Who is Paul Bilzerian?
A businessman and corporate takeover specialist, Paul Bilzerian has spent more than 30 years maintaining that he is factually and legally innocent, having served a 13-month prison sentence and ordered by the court to ‘disgorge his profits’, which lead him to bankruptcy. He was convicted of ‘failing to make complete and timely disclosures on Schedule 13D filings related to unsuccessful takeover attempts of Hammermill Paper Company, Cluett, and Peabody and Company’, back in the 1980s.
Early life and education
Paul Alec Bilzerian was born in Miami, Florida USA, in 1950 – his exact birthdate is unknown, but he holds American nationality, and comes from a family of part Armenian-American descent.
Paul was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, by his father who was a civil servant; his parents divorced when Paul was a young boy, which led to troubled teenage years for Paul, so that he would later describe himself as a ‘juvenile delinquent’.
He dropped out of high school in 1968, when he was called into the principal’s office for wearing blue jeans, thus violating the school’s dress code. He joined the US Army soon afterwards, and served in the Vietnam War, earning the Army Commendation Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and Vietnamese Gallantry Cross.
Paul then continued his education, and graduated from Stanford University in 1975, with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government with honors, and then entered Harvard Business School, in the same year, graduating with a Master’s degree in Business Administration in 1977.
Career
One of Paul’s first business ventures was an investment in a Tampa Bay-area radio station, WPLP, which he made with two of his Vietnam War colleagues who had experience in broadcasting. However, in the late ’70s, he joined his father-in-law in the real estate business.
Paul’s real estate investments were highly successful, and led to the beginning of his fortune, and then in the ’80s, he moved to Sacramento, California, and embarked on his first takeover attempts.
He was again quite successful, until 1988 when it was announced that he has been indicted in Manhattan by a federal grand jury for Schedule 13(d) disclosure violations. According to Investopedia, Schedule 13D is ‘when a person or group of persons acquire a significant ownership stake in a company, characterized as more than 5% of a voting class of its publicly traded securities, the SEC requires that they disclose the purchase on a Schedule 13D form’.
In January 1989, Paul pleaded not guilty to the charges, and demanded a speedy trial to clear his name, however, the jury found Paul guilty on nine counts including securities law violations, conspiracy, and making false statements, and he was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of $1.5 million.
He began serving his sentence in December 1991, but after appealing he was released in December 1992 to serve out his sentence under house arrest. Then, in the following year, he was ordered to disgorge $33.1 million of profits plus interest. Paul was eventually released in 2002, having initially filed for bankruptcy in 1991.
Suffice to say that legal proceedings mostly initiated by Paul have continued over the years, but with Paul having little success, almost all court rulings going against him
According to Wall Street Journal, Paul currently lives with his wife in voluntary exile on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts leading a lifestyle far removed from his days as a corporate raider.
Love life and relationships
Paul hasn’t been the subject of any rumors and controversies concerning both his love life and his sexual orientation. Soon after he graduated from Harvard Business School, he married his Stanford classmate, Terri Steffen, in 1978. They have two sons, Dan and Adam, both professional poker players.
During his years in prison, Terri stayed by Paul’s side, and the two are still together after more than 40 years of marriage.
Age and net worth
Paul’s age is 72 in 2022, and according to sources, his net worth back in 1990 was estimated at over $300 million, but now, as of August 2022, his net worth has been estimated at $30 million.
Paul was known as the maverick who made millions, and built a 10-bedroom castle with an indoor basketball court, in Avila, near Tampa Bay; the mansion was sold in a foreclosure sale for $2.55 million to a partnership controlled by a Belgian businessman, however, according to court documents, Paul wife Terri Stefen’s parents, purchased a 99% interest in that partnership three weeks later, after the mansion was sold in May 2004.
Who is Dan Bilzerian?
Daniel Brandon ‘Dan’ Bilzerian is an Armenian-American professional poker player, businessman, and social media influencer, with nearly 35 million followers on his Instagram account.
He was born under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius on 7 December 1980, in Tampa, Florida; he apparently studied Business for four years at the University of Florida, however, it’s unclear if he ever graduated.
He began playing professional poker in 2008, and finished in 180th place in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Two years later, he was voted one of the funniest poker players on Twitter by Bluff magazine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR0aAvA1tj0
In November 2013, Dan claimed that he won over $10 million from a single night of playing poker, however, this claim was unconfirmed, as was his claim that he won $50 million throughout the year in 2014.
According to sources, both he and his brother have trust funds left by their father; it’s known that Dan runs the company called Ignite International Brands Ltd, based in Toronto, Canada. His trust fund became accessible in 2010, when he turned 30.
Speaking of Dan’s personal life, he’s been the subject of many rumors and controversies, and even involved in legal issues, such as when he was thrown out of a Miami nightclub after kicking model Vanessa Castano in the face.
He was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on 9 December 2014, on unrelated bomb-making charges, and according to Los Angeles Police Department statement: ‘Bilzerian has been charged with violating a law making it a crime to possess an explosive or incendiary device with the intent to manufacture it.’ He was released after the charges were dropped.
Dan’s dated numerous girls, some of whom are Instagram model Suelyn Medeiros, Hannah Palmer, also a model, and Sofia Bevarly, a social media influencer.
The famous playboy now seems to have settled with another Instagram model, Hailey Grice, whom he married in July 2022.
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