How much is Paul Bilzerian worth?
| Net Worth: | $30 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Businessman |
| Date of Birth: | January 1, 1950 (age 73) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
About Paul Bilzerian
Paul Alec Bilzerian was born in 1950 in Miami, Florida and is an American businessman, corporate takeover specialist, and convicted felon. He holds Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. Bilzerian married his girlfriend Terri Steffen in 1978. His two sons, Dan Bilzerian and Adam Bilzerian, are famous. Dan is a professional poker player and television star.
Paul Bilzerian was convicted of failing to make complete and timely disclosures on Schedule 13(d) filings related to an unsuccessful takeover attempt of Cluett, Peabody and Company and Hammermill Paper Company in the 1980s. For this Bilzerian served a 13-month prison sentence and was also ordered to disgorge his profits, leading him to bankruptcy and a 30-year legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After Bilzerian was already convicted, the SEC continued by filing a civil suit against Bilzerian based on identical charges to force him to disgorge the profits from the takeover attempts. Bilzerian claimed that this was double jeopardy as he had already been punished once for the exact same conduct. However, in 1993, a federal judge ruled in favor of the SEC and ordered Bilzerian to disgorge $33.1 million of profits, plus interest.
Bilzerian has spent the past three decades maintaining that he is innocent. In 2019, he renounced his American citizenship in protest of what he claims has been “a long and disappointing experience in the federal judicial system that has been consistently unjust and shown little regard for the law or the truth.”
Paul is father to so-called “The Instagram King” Dan Bilzerian, and had a net worth peaking at an estimated low of $85 million to highs of $300 million by the late ’80s. Paul filed for bankruptcy twice however, in 1991 and 2001.
One of Bilzerian’s first business deals was an investment in the 1970s in a Tampa Bay-area radio station, WPLP, which he made with two Army colleagues from the Vietnam War. However, in a dispute over control, Bilzerian left in the late 1970s to join his father-in-law in the real estate business.
Bilzerian’s real estate investments were highly successful and led to the beginning of his fortune.
He filed for bankruptcy for the second time in 2001 but according to Florida Bankruptcy Law his primary real estate property was safe from creditors demands. Some of his creditors felt he might be using the declaration of bankruptcy as a tool to prevent them from collecting, however this was never proven.
