The “millionaire playboy” known for his extravagant luxury lifestyle, Dan Bilzerian, is a bit of a mystery to many.
He’s known to have a possie of gorgeous models by his side at all times, has dropped a cool million on a single party, and is never shy to boast his finances publicly.
Cardi B (L) and Dan Bilzerian attend the grand opening of KAOS Dayclub & Nightclub at Palms Casino Resort on April 6, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada
Not exactly humble, Dan Bilzerian has been showing off his luxury lifestyle on Instagram for years. He’s known as the “King of Instagram” with 32.5 million followers and a large fanbase from all over the world.
Despite this, it’s very unclear how Dan Bilzerian actually makes his money. We’ve all thought it… how can he be that rich?
Well, his lifestyle might be a bit misleading – and we’ll get to that shortly. But on the surface, he’s living it up. Living in multi-million-dollar homes, flying all over the world in private jets with an arm full of beautiful models, splashing cash on huge parties, yachts, luxury items, and fast cars.
Cardi B posing with social media influencer Dan Bilzerian
Frequently spotted partying with American rapper Cardi B, he’s not shy to show off what he’s got. Bilzerian says much of his money comes from high-stakes poker. He claimed to make $50 million in one year from poker – a claim that has never been corroborated.
While some suggest he has exaggerated his earnings, there is no doubt much of his fame and fortune originated in poker.
Dan, who’s now 40 years old, began playing poker during his stint at the University of Florida. During this time, he started making cash on the weekends from poker and decided not to pursue his education.
Making 5-figures in a night (at the time) was alluring to him, so he eventually dropped out of University to pursue it full-time. In 2007 he was competing in high-stakes poker matches. Since then he has done very well, collecting winnings from poker matches against some of the biggest celebs in America.
Dan Bilzerian is known for his extravagant lifestyle and love of beautiful women
But, if you’re thinking there’s more to it than that – you’re absolutely right. Bilzerian came from money. A trust-fund baby, he grew up in the largest house in Tampa. His father, Paul Bilzerian, was a venture capitalist who set up large trust funds for both sons (Dan and his brother Adam).
Paul Bilzerian is a felon, and known as a ‘wall-street fraud’, allegedly owing the Securities and Exchange Commission $62 million. With $62 million in debt owed to the government and a criminal record for tax fraud, the Bilzerian’s don’t appear to excel in money-management.
According to WSJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission has winded down its quest to collect a $62 million civil judgment against former corporate raider Paul Bilzerian for securities fraud.
His poker career has continued for over a decade, and he’s made some serious cash. Dan Bilzerian’s trust-fund is seemingly what got his poker career off the ground – giving him the ability to bet large sums of money that your average University student probably wouldn’t be able to.
The founder of Ignite Cannabis Co., Dan Bilzerian is seen on November 13, 2019, in Los Angeles, California
When asked about his poker career, Bilzerian told a reporter “people cannot understand what it’s like to win over $10 million in one day or to lose $5 million in one night. Just knowing that you have lost a really nice house or won ten Bugattis… when you put it in those terms, it’s really hard to stomach the losses.”
Despite his success in poker, his claim to fame is still his lavish lifestyle that is reminiscent of Hugh Hefner in his glory days.
In 2018, Dan invested some of that poker money into the cannabis market, launching a company called Ignite. In true Bilzerian fashion, the launch party for Ignite was excessive. The party took place in his $100-million-dollar home in Bel-Air.
During the launch party, he displayed the wide range of cannabis products sold by Ignite, and naturally, the place was full of beautiful paid models and reality TV stars.
But how much is the company actually worth?
Last year, the company lost $50 million dollars. According to auditors quoted by Forbes, Ignite will most likely fail due to incomprehensible spending habits.
According to the annual report filed in 2019, Ignite posted losses of $67 million Canadian dollars ($50 million USD, roughly). Like me, you might be wondering, how is this even possible? A $50-million USD loss?
Dan Bilzerian founded the brand as Ignite Cannabis Co. in 2017 to be a “catalyst of change in the cannabis industry”
Well, let’s consider how Ignite was actually making their money first.
