The most famous dialogues of The Wolf of Wall Street include “Sell me this pen”, “I choose rich every f***ing time” and Mark Hanna’s “fugazi” speech. Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as stockbroker Jordan Belfort. Below are 30 lines with who says them and the scene, checked against the film.
Quick facts: The Wolf of Wall Street
- Released: December 2013
- Director: Martin Scorsese. Writer: Terence Winter, from Jordan Belfort’s memoir
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler
- Oscars: Five nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor
- Watch in India: JioHotstar and Lionsgate Play (checked October 2026)
A note on this update: our older list mixed in general motivational quotes that are not in the film. We have replaced them with real lines. Strong language is partly masked.
Famous dialogues: Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio)
1. “My name is Jordan Belfort. The year I turned 26, I made 49 million dollars, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week.”
The opening narration that sets the film’s tone: greed that is never satisfied.
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2. “I’m a former member of the middle class raised by two accountants in a tiny apartment in Bayside, Queens.”
Jordan introduces his ordinary roots before the excess begins.
3. “On a daily basis, I consume enough drugs to sedate Manhattan, Long Island, and Queens for a month.”
A narration line played for dark comedy as Jordan lists his habits.
4. “Was all this legal? Absolutely f***ing not.”
Jordan admits to the camera that the fortune was built on fraud.
5. “There’s no nobility in poverty.”
Part of his speech to the Stratton Oakmont floor about why money matters.
6. “I’ve been a poor man, and I’ve been a rich man. And I choose rich every f***ing time.”
The same speech, and the most quoted line in the film.
7. “I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich!”
Jordan pushes his brokers to treat money as the answer to everything.
8. “Are you behind on your credit card bills? Good. Pick up the phone and start dialing!”
He turns his staff’s debts into motivation to sell harder.
9. “If anyone here thinks I’m superficial or materialistic, go get a job at McDonald’s, because that’s where you belong!”
A rallying cry to the floor that the brokers cheer.
10. “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bulls**t story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.”
Often shared as a motivational quote, though in the film it comes from a con man.
11. “Money doesn’t just buy you a better life, better food, better cars… It also makes you a better person.”
Jordan explains his worldview in narration.
12. “Give them to me young, hungry, and stupid, and in no time, I’ll make ’em rich.”
He describes the kind of recruits he wants for Stratton Oakmont.
13. “Act as if.”
His advice to brokers: behave like you are already wealthy and successful.
14. “I’m not f***ing leaving! The show goes on!”
Jordan backs out of stepping down, in front of the whole office.
15. “I will not die sober!”
On the sinking yacht in a storm, he demands his Quaaludes.
16. “Sell me this pen.”
Asked at the diner and again at the end of the film, now to a room of seminar students.
Famous dialogues: Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey)
17. “The name of the game: move the money from the client’s pocket into your pocket.”
Hanna’s first lesson to young Jordan over lunch.
18. “Nobody knows if a stock’s going to go up, down, sideways, or in f***ing circles.”
He admits stockbrokers cannot predict the market either.
19. “It’s a wazzy, it’s a woozy. It’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist.”
Hanna’s “fugazi” speech about how fake the whole business is.
20. “We don’t create s**t. We don’t build anything.”
He tells Jordan that brokers only move money around.
21. “Cocaine and hookers, my friend.”
His answer to why anyone would do this job.
22. “Those are rookie numbers in this racket.”
Hanna mocks how little Jordan indulges, urging him to “pump those numbers up”.
Famous dialogues: Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) and others
23. “You show me a pay stub for $72,000, I quit my job right now and work for you.”
Donnie, on meeting Jordan in a diner. Jordan does, and Donnie quits.
24. “I’m never eating at Benihana again, I don’t care whose birthday it is.”
One of Donnie’s offbeat one-liners, delivered with a straight face.
25. “Why don’t you do me a favour, write your name down on that napkin for me.”
Brad (Jon Bernthal) showing how to sell a pen: create the need first.
26. “Smile and dial.”
Broker Jerry Fogel sums up the cold-calling job on Jordan’s first day.
27. “This right here is the land of opportunity. This is America.”
Jordan, describing the Stratton Oakmont floor as his idea of the American dream.
28. “The Bureau doesn’t allow us to drink while we’re at sea.”
FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) turns down Jordan’s offer on the yacht.
Why these dialogues still trend
Many of these lines are shared online as hustle advice, which misses the point. Scorsese shows Jordan as a fraud whose victims never appear on screen, and the final shot turns the camera on the audience. The lines are funny and sharp, but they come from people who were stealing.
For more, see our Hollywood section and other dialogue lists.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous line from The Wolf of Wall Street?
“Sell me this pen” and “I’ve been a poor man, and I’ve been a rich man. And I choose rich” are the most quoted.
Who says “fugazi” in The Wolf of Wall Street?
Mark Hanna, played by Matthew McConaughey, in his lunch scene with Jordan.
Is The Wolf of Wall Street a true story?
Yes. It is based on the memoir of Jordan Belfort, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering in 1999.
Where can I watch The Wolf of Wall Street in India?
It streams on JioHotstar and Lionsgate Play in India as of October 2026.
Sources: The Wolf of Wall Street, Wikiquote, The Wolf of Wall Street, Wikipedia, Streaming in India, JustWatch.
