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● Plot Summary 3h 00m Crime · Drama

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) — full plot summary

Directed by Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street unfolds across 3h 00m of crime. This page covers the story beat by beat. For the ending, see the dedicated ending explained page.

● TL;DR

A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration.

The story

The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 American biographical dark comedy crime film co-produced and directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Terence Winter, and based on Jordan Belfort's 2007 memoir. It loosely recounts Belfort's career as a stockbroker in New York City and how his firm, Stratton Oakmont, engaged in rampant corruption and fraud on Wall Street, leading to his downfall. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort; Jonah Hill as his business partner and friend Donnie Azoff; Margot Robbie as his second wife, Naomi Lapaglia; Matthew McConaughey as his mentor and former boss Mark Hanna; and Kyle Chandler as FBI special agent Patrick Denham portraying Gregory Coleman. It is DiCaprio's fifth collaboration with Scorsese.

Setting & tone

The Wolf of Wall Street is set in United States of America and works primarily in English. Tonally it sits in Crime, Drama, Comedy, drawing on the conventions of each while filtering them through Martin Scorsese's direction.

Why people search for this plot

Search interest in the plot of The Wolf of Wall Street tends to spike around questions about narrative ambiguity, the meaning of specific scenes, and how secondary characters connect to the main arc. Our editorial team tracks those queries and updates this summary as new questions emerge — see the FAQ on the main movie page.

● Spoilers ahead?

Read the ending explained

A scene-by-scene breakdown of the final act, the closing shot, and what it all means.

The Wolf of Wall Street ending explained →