The company issued and sold shares and raised money via ‘convertible debt’. To be more specific, Ignite reported $25 million in proceeds from the issuance of shares and $19.9 million in proceeds from convertible debt.
Basically, they were holding on to a lot of money that belonged to other people. As Ignite stock began to plummet in 2019, the Bilzerian-style spending spree didn’t slow.
For every dollar in revenue, the company is spending 2 dollars in administrative costs.
Their marketing budget alone was $22.26 million dollars in 2018. Their annual sales revenue was only $18.4 million. These costs do not include the bloated salaries of the executive team, including Bilzerian himself.
Dan Bilzerian has been accused of spending company money on personal expenses
So, with a company that reported a $50 million loss in 2019, how does he afford such a lifestyle? Well, according to a lawsuit filed in July 2020, he can’t.
Dan Bilzerian rents his house and his credit card bills are paid by Ignite. Knowing the lifestyle he boasts on Instagram, this isn’t a small bill. His rented home costs a whopping $200,000 a month. Yes, you read that correctly…$200,000 a month!
According to Curtis Heffernan, Ignite’s former president, the models, flights, yachts, and luxury lifestyle are all charged to the corporate card of Ignite International LTD.
Looking at these figures, one can reasonably see how the cannabis company reported such a significant loss of $50 million dollars in 2019. While Bilzerian has formally denied this, former employees state otherwise.
On the condition of anonymity, a former employee confirmed “Ignite pays for everything. Models, events, yachts. Dan would just have it wrapped with the Ignite logo and all of a sudden it was an Ignite expense and he would send them the bill. Pools, trampolines, his ‘personal events’ that had nothing to do with the business.”
A lawsuit was filed by Curtis Heffernan, who joined the Ignite team in 2019. According to the lawsuit, tensions arose in May 2020 when flags were raised during the preparation of statements required by the Canadian Stock Exchange, where shares of the company are publicly traded.
The suit stated that accountants brought up $843,014.06 in company expenses that appeared to be personal expenses and not business-related. Some of those expenses included:
- $500,000 yacht rental
- $88,000 vault
- Dan Bilzerian’s 6-figure trip to London for two nights
- Four Elements Guns & Star Wars Set
- $50,000 luxury bed frame
- $75,000 paint-ball field
- $26,000 to boost Bilzerian’s Instagram account
- Travel expenses for models to accompany Bilzerian on trips
Heffernan, according to the lawsuit, was pressured to sign off on the expenses confirming they were ‘legitimate’ business expenses. He refused to do so and was terminated shortly thereafter for other causes.
The events leading up to the termination of Heffernan are concerning, and don’t paint the beautiful picture Bilzerian would hope. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the suggestion was made to Bilzerian that he should let go of the $200,000 monthly rental and move into something more modest.
The logic behind this suggestion was that social distancing requirements would hamper parties and promotional events at the house, thereby making it a useless expense.
Bilzerian, according to the report, confirmed he would continue to hold parties amidst the pandemic, and intended on keeping the house, despite the financial state of the company. The very next day, Heffernan was terminated for ‘suspected drug use’.
Bilzerian denies the claim in the lawsuit, and it’s unclear what the outcome will be on this case.
Despite a global pandemic and a $50 million loss at Ignite, Dan Bilzerian is still enjoying his lavish lifestyle. His Instagram is still filled with pictures of luxury vacations, gatherings at his multi-million-dollar rented home, and plenty of shenanigans to keep his 32.5 million followers engaged.
Some analysts believe Dan Bilzerian is worth around $200 million, but the real number could be much lower
What we can all take from this is that Dan Bilzerian may not be in the financial state we would assume from his online persona. There is more to the story that will probably unravel through the lawsuit filed by Heffernan. Or, maybe he will settle and try to save face. Only time will tell.
By current estimates, Dan Bilzerian is still estimated to have a net worth of $200 million. However, the real figure could be closer to zero or even negative, depending on whom you ask.
Credit: Judy Eddy / WENN / DJDM / Instar