Dan Bilzerian Net Worth – Is the Poker Player That Rich?

Say what you like about Dan Bilzerian, but the man has a cult-like following among poker enthusiasts and beyond. His lavish lifestyle, outlandish antics, and devil-may-care attitude have earned him worldwide fame and notoriety and over 42 million followers on social media. The most commonly asked questions by fans and detractors alike are about Dan Bilzerian’s net worth.

We cover the life of Bilzerian in this article, including his net worth and how he has come to be so wealthy.

Short Biography of Dan Bilzerian

Dan Brandon Bilzerian was born on December 7, 1980, in Tampa Florida. His parents are Paul Bilzerian, a corporate takeover specialist, and Terri Steffen. Bilzerian is an American-Armenian through his father’s side and is brother to another famous poker player Adam Bilzerian.

Bilzerian tried out for the Navy Seal training program in 2000 but was unsuccessful. He later studied Business and Criminology at the University of Florida. Bilzerian’s life has not been short of controversy, including reports of throwing a porn star off a roof during a photoshoot and attempting to get a gun from a police officer using false credentials. The flamboyant poker player had also had 2 heart attacks by age 25, largely attributed to his hard and fast lifestyle.

Dan Bilzerian is 5 feet 9 inches and has both Armenian and American citizenship.

Dan Bilzerian Net Worth

For a man who is so in love with the limelight, it is not exactly clear how much Dan Bilzerian is worth. However, according to most sources, Dan Bilzerian net worth is between $150 and $200 million. His flashy and flamboyant lifestyle hardly comes as a surprise given his fortune. Some of the most outrageous and expensive things that Bilzerian owns include:

• $250 million home in Bel Air
• Gulfstream IV Private Jet
• Luxury car collection worth over $4 million
• Gun collection worth over $1 million

How Did Dan Bilzerian Make His Money?

$200 million is hardly chump change, which begs the question: How did Dan Bilzerian make all his money? Many Bilzerian fans will say poker or gambling, and while there is some truth to this assertion, it really doesn’t paint the entire picture of how he amassed this much wealth. There is no doubt that Dan Bilzerian wears many hats as far as his career and money-making ventures go.

Bilzerian the Gambler

Bilzerian launched his professional poker career while at the University of Florida, where he apparently made up to $90,000 a week when he was on a roll. He also reports turning $10,000 (that he had won from poker games while at school from a $750 bankroll) into $187,000 during a trip to Vegas.

Bilzerian came into the high-stakes poker limelight in 2007 when he showed up at Harveys Lake Tahoe with $100,000 in a suitcase and looking for some poker action. This stunt earned him the nickname “The Suitcase Guy.” His first big tournament was at the World Series of Poker in 2009 where he finished in 180^th place and won $36,626.

According to Bilzerian, he won $50 million playing poker in 2014 and puts his highest winnings in a single night of poker at $10.8 million.

It is hard to put an exact figure to the amount Dan Bilzerian has made playing poker since most of his winnings are self-reported and unverifiable.

Bilzerian the Trust Fund Baby

Without casting aspersions at Bilzerian’s claims about how much he has made playing poker, it is far more likely that the bulk of his fortune can be attributed to a trust fund set up for him by his father. Bilzerian Sr. is reported to have been worth upwards of half-a-billion dollars at one point and set up hefty trust funds for his children. Bilzerian has made no secret about the trust fund, although the exact amount, once again, remains a mystery.

Dan Bilzerian the Businessman

Dan Bilzerian founded Ignite in 2017, a company selling CBD and Cannabis products. Ignite International Brand Ltd. (BLIZF) went public on September 23^rd, 2019. The company raised gross proceeds of $25.8 million from 17.2 million subscription receipts during the non-brokered offering. Dan Bilzerian is the CEO and Chairman of the company.

His other money-making ventures include being an influencer, actor, sports car racer, and venture capitalist.

Dan Bilzerian Poker Wealth Controversy

There isn’t too much controversy about exactly how much Dan Bilzerian is worth, as most people agree that it is upwards of $150 million. What is in contention, however, is his source of income. Despite claiming to have made his fortune from playing poker (bankrolled by a hefty trust fund), there doesn’t seem to be much evidence to support this. Given that Bilzerian claims that he plays private games exclusively, it is difficult to confirm or deny anything he says.

Famously, poker expert and co-founder of Upswing Poker, Dough Polk, reviewed Bilzerian’s skills during a live Twitch Stream of the infamous poker star playing poker. Polk’s conclusion of the game was that Bilzerian lacked the proper discipline and fundamentals of the game. Although Polk doesn’t entirely discount Bilzerian’s skills or deny that he might have actually won $50 million playing poker, Polk still insists that Bilzerian’s skills leave a lot to be desired.

There is also the dubious source of Bilzerian’s family wealth. Paul Alec Bilzerian, Dan’s father, was convicted on nine counts of fraud including securities law violations, making false statements, and conspiracy. Paul served 13 months in prison and continues to maintain his innocence. Some people have gone as far as to accuse Dan Bilzerian of using poker as a front to launder his father’s ill-gotten wealth.

Dan Bilzerian’s Colorful Life

A colorful life can mean a number of things, but it definitely describes Bilzerian’s life. We mentioned previously that the Instagram king had suffered two heart attacks by the age of 25. Well, he also suffered a third at age 32.

Dan also got into legal trouble for blowing up his truck on what turned out to be public land. He was charged with possessing explosives with intent to manufacture a bomb but got away with a $20,000 fine and no jail time.

His troubled personality showed itself from a very early age and he was expelled and banned from all schools in the state of Utah for bringing a machine gun to school. According to him, he had no intention of firing the gun but rather wanted to show off his prized trinket from his father’s stint as a soldier in Vietnam.

Conclusion

With only one live recorded tournament win, it is hard to tell exactly how much Dan Bilzerian has made playing poker. All the same, it is clear that Dan Bilzerian is worth a lot of money (close to $200 million according to most estimates). You will certainly need more than Dan Bilzerian’s poker skills and strategy if you hope to make this much money playing poker. For starters, a wealthy father and a mind for business will certainly complement your journey to poker stardom.