John Teunis

UWRT
Literacy Research Paper
Business Professionals

Business Professionals Research Paper

The two people discussed are business professionals. Both are considered successful, but
they are very different from each other. Jordan Belfort is best known for his brokerage firm,
Stratton Oakmont; which used illegal methods to obtain money. Steve Jobs is best known for
starting up the Apple Company, as well as being the head of some other major corporations.
Reading and writing are huge aspects of the business world. To be a successful business person,
you must be able to understand what others are trying to say, and you must have a large
vocabulary that you can arrange in a way to sound trust worthy and professional. This
vocabulary and word use is best developed by reading and writing. Writing especially, played a
huge role both of these business professionals life, career, and success.
Jordan Belfort was born on July 9th, 1962 in New York City. He is commonly referred to
as the Wolf of Wall Street, and was portrayed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie The
Wolf of Wall Street, released in 2013. Belfort started off as a stock broker and eventually
started his own brokerage firm named Stratton Oakmont. Stratton Oakmont used different illegal
tactics to scam their investors and take their money. Jordan Belfort lived a high class life style;
he owned a helicopter, a yacht, and many more expensive items. He abused various drugs
throughout different points in his life, and was no stranger to family issues due to his two
divorces. Jordan Belfort served twenty-two months in prison on charges of securities fraud and
money laundering.

John Teunis
UWRT
Literacy Research Paper
Business Professionals
Belforts time in prison had a huge positive effect on his life in the long term. A lot of
this was due to his cube mate, Tommy Chong who starred in the movie Cheech and Chong.
Tommy Chong was impressed and amused by Belforts story telling abilities, and encouraged
him to write them down and get it published. Instead of using his way with words to scam people
out of their money, he used it to write two successful memories titled The Wolf of Wall Street
and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. Jordan also uses his persuasive speech and good word use
to be a motivational speaker, and encourage growth within a business while preaching business
ethics.
To further develop his writing abilities, Belfort studied a novel written by Tom Wolfe
titled The Bonfire of the Vanities while in prison. He took notes on tone, character
development, and dialogue to assist him in writing his memoirs. He also took his use of word
choice while speaking that many people fell victim to, and transferred them onto paper. His
memoirs were published in almost forty countries and was translated into eighteen different
languages. Some view his memoirs as Belfort being cocky and boastful, and that he shows no
sign of remorse for his wrong doing. Others are entertained and excited by his stories of partying,
sexual activity, and drug use; and praise his storytelling abilities. Belfort uses various forms of
social media to promote his writing and speaking seminars.
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. Jobs enjoyed
pranking other students during his early school years, but did very well academically. Based on
his high test scores, school officials recommended that Jobs should skip two grades in
elementary school; but his foster parents only allowed him to skip one grade. His foster father,
Paul Jobs, sparked his interest in electronics at a young age. Steves foster mother taught him to

John Teunis
UWRT
Literacy Research Paper
Business Professionals
read before he started going to school. Jobs attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. One day
in college, he decided to drop into a calligraphy course. That one calligraphy class that Steve
dropped into had an influence on the development of the Mac computer, and is what inspired
him to in cooperate different word fonts while designing the computer.
Jobs went on to become the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of apple, the co-founder and
CEO of Pixar, and the founder and CEO of NeXT Inc. He was also a board member of The Walt
Disney Company and Apple. Steve took a break from his work, and moved to India in 1974.
While in India, he practiced Zen Buddhism. He returned after seven months of living in India.
Steve jobs used reading and writing in a different way. Instead of using reading and writing to
create an opinion or make a point, Steve used reading and writing to create programs for his
various computer softwares. Jobs also used words to motivate his workers, and promote
productivity and improvement in the work place. He had issues with writings about him that
gave him bad publicity. An unapproved Jobs biography was published by John Wiley and Sons,
and Steve quickly banned all Apple Stores from having any books published by Wiley and Sons.
The Apple Company is extremely successful and continues to become more successful each day
with new releases, such as the IPhone six. Even though his business was and still is extremely
successful, some of his coworkers said that his personality was demanding and aggressive, and
that he was an extreme perfectionist. Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011 due to repertory arrest.
Jordan Belfort and Steve Jobs are extremely different from each other. Belfort used words in a
negative way, so that he and his business could benefit. Fortunately, he took his strength of word
use and used it to write two successful memoirs. He still uses his words in a positive way, giving

John Teunis
UWRT
Literacy Research Paper
Business Professionals
motivational speeches to other business workers. Jobs used his reading and writing abilities to
create software and computers that have changed the world. Both of these men have left their
mark whether it be good or bad. One thing they do have in common, is that neither of them could
be the person they are today without reading and writing.