most ethical person in the world. she went back to law school at 65. >> what has she said to you. >> we love you and we support you, and we're here for you in anyway we can be here to help you pick up the pieces and get back on track. >> what else did she say? >> no judgment. >> no criticism? >> i think she knew i was hard enough on myself at that point i didn't need her to criticize me. >> your father, what did he say? >> similar. >> let's take a short break, when we come back, i want to talk about the crash of you, the firm, the feds coming in, we saw it all in dramatic play out on the movie, also, you in term

rat. and squealing on your friends and they all go to prison. some of them, steve madden and others do more time than you do. i want to get your reaction to that after the break. no matter how busy your morning you can always do something better for yourself.

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of his career the wolf of wall street. the real life wolf is jordan belfort. interesting to watch, he seems on the edge of everything. that would be my take on you, you clearly -- you've always done everything to tremendous excess if you like, now you're in a different place in your life, you probably still are wrestling slightly with some of these issues, would that be fair to say? >> yes. >> how best to deal with the feelings you may have? >> you know, it's -- i think for me, i'm in a place in my life right now where i go around doing seminars, sales training, motivations and stuff like that, entrepreneurships. i know in my heart that i know what i'm doing, it's pure, great, empowering, i know so clearly the mistakes i made.

and i have it so defined, the mistakes that caused me to spiral out of control, for me, i'm a pretty at peace with me overall. that being said, there's a deeper level of me, that i don't think i'll ever truly be 100% at peace, i don't think i'll be built that way, always being tortured and insecure about myself. most human beings are like that. >> there's a fallacy. i'm one way, and always on the ball. as a kid, i wasn't that secure. like any other person, in some ways, i'm confidence. i put on a brave face when i'm not. i don't let my fears stop me. i'm willing to move into uncomfortable situations. >> we're talking about a couple situations. it's an incredible story, you're on this super yacht you bought, it starts to sink, you've taken so many drugs, your only reaction is to save the drugs and you get bailed out by the italian navy, and you get on to their boat and carry on taking

more drugs and partying. and you all nearly died. you find out your private jet has also crashed. >> right. >> everything has begun to spiral into madness. there's a scene in the movie where he takes too many quaalude and disintegrates before our eyes. >> yes. >> do you remember that? >> well, what i don't remember is the seven cars i hit. i thought i made it home without a scratch on my car, and thin when the police came and arrested me, i went out to my car, it was smashed. i fainted. >> we laugh in the movie when we see these things, but -- >> it's a weird thing. >> the reality is, you're lucky to be alive. >> and i'm lucky i didn't kill someone else. >> when you got caught, what was the worst moment? the balloon going up, being arrested, the court case, going to prison, was it the first night in prison? what was the absolute lowest moment for you? >> the lowest moment for me was

not getting arrested, i was honestly relieved at that point. i knew it was an investigation for years, i already -- my life was changed, i was out of wall street, doing things right again. i knew i had to pay the piper eventually. it was almost somewhat of a relief manypy marriage unwound very quickly after that, the thought of losingpy children and not being able to be with my children, that to me was the bottom, the reality of having to move out of my house and that -- >> you're portrayed in the movie as a pretty bad father. there were lots of reports you were a pretty lousy husband as well. allegations of wife beating and so on. were you a bads husband and bad father? >> i know i was an amazing father and i'm proud of that. >> always an amazing father? >> i got sober when my daughter was 3 and my son was 1. and even then, before, when i was drugged out no one could be a great father, i wasn't always

drugged out. my love for my children came through strongly. >> what's your relationship like them now? >> really really close. >> it's a good question, i took my son to the movie, he was 18 with my ex-wife together, we wanted to show him what was true. i never punched my wife in the stomach. that wasn't true. >> did you hit her at all? >> we had a struggle on the safers. the time i hit her was the day i got sober, 17 years ago, we had a struggle on the stairs. that's true with my daughter and the whole thing, didn't happen at the end it happened in the middle of our relationship. the day i got sober. >> playing devil's advocate, you say i was always a great father, kicking your kid's mother in front of them. >> when i'm on drugs, though, you can't be a great -- that's what i said to you, that moment was the highest i had been in my life. i hadn't slept in probably two months because of all the cocaine. in that blip, of course, when i

was on drugs. that was the last day ever i did drugs. >> you took your ex-wife and kid to the cinema to watch the movie, you're about to finish that story, how did they feel? >> well, listen, my children have seen me come back from jail and all that, and to build this new life. my children are obviously proud of me, they know me for the man i am today, versus that person that they don't even remember, because i got sober when they were still babies. >> and your ex-wife, what does she feel about it? >> she was portrayed by a fabulous actress. >> she was happy for me that i was able to come back from that as well. she looks back at it with perspective itself. it was a crazy time, we didn't even know how crazy it was when it was happening. i can't speak for her, again, it's this little bit at a time, it seems like it's normal. we look back now and say it's insane, and i think she's at peace with it as well. >> a final break, let's come back to talk about this, this is a pen, and i'm going to get you

to send it to me. as the movie says, you can sell anything. we'll find out if you can sell me this little pen after the break. [ male announcer ] she won't remember this,

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(natalie) ooooh, i like your style. (vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro. back now with the real life wolf of wall street, jordan belfort. critical unanswered question, comment he reneged on s.e.c. deal. why did he do that? >> that was fictionalized in the movie. when i had that deal and gave that farewell speech, i said farewell and i left. and i was running steve madden shoes with steve madden.

and my partner took over the -- having the movie in the backdrop is more cinematically pleasing and appealing to everybody. but it wasn't like. that. >> we just answered it. on steve madden. he ended up doing more time than you did. and you were responsible for that. did you feel guilt because of all the people who went to prison? >> not steve madden at all. he's a great guy. he didn't go to jail just because of me. he was doing the same thing with me. there were six people who -- >> have you spoken to him. >> i haven't. >> and the reason he did more time than i did he had more issues in jail. >> you got less time because you basically ratted out others. how do you feel about that now? >> it's a good question. there's two sides to that coin. because the part of it that says, well i'm supposed to do

the right thing and be an upstanding citizen and there were crimes committed. >> but the other half is you are ratting out your friends. >> the way i split that -- i slipped him a note. >> you ratted out the ones you didn't like. >> the ones that were not personal friends. it was an incredibly tough ethical dilemma. and agent coleman, you know, he was instrumental was helping me deal with that. >> no regrets? >> of course i have regrets about it. but i know i made the right decision. >> in the end, you're a salesman. here's a pen. in the movie we see jordan

belfort sell a pen. sell me a pen. >> i'll give you sales training about this. there is no context to sell you a pen. i don't know anything about you. so when you do this to a salesperson they will say wacky stuff. the best thing to say is how long have you been in the market for a pen? >> for three months. >> you have been looking for a pen three months now. what type of pens do you use? >> i like a nice easy to use ball point pen. >> so when you sell someone something you need to be asking questions to find out what someone's needs are. this is the best pen in the world. it writes upside down. if you are doing that -- >> are you going to give me truthful responses? >> if you would have said i don't use a pen. if you are in the market?

i would say have a nice day. i don't want to sell someone who doesn't need a pen a pen. that's the way to do this correctly. otherwise you are jamming a pen down someone's throat. >> if i learned one thing tonight, is it how to sell a pen. it's good to talk to you. that's all for us tonight, chris christie, the bridgegate scandal starts in a few minutes. that was jordan belfort, the wolf of wall street.

good evening and welcome to a special edition of "ac360 later." we are dedicating the hour to chris christie. there is breaking news. you will hear new evide