I’ve referenced “The Wolf of Wall Street” in my articles before, but this time, I find it particularly fitting. In one of the opening scenes of the movie, Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, takes us through a typical day of drug use in banking. From Quaaludes and cocaine to Adderall and Xanax, it seems like everyone’s favorite financial criminal is singlehandedly keeping pharmacies in business.
While movies often overstate or glamorize drug use, “The Wolf of Wall Street” seems to get it right. In a podcast interview, Jordan Belfort breaks down drug use, partying and infidelity in high finance. He claims that for young bankers, drugs are a slippery slope and almost unavoidable. In fact, in high finance they are normal—too normal.
While the physical detriments of drug use take a toll on bankers, nothing compares to the profitability of this practice. High power analysts are often rewarded with six-figure salaries and promotions if they play the game right. For a student fresh out of college, this seems like striking gold.
From 2006 to 2016, American amphetamine usage increased 2.5 fold, and seems to have beat out cocaine for the most popular drug of choice for bankers. Forced to work 100-hour weeks and complete tedious financial models, many young bankers turn to stimulants like Adderall and Vyvanse to stay focused and energized into the wee hours of the night.
Only exacerbating the drug problem, new drug formats like Zyn, Snus and ultra-caffeinated energy drinks are taking over the financial industry. From 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, Celsius’ sales increased by over 100%, showing a dramatic increase in popularity. Gone are the days where a simple cup of coffee with 96 mg of caffeine is enough to survive a day in the office. Now, young people are consuming multiple cans of Celsius a day, with each can containing 200 mg of caffeine. The maximum recommended daily intake of caffeine is only 400 mg, but no one will say anything because after all, it is just caffeine.
Zyn usage is also over the top and too normalized. In an Instagram post by @overheardonwallstreet, a user that posts memes for primarily young bankers, they include photos of Adderall capsules, a Celsius and Zyns, claiming that they are just a part of “maximizing shareholder value.” This isn’t the only post with the same messaging on that account.
The problem with these trends is that unlike the cocaine that dominated high finance in past decades, Adderall, nicotine and caffeine are completely legal, convenient and equally as addictive. No one blinks an eye as young people consume nicotine in high amounts and doctors have even inadvertently encouraged Adderall and Vyvanse usage.
While we can ban and discourage drug use in the office, this does not address the root of the problem. Bankers aren’t using drugs because they want to. It is because they have to. During deals, young bankers can work upwards of 100 hours per week, forcing them to sleep at their desk or rely on stimulants to stay awake, both practices that can have negative effects on the body, particularly the heart. In 2024, a banker died of cardiovascular issues sparking outcry and an investigation into working hours, though there has been no direct tie between these and the death.
Since then, and only after criticism, bulge bracket banks have made moves to cap working hours for young employees, but this still does not solve the problem. The problem is not the rules, but the culture of investment banking. No matter how many restrictions are put in place, young employees will work themselves to the bone to win the political game in the office. Their actions go past trying to prove that they are a hard worker, because they are trying to prove that they are better than everyone else. If that means submitting to “grind culture,” doing drugs and giving up relationships, then that is what they will do.
In our education system and as a society, we need to put more value on wellbeing and remind young people that no salary is worth giving up their health. Despite how good the numbers on the paycheck might look, it is worthless when the money is going to drugs and the time is spent slaving away over a model, rather than enjoying your relationships and young adulthood.