Dan Bilzerian

Daniel Brandon Bilzerian (born December 7, 1980) is an American influencer. He gained notability from about 2013 for his extravagant lifestyle and photos with scantily dressed models on social media. He is the eldest son of businessman Paul Bilzerian.

Daniel Brandon Bilzerian was born on December 7, 1980, in Tampa, Florida, the son of corporate takeover specialist Paul Bilzerian and Terri Steffen. He is the brother of fellow poker player Adam Bilzerian; they are half Armenian-Americans through his father, who was a corporate raider on Wall Street and provided both of his sons with trust funds. Bilzerian said he studied for four years at the University of Florida, majoring in Business and Criminology,^{[unreliable source?]} but dropped out of college to pursue a professional poker career.

Bilzerian played in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing in 180th place. In 2010, he was voted one of the funniest poker players on Twitter by Bluff magazine. In November 2011, Bilzerian was one of those sued by the estate of Bradley Ruderman over winnings from poker games, which were alleged to have been paid with funds from an illegal Ponzi scheme.

In November 2013, Bilzerian posted an unconfirmed claim that he won $10.8 million from a single night of playing poker, and in 2014 said he won $50 million throughout the year, adding that he "doesn't play against professionals anymore and the most he's ever lost in a single session is $3.6 million." Bilzerian has discussed his poker career on Joe Rogan's podcast on YouTube.

Bilzerian has previously claimed to run the company Ignite International Brands Ltd., which sells electronic cigarettes, CBD oils, water bottles and vodka, among other products. U.S. prosecutors allege that Bilzerian's father, Paul Bilzerian, retained de facto control of Ignite, and improperly funneled money to the company while owing more than $180 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Dan Bilzerian later claimed he was never directly involved with running the company.

Ignite was a public company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, that began trading in January 2019 under the BILZF ticker and went private in June 2022 The company reportedly lost over $50 million in 2019, mostly on marketing and office rental expenses.

Bilzerian has appeared in the films Lone Survivor (2013), The Equalizer, Cat Run 2 (both 2014), and Extraction (2015), and authored the autobiography The Setup (2021), which recounts his controversial life and lifestyle.

Bilzerian's appearance in Lone Survivor was provided to him in exchange for a $1 million investment in the film by Bilzerian.