The draw of freedom in Florida!
Just a few short weeks after eloping to Las Vegas to marry his third wife - Christina Invernizzi - the former stockbroker Jordan Belfort has announced he has moved home to live in Miami.
Belfort, who was played in the 2013 movie 'The Wolf of Wall Street' by Leonardo DiCaprio was already a familiar sight in Florida.
He most recently launched his own NFT crypto art project at the Art Basel event held in the city earlier in December. Not content with launching his own art, he also paid $8,500 to buy a piece from a 10-year-old artist - Andres Valencia whose talent he described as "shockingly interesting".
While Belfort originally teased his intention to move to Miami in October on Twitter, his publicist has only just confirmed that he's finally moved from Los Angeles.
Drawn by the sunshine and freedom
Belfort was portrayed in the movie 'The Wolf of Wall Street' as a hedonistic stockbroker who rose to fame and then crashed to earth. But in recent years, he has reinvented himself as a financial guru with particular interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and NFT - art that exists on blockchain computer networks.
He also announced recently that he'll be one of the keynote speakers at the Cryptoworld conference in Miami in April 2022.
His interests in the world of technology and cryptocurrency have also made Miami seem appealing as a place to live, not just for the favourable climate but also for the fact that Mayor Francis Suarez is also extremely pro-Bitcoin.
Earlier this year, Mayor Suarez demonstrated his commitment to adopting Bitcoin more widely for the city's benefit - announcing that citizens would have the opportunity to pay for services using Bitcoin and that he was investigating using Bitcoin as an investment for some of the city's treasury to protect it against inflation. In November he also opted to take his salary in Bitcoin.
Florida's 'Freedom First' budget embraces Bitcoin too
In December, Governor Ron DeSantis announced his progressive state budget for 2022, known as the 'Freedom First' budget. Amongst other measures, it will allow for the payment against some state services to be made in Bitcoin for the first time.
While Jordan Belfort was clearly already a fan of Miami and regularly spotted around the city, that he has chosen to make his home there suggests that he sees it as part of his long term future! He joins a large number of others who've been prompted to move away from cities like New York and Los Angeles, drawn by the many positive aspects of Florida - not just the weather but the freedoms and the forward-looking politicians too! Welcome Jordan!
What do you love most about Florida? Are you concerned about the numbers of people moving to the state, or do you think this demonstrates the many benefits that the state has to offer? Let me know in the comments section below.
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