The former stockbroker who went from riches to rags and wound up sleeping on the sidewalks of the city got some sympathetic words on Tuesday from his old financial-world pal — Jordan “Wolf of Wall Street” Belfort.
“I read the story, and I feel so bad for the guy,” Belfort said after seeing the report in Monday’s Post about the downfall of William “Preston” King. “Socially, I knew him.”
Belfort — who was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film about his drug-fueled Wall Street exploits — said he could just as easily have been in King’s place:
“I’d probably be on a park bench, too, if I didn’t get sober.”
King, 52, was once a major player on the market who spent the 1980s doing big deals, snorting mountains of cocaine and partying at posh, velvet-rope clubs.
His addictions got the better of him, and he eventually lost touch with his sister, Kristine King, after he became addicted to Adderall and stole money from her.
He wound up sleeping on a “mattress” of pizza boxes on the street in Greenwich Village.
Belfort, who spent 22 months in prison for securities fraud, said he was sure that King fell prey to the ravages of drug abuse.
“There was so much partying back then,” Belfort told The Post. “That journey into coke is just so destructive, makes you paranoid. I thought there were aliens coming in my window. I went crazy, was completely out of touch with reality before I got sober. He’s not the first person that relapsed a hundred times. With a lot of people, it’s just how much pain do you need to go through before you make a change?
“The change itself happens in an instant. For me, once I was done, I was done. I went to rehab in 1997, and AA. I’m sober now for 18 years.”
Although King’s picture surfaced among a gallery of photos put out by a police union to show the growing homeless problem, no one knows where he is now.
Members of his family and of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, which released the images, handed out fliers earlier this week near the area where he was photographed in hopes of finding him.
His sister and mother even hit the streets to look for him.
Belfort said that he hopes his old pal will be located safely.
“I hope they find him and that he gets help,” he said. “He needs rehab, he needs medication, he needs psychiatric treatment. It’s not too late for him.”