Bilzerian has more than 31 million followers on Instagram, where he promotes himself as a jet-setter who hangs with celebrities, has an arsenal of assault-style rifles, shows off his muscular physique and is always with packs of women, often in bikinis. — Image by freepik
When Dan Bilzerian posted a video of himself wake surfing off a megayacht along Italy’s Amalfi Coast, he offered some guidance.
“Someone asked me the other day what advice I’d give to a 20 yr old and my answer was, try everything,” the Las Vegas social-media celebrity wrote last year.
A few months later, behind the scenes of his macho persona, Bilzerian did something that contradicted the wealthy, freewheeling and successful image he has long tried to cultivate: A holding company he owns filed for bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy case, which hasn’t been reported in the news yet, provides an inside look at the business of being Bilzerian – the so-called King of Instagram who lives in Las Vegas, displays a famously over-the-top lifestyle and has donated piles of money to Nevada political causes and candidates.
Bilzerian still has business ventures in operation and has said he is worth US$350mil (RM1.4bil), vastly higher than his holding company’s reported debts. He could also cash in on his 5-acre Las Vegas compound, which he recently put up for sale at US$25mil (RM105mil).
Famous for being famous, the often partying influencer has claimed huge winnings in poker and promoted himself as a playboy who flies in private aircraft, fires heavy guns and is always surrounded by beautiful women. Public records, however, show a different side of the story.
The bankruptcy proceedings have opened a window to his high expenses, extensive financial support from his family, legal battles with a Korean-born bodybuilder’s nutritional supplements business, and a federal judge’s written comment that Bilzerian used an element of a “corporate shell game” as a legal tactic, court records show.
The bankruptcy case also led to a court order that put Bilzerian’s holding company on the path to liquidation.
That company, Blitz NV, “is in the business of being Dan Bilzerian,” according to a court filing last fall by Steel Supplements, which objected to Blitz’s efforts to get more money from an entity that Steel said was linked to Bilzerian’s dad.
Blitz said that it needed the extra money for payroll, security and other costs, and that it could face liquidation without the funds.
Steel viewed it another way.
“The money would be used to fund the younger Bilzerian’s bon vivant lifestyle, supplementing his meager monthly income so that he might keep up the appearances necessary to ‘drive clicks,’” Steel said in court papers.
Multiple attempts to reach Bilzerian for comment, including through attorneys, his businesses and his real estate agent, were unsuccessful.
Jetting away ‘with the world’s hottest models’
Bilzerian has more than 31 million followers on Instagram, where he promotes himself as a jet-setter who hangs with celebrities, has an arsenal of assault-style rifles, shows off his muscular physique and is always with packs of women, often in bikinis.
“When Dan Bilzerian does something, he does it big,” a news release declared in 2016. “There’s no time to sweat the small stuff when you’re jetting away to exotic locations with the world’s hottest models.”
In 2018, a news release by one of his companies said that Bilzerian had become one of the world’s most successful professional poker players, winning more than US$50mil (RM209mil) in a single year.
“Shortly thereafter, Dan shifted his focus to sex and partying and was very successful in his endeavours,” the release said.
Bilzerian had a family trust fund that he claimed was once worth almost US$100mil (RM420mil). While he has claimed big winnings in poker, the Hendon Mob site that tracks tournament winnings shows he earned about US$36,600 (RM150,570), though it does not track cash games. Bilzerian also founded a company that sells liquor, apparel and other products.
Blitz NV, based at the same address as Bilzerian’s Las Vegas mansion, is a holding company for interests in ecommerce, retail and streaming video, according to a court filing by its attorneys at Fox Rothschild LLP.
The entity filed for Chapter 11 protection in September 2023 in US Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas.
At the time, Blitz was wholly owned by a Bilzerian-controlled company called Goat Works, according to court records and business-entity filings. In 2021, Blitz said in court papers that it is owned by Bilzerian.
According to Nevada business-entity records, Blitz NV changed its name in February to FRG Properties but is still managed by Goat Works.
Bankruptcy lawyers for Blitz NV did not respond to requests for comment.
Big spender
The Review-Journal was unable to confirm exactly how much of Bilzerian’s current business interests are held through Blitz NV, or whether the bankruptcy case has affected his personal wealth.
All told, Blitz NV reported almost US$900,000 (RM3.7mil) in income for the first eight months of 2023 but also US$2.1mil (RM8.8mil) in expenses, including around US$1mil (RM4.2mil) combined for travel, payroll and security, court records show. It also reported roughly US$34,000 (RM142,205) in its checking and savings accounts as of last summer.
According to Steel, Blitz filed for bankruptcy just one day before a deadline in a legal settlement between the two companies that was set to award Steel almost US$487,000 (RM2mil).
Founded by former professional bodybuilder Jason Huh – who, according to court records, was born in Korea and immigrated to the US with his parents as a one-month-old – Steel sells products designed to help people build muscle, lose weight, sleep better and perform in the bedroom.
Drawn by Bilzerian’s social-media prowess, Steel reached a deal with Blitz in 2017 for the Internet celebrity to endorse its products. But he still promoted competitors’ products, violating the terms of the deal, according to a lawsuit Steel filed against Blitz in 2020.
The two sides reached a settlement in the summer of 2023, court records show. Soon after, Blitz filed for bankruptcy protection.
Their litigation cost Blitz more than US$1mil in legal fees and costs, “depleting” its cash and requiring its bankruptcy filing to shelve any collection efforts from creditors until it had time to generate more money, Blitz said in court papers.
Meanwhile, Steel wrote in court filings in the bankruptcy case that during the companies’ legal fight, a judge admonished Bilzerian and his entities for “corporate shell game” tactics.
