“Yes, we can”, shout 750 young men in black suits of success through the arena. “Yes, I am a person of action”, they cheer with swelling chests and dollar signs in their eyes towards their mentor. The latter plays it cool, only to sweep the last of his disciples off their feet with the all-important question: “Do you really, REALLY want to get rich?” – “Yeeeeees!” the crowd goes wild, making the noise almost unbearable. How Jordan Belfort would love to jerk off right now. Just like back then, in the glass elevator on Wall Street. But those days are over. Belfort has sworn, atoned and served time. After four years in prison, millions lost and drug withdrawal, everything is now set to change. More serious. But let’s be honest: a wolf remains a wolf, regardless of whether it kills tigers. Or sheep. Now it’s the sheep’s turn. They are still clapping. Their investment of 3,000 euros for the phrase-heavy motivational speech, with which the former stock market mogul tours the world and fills entire concert halls, has paid off from their point of view. Critics deride the event as a mixture of a butter ride and a service to God. But his fans are not put off by such disbelievers. After Belfort’s speech, they feel stronger, more hopeful and their first million is almost within their grasp. The fact that these loyal listeners owe their emotional high to a convicted financial fraudster doesn’t bother anyone. On the contrary: somehow they all see themselves throwing bundles of banknotes off a yacht. Just like Leo DiCaprio, who plays Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wallstreet”. The former stockbroker not only lived through the story himself, he also wrote it. In prison. And then sold millions of copies. Both the book and the movie became a global success. The fact that “The Wolf of Wallstreet” was the most illegally downloaded film of 2014 makes the real Wolf a little proud. And this despite the fact that the former millionaire fraudster likes to describe himself as the prime example of the “American Dream”. From paperboy to millionaire via bankruptcy with a meat factory. A path that actually works, but obviously rarely follows a straight line. And so, in Belfort’s case, it was the legal and moral gray area that not only brought him the cash in stock market times, but also this rich aura of grandeur and coolness. Qualities that he was previously reluctant to hide. The new Belfort, however, has become quieter, no longer shines with swank and prostitutes, but with remorse and a freshly polished clean-cut image. He preaches about the happiness of his second chance and likes to talk about his children, who are proud of their dad. And he works hard for his money. Softened up like this, it’s easy to ride the new wave to success. But hand on heart: what fills the halls here is hardly Jordan’s virginal virtue. Or his expert lectures. That, too, is a fact that perhaps does not correspond to the “American Dream”. But it does correspond to reality. And not least, of course, a little of our fascination with wolves.