Who Is Dan Bilzerian?
Dan Bilzerian is a renowned Armenian-American actor, venture capitalist, internet personality, and gambler. But you probably already know him for his lavish and glamorous lifestyle on social media.
Dan has been christened the Instagram King, and deservedly so. As a social media personality, Bilzerian presently enjoys more than 30 million followers on Instagram alone. The professional poker dedicates a great deal of his time wowing his followers with scintillating photos and videos of him enjoying life on the fast lane.
Some people may take issue with his controversial lifestyle but in the social media and gambling community, Dan Bilzerian is a king in his own right.
Quick Facts
| Full Name: | Daniel Brandon Bilzerian |
| Popular Name: | Dan Bilzerian |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth Date: | December 7, 1980 |
| Age: | 42 years |
| Parents: | Paul Bilzerian and Terri Steffe |
| Siblings: | Adam Bilzerian |
| Birth Place: | Tampa, Florida |
| Nationality: | American and Armenian |
| Ethnicity: | White and Armenian |
| Education: | Gaither High School and University of Florida |
| Marital Status: | Unmarried |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Wife/Spouse: | N/A |
| Children: | N/A |
| Dating: | N/A |
| Net Worth: | 200 million |
| Source of Wealth: | Acting, Professional Poker Playing, and Social Media |
| Height: | 5′ 10″ (1.79 m) |
| Weight: | 88 kg; In pounds: 194 lbs. |
Early Life and Career Information
Dan Bilzerian was born on December 7, 1980 in Tampa, Florida, to Paul Bilzerian and Terri Steffen. His father was a renowned Wall Street corporate raider.
Bilzerian attended Gaither High School before proceeding to the University of Florida. His elder brother, Adam Bilzerian, introduced him to gambling during his teen years.
When Dan was in the university, the family faced financial crises that made it difficult for him to fund his education. He took his chances on poker by staking $750, which turned to $10,000. He again staked the $10,000 and earned a whopping $187,000.
Dan Bilzerian used the money to fund his university education for some time, before leaving the university to venture into gambling. He reckoned that there was no point of going to school if he could make as much as $90,000 weekly from gambling.
In 2009, Bilzerian turned into professional poker when he took part in the World Series of Poker main event and finished 180th. Since then, he has never looked back. Bilzerian has earned some of the heftiest gambling paychecks in a single game and is considered the wealthiest poker player alive.
When he’s not playing poker, Dan Bilzerian is sharing glamorous photos and videos of him in luxury mansions, cruise ships, and yachts. His social media lifestyle has earned him fanatical following and controversies in equal measure.
Besides playing poker, Dan Bilzerian has also featured in a couple of films, mostly playing minor roles.
Examples of those films include:
• Cat Run 2 (2014)
• Extraction (2015)
• Lone Survivor (2013)
• Olympus Has Fallen (2013
• The Equalizer (2014)
• The Other Woman (2014)
• War Dogs (20160
Dan Bilzerian’s Net Worth
As of 2023, Dan Bilzerian had a net worth of $200 million. Dan has earned a significant proportion of his fortune from playing high-stakes poker games, and is presently ranked the wealthiest poker player. His first major paycheck came when he turned $750 into $10,000, and then turned $10, 000 into $187,000.
Though he used the money to fund his university education, his interest in gambling grew fast and furious. He continued playing poker in between classes and at some point, was making up to $90,000 per week. That’s when he decided to leave the university and venture into poker full-time.
In 2009, Dan Bilzerian finished 180th at the World Series of Poker Main Event (WSOP) and bagged $36,000. That was just the beginning for the professional gambler, as he has since earned more than 10 times that amount in a single game. For instance, he’s reported to have earned $10.8 million from a single game of Heads Up No Limit Hold’EM.
But Dan no longer makes money just from playing poker. He also invests it in fellow professionals for some return on investment. He reportedly facilitated poker player, Jay Farber, to the tune of $2,000. Farber went on to finish second in the event and paid back Bilzerian a whopping $1 million in ROI.
Besides making money from professional poker, Dan Bilzerian’s Instagram account is also a likely income earner for the celebrity.
Well, there are no official reports yet on whether he has entered into any endorsement deals or monetized campaigns on social media. However, it’s safe to assume that his massive following on social media is contributing substantially to his average net worth.
In terms of real estate, Bilzerian once purchased a home in Summerlin South in 2014 for $4.1 million before selling it in 2017 for $5.1 million. He purchased another house in the same neighborhood for $10 million.
However, as far as real estate goes, Dan Bilzerian appears to be more of a spender than he is an investor. In 2018, he rented a 12-bedroom mansion in Bel Air, Los Angeles, at a cost of $50,000 per month. Reports also indicate that previously, he was spending as much as $39,000 in monthly rent.
Life Lessons from Dan Bilzerian
1. More money equals more happiness
Most of us are familiar with the saying “Money cannot buy you happiness.” Maybe that’s not entirely true, and Dan Bilzerian’s lifestyle casts serious aspersions on the credibility of that adage. Dan probably has more money than he can spend in a lifetime, and he spends it on whatever he finds pleasurable.
2. Live your life like there’s no tomorrow
Sometimes the fear of what the future holds prevents us from pursuing our full measure of happiness. However, from Bilzerian’s story, we can learn to savor the joys of the present moment and let the future worry about itself.
3. All publicity is good publicity
This is another crucial lesson we can learn from Bilzerian’s story. The gambler leads a fairly controversial lifestyle. He has run afoul of the law time without number, and is an unconfirmed serial monogamist. However, all of these controversies have only boosted his public image.
The following are some memorable Dan Bilzerian quotes:
“All the big cars, bitches and bullshit in the world won’t make you as happy as having one good pal.”
“Climbing the mountain is always more fun than sitting at the top. It’s just that you have to find different mountains to climb.”
“I think having personal freedom and not being politically correct and not playing the game is a good message in our fucking pussified situation that we’re in now.”
“If a person bluffs a lot in poker, he just thinks everyone else is bluffing more often. People equate things to how they live.”
“It’s unreal how lucky some of these kids are, their parents just give them money &they sit around & play Xbox all day.”
Conclusion
Dan Bilzerian has earned himself incredible wealth in an industry where only a handful makes it so far. The professional poker also lives an opulent lifestyle, a clear indication that money is only worth earning if you can spend it on the things that make you happy.