In that March 2022 court order, US District Judge William Jung wrote there was “an element of ‘corporate shell game’ here to avoid” discovery, the pre-trial process of sharing information between parties in court.
“And all the shells are in Mr Bilzerian’s control,” Jung added.
Neither Steel nor its lawyers provided comments for this story.
Needs money for security, landscaping
Last year, Blitz reported US$9.6mil (RM40mil) in assets, most of which were loans to Bilzerian-controlled entities, court records indicate. In general, loans made by a company are counted among its assets, because the company is owed money.
Blitz also reported about US$4.3mil (RM18mil) in liabilities, including a US$3.9mil (RM16.31mil) loan from its largest creditor, International Investments Ltd., a company based on the Caribbean island of St Kitts.
Blitz sought court approval to borrow up to US$300,000 (RM1.3mil) from International Investments, writing in court papers that it needed the money to make payroll, pay employee health benefits, and cover security and “landscape maintenance” costs.
It wrote that it approached six different institutions for a loan, but all declined. Only International Investments was willing to provide the funds it needed “to be able to emerge from bankruptcy.”
Without the money, it warned, it would potentially face “administrative insolvency followed by a liquidation.”
Blitz did not say in that filing who was behind International Investments.
According to Steel, the lender was associated with Bilzerian’s father, Paul Bilzerian. Steel later said the lender was affiliated with Bilzerian’s mother and perhaps his father, too.
The court denied Blitz’s financing plan.
Family involvement
Paul Bilzerian was a Wall Street investor known for corporate takeover bids who was convicted of securities fraud in 1989.
He initially was sentenced to four years in prison, serving 13 months, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported in 2014 that he was living in a condo on St. Kitts.
Paul Bilzerian’s email address includes International Investments’ name, and his mailing address is the same as International Investments, down to the same P.O. Box number, the Review-Journal found.
Reached by email, Paul Bilzerian wrote that he has never owned shares in, or controlled, International Investments. He said his son, Adam Bilzerian, formed and owned the entity, and he assisted him at the time, which led to the email address.
His son sold the company years ago, according to the elder Bilzerian, who did not name the buyer. Paul Bilzerian said he “can’t help” with confirming who issued Blitz the US$3.9mil.
He also stated there is no mail delivery in his adopted country, so everything goes through post office boxes in the capital that are “shared by many companies and individuals.”
Nonetheless, he has given his sons plenty of money in the past.
According to Dan Bilzerian’s memoir, The Setup, a trust fund established for him and his brother was once worth about US$96mil (RM400mil). But the government “seized” more than half of it during a legal battle with their father and then came back for more as part of a deal to release the elder Bilzerian from lockup.
Dan Bilzerian wrote that his trust fund was left with stock that was eventually sold for about US$1.3mil (RM5.5mil).
‘Dan’s program can help any guy’
After Blitz’s funding plan was shot down, the company tried to dismiss its bankruptcy case, court records show.
Steel opposed, and asked the court to convert it to a Chapter 7, saying this would let a trustee investigate and liquidate Blitz’s assets and pay creditors.
In general, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case allows for a reorganization to keep the business alive and pay creditors, while a Chapter 7 calls for the sale of its assets and distribution of proceeds to creditors, according to the federal court system.
Last December, US Bankruptcy Judge Natalie Cox granted Steel’s motion to convert the case, which remains open.
Bilzerian still has business ventures in operation. Bilzerian Entertainment’s website – which shows its namesake partying with celebrity DJs, firing a bazooka, training in MMA and surrounded by women in bikinis – offers to discuss possible deals in marketing, social media and more.
His business called Sigma Society offers a membership program to teach people how to attract and keep women “without needing looks or money.” Silver-level members get one call per month with Bilzerian while Platinum-level members get one a week.
“Dan’s program can help any guy,” Sigma’s website declares. “It will show you all his best tips, tricks and secrets that will make women more attracted to you.”
Bilzerian also founded Ignite International Brands Ltd, which sells vodka, tequila, vaping products and apparel. Its shares were previously traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, but the company was taken private in summer 2022.
The same day that Ignite announced its going-private deal had closed, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed court papers seeking an order for Ignite to comply with an investigative subpoena for documents.
The SEC wrote in court papers that it was investigating a potential accounting fraud and that Ignite argued its compliance with the agency’s subpoena should be “stayed” because criminal authorities were also investigating the company.
In a letter dated Aug 22, 2022, that was enclosed in court records in the SEC action, Ignite’s general counsel told the SEC that the company did not know the purpose of the federal law-enforcement investigation.
Ignite CEO Scott Rohleder did not respond to requests for comment.
On the move?
Since 2021, Bilzerian has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Nevada political candidates, including Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, and US$100,000 (RM418,250) to the Stronger Nevada PAC that supports Gov. Joe Lombardo, state records show.
Wolfson said in an email to the Review-Journal that Bilzerian is a long-time supporter of law enforcement.
“I have met Mr Bilzerian on a few occasions, and I am fully aware that he has supported my campaign and many others,” Wolfson said.
Meanwhile, Bilzerian garnered plenty of headlines when he listed his mansion for sale.
His compound, on Patrick Lane near Jones Boulevard, includes a movie theater, game room, pizza ovens, golf simulator, rock climbing walls, foam pit and roller-hockey rink, the listing shows.
Bilzerian bought the place in 2018 for US$8.5mil (RM36mil), property records show, and put it on the market in late August.
Listing agent Frank Napoli, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties, said he plans to start showing the property to prospective buyers in the coming weeks.
He also said his client is interested in moving to Dubai or Bali.
“That’s just always been his plan,” Napoli said. – Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service
