You don't need to see wolf of wall street Knowing the life of an international businessman is not all it's cracked up to be. Joe Low Lou knew it, he had lived a fantasy and now he was paying the price. By worming his way into the heart of Hollywood through the sheer power of money, and the influence it bought, Lou became the ultimate celebrity magnet of the early 2000s.
The Malaysian businessman has cemented his position as the man who gets things done. If you need cash to start your movie business, head straight to his yacht. Through Red Granite Pictures—co-owned by the stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak—he has leveraged his unique position in the Malaysian government to build his empire, funneling money into the hands of Hollywood royalty.
Joe Law successfully directed The Wolf of Wall Street
2013 wolf of wall street This was the high point of Law's career, breathing life into a struggling film that no one else had the courage to greenlight.. It is a sad fact that no movie is made without money—a lot of money. And that very resource is the lifeblood of the entertainment industry and the real reason why Hollywood can afford to overlook $100 million in losses and filmmakers everywhere have to beg for government grants and subsidies.
Yes, even the rich have to beg for money. The most important players in the movie business are the financiers. With enough money, anyone can buy respect, class, friends, political connections, and the admiration of Victoria’s Secret models. The sheer volume of people who throw themselves at Law’s feet, desperate for his attention, is both funny and disturbing.
Of course, there was a problem. If he was a fraudCorruption, bribery, conspiracy, and money laundering to finance an international narcissist's yacht-filled lifestyle of supermodels? Sounds like a great movie. And like every movie I've ever seen, the feds eventually ruin this party, too.
After the Oscars and premieres, we learned that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio had unwittingly collaborated with an international con man who was deliberately stealing from his country.Does crime pay? Well, we won’t lie. So far, it seems to have paid off for Low, but that may change. This is the sad ode to Jho Low, a man who was willing to do anything to get in touch with the world’s elite, and got away with it. Jordan Belfort, eat your heart out.
The Mysterious Malaysian Businessman Who Made It Rain
Jho Low's production credits prior to 2013 were short and unspectacular, culminating with wolf of wall street and Stupid and stupider toWithout his behind-the-scenes interventions, there’s a good chance neither of them would have made it to the red carpet. You might wonder how a filmmaker like Martin Scorsese could struggle to get the money to make his films. The truth is, he barely made the money to make his films. silence or Irish DiCaprio and he always seem to be stuck in development hell.
The substance of his work (violence, profanity, religious themes, long running times) doesn’t sit well with mainstream studios looking for safe, marketable (read: boring) content with broad appeal. Recalling his conversation with Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio told Vulture in 2013, “The bigger, R-rated dramas, like blood diamond or The departed“I really don’t want to get funding anymore.” He spoke very quickly. He took the initiative to save the day, Red Granite has agreed to provide the funds.without any demands to soften the film's R rating to PG-13, a decision that maintained the raw edge Scorsese needed.
No one at the time was bothered by a mysterious figure appearing out of nowhere with bottomless pockets of cash to hand out like Halloween candy. The existence of insanely wealthy foreign financiers pouring in piles of cash is nothing new. Just look at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Development Fund, which has recently showered regional filmmakers with resources, and the conservative state has even entered into a relationship with WWE.
He played by his own rules. It turned out he had a lot in common with wolf of wall street He has revived the protagonist, Jordan Belfort. His life as a college student revolved around his yacht and lots of booze.Law’s primary hobby, aside from champagne, diamonds, boating and movies, was networking. He recruited celebrities to be his friends and attend his lavish yacht parties, which extended beyond the movie business. He allegedly used his wealth to buy some stunning jewelry for his model girlfriend, Miranda Kerr. Overnight, Law became the most daring and exciting producer in the business. Unfortunately, the money was not his.
Joe Low's ship runs aground
This is how the scam was done. In 2009, he made the best use of his connections with the prime minister by coming up with the idea of setting up an investment fund. Soon, billions of dollars were illegally transferred from Malaysian investment accounts to Red Granite. (They denied any knowledge of Low's scheme, of course.) Over a period of six years, the slush fund was supposed to help support Malaysia's infrastructure and services, but Lu gained access to the funds through his friendship with the prime minister.The two used the box as their own piggy bank. The Malaysians were not happy when they discovered that their money was being used to finance the scheme. My father's house.
The 1MDB development company is estimated to have stolen US$4.5 billion. The conspirators reached into powerful factions within the Malaysian elite. Prime Minister Najib Razak was among those tried and convicted of siphoning off voters’ money through a complex money-laundering scheme that moved funds from one country to another. According to US government spokesmen, this was the largest seizure in the history of the US Department of Justice.. Reda Aziz, colleague wolf of wall street The producer was also involved in the investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged him with theft and money laundering, according to Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt:
“Aziz and his co-conspirators allegedly diverted these funds for their own personal use and used them to purchase luxury properties in New York and London and make personal investments. The forfeiture of these assets will be in addition to the approximately $1.1 billion stolen from 1MDB that the U.S. Department of Justice has so far helped recover and return to the Malaysian people.”
Those who are particularly savvy will remember that laundering money for film productions is not a new idea and that many criminals and organized crime syndicates have dabbled in film production over the years. Sometimes with very ugly results. However, this takes it to a whole new level. The stolen money was then funneled into films and funding the tycoon’s crimes, paying celebrities to attend yacht parties on his $250 million luxury yacht, where the likes of Emily Ratajkowski, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian danced with a pretend Jay Gatsby to get their turn at his money – let’s say that’s Malaysian money. His motivation was simple and sad at the same time. He wanted people to like him.So he developed a habit of paying models and celebrities to take pictures with him, Fortune reported. And it worked.
From luxury to fugitive status
Law's adventures were not limited to models, actors and directors looking for sponsors. Law used his connections with his then-boyfriend, Leo DiCaprio, to try to reach then-US President Barack Obama. In court, wolf of wall street The actor testified that Low was in talks to make large donations, rumored to exceed $30 million, to Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, to buy access to the most powerful man on the planet..
One to play on each side, low to the ground. He allegedly communicated with members of the Trump family. In an attempt to help him when the 1MDB scandal broke. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to capitalize on that leverage as his operation blew up in his face. 1MDB is defunct, his friends in the Malaysian government are disgraced, his ex-girlfriend Kerr was forced to give up her jewelry as part of the confiscation, all of Low’s friends disowned him after he was convicted in absentia, and Red Granite stopped making films as of 2017. Scorsese’s father is now out of the picture, so don’t cross your fingers for a Sinatra biopic.
At the time of this writing, Low remains a fugitive, facing hundreds of millions of dollars in charges. The sale of paintings by Basquiat, Warhol, Picasso and Monet is just a drop in the bucket of what has been seized in the aftermath of the embezzlement scheme. Earlier this year, a documentary was released titled runaway manThe documentary revolves around Low and his co-conspirator Razak. The documentary features the whistleblower who exposed the fraud and the journalist who reported on the scandal, Claire Rewcastle-Brown.
As his fame grew, Lu was, ironically, forced to keep his head down and live a modest life. Lu maintained enough connections with corrupt government officials to evade multiple authorities around the world.Rumor has it that the mastermind is in Macau. Although Low has saved up cash for a rainy day, he still has friends willing to protect him. And while he now travels by more conventional means, his luxury floating palace, Equanimity, is currently up for sale. For $250 million, this mansion of film and legal history could be yours, and could be sold to crooked politicians and socialites in a pinch.
