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How Dan Pena Achieved a Net Worth of $450 Million

Dan Pena

Dan has been referred to as "The 50 Billion Dollar Man," and it is for a good reason. Although Dan Pena's net worth stands at $450 million, he has enabled many businesses to make billions of dollars through business coaching, and he is not ready to quit. Dan has come from far, from being a delinquent to a multimillionaire, and it took a lot of discipline from the army to set him on the right path. He is now the go-to person for anyone who wants to have a successful venture. Here is how the 74-year old amassed his wealth.

Tough love molded him

They say spare the rod, and you will spoil the child, and that seems to have been what Dan's parents lived by, especially his father. Dan's father was in the CIA leading the investigation about Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, and before that, he worked in Korea and during World War II as the Lieutenant commander. Having been born in 1945, Dan was but a child when crime was prevalent in Los Angeles. Still, his father wanted Dan to make something out of his life, and if that meant tough love, so be it.

In high school, he was not the model student; he even spent some nights in jail due to alcoholism, but his father would not have it. So according to Astrogrowth, Dan's father directed the local officers to beat Dan whenever he misbehaved in public. By the time he was finishing high school, most people had thought he would end up in the army like his father or jail. Dan chose to volunteer in the military, and when he got out of the service, he enrolled in university.

He was yet to get serious with his studies; thus, Dan flunked out of college three times. Fortunately, he decided to change for the better and studied for a bachelor's degree in business administration. In 1971, he graduated with honors from San Fernando Valley State College.

The establishing of Great Western Resources Inc

Armed with his degree, Dan went to look for work in Wall Street since he had heard that is where the action was. He worked for several firms, and by mid-1970s, he was working for his last Wall Street firm, Bear Stearns. His determination to do better landed him at one of their corporate finance clients, and within a year, Dan had climbed the ranks to be the CEO. Unfortunately, he was too headstrong for their taste, so they threw him out.

Dan had only $120 but decided not to seek employment again after the treatment he had received. Instead, he started his own company, Great Western Resources Inc., in January 1982. Dan had done some groundwork regarding his business when he traveled to the UK. As he told Empire Flippers, Dan found out that small exploration companies were being taken public. However, he had no company, so he went to the United States and found reserves he believed were undervalued. Unfortunately, he did not have the money to buy them.

He took out a six-month option against $60,000, hoping to go back and hand the seller $2 million. The seller agreed, and after three and a half months, Dan went back with the required $2 million and took the option public, making history by being the first person to take an option public on the Stock Exchange. He was advised not to go public the same day that Jaguar was doing so, but since he is stubborn, he did it anyway. Therefore with assets worth only $100,000 grew to £50 million. Dan sold 25% of his company using the new valuation leading him to have $10 million in his bank.

Although Great Western Resources Inc. sold natural resources, Dan did not start the company with that mission since he faced challenges finding oil. Dan, therefore, build the company through acquisitions; his company had no track record, and the government would not do any business with him. Being the shrewd businessman he is, he formed a joint venture that had a good track record, and they were awarded three contracts worth $50 million. By the time he was thrown out of the company he had founded eight years later, Dan had built a $450 million firm from the $120 investment.

As of now, anyone who has come across Dan Pena knows that you cannot keep him down since he always finds a way to rise again. Therefore when the board of directors of Great Western Resources Inc. ousted him in 1992, Dan sued them for refusing to pay his employment contract. He won $4.3 million in actual damages.

The Guthrie Castle and Guthrie consultancy firm

In 1983, Dan dreamed of owning a castle, so in August 1894, he made his dream come true by buying The Guthrie Castle. The castle was built in the 15th century, and Dan restored it through significant renovations. He built a golf course, which he wanted to be very difficult to play. In 2003, Dan made the castle available for public bookings. The prices are quite high; for 32 people who want bed and breakfast, it will cost them £14,000 for two nights, according to White Rose Wedding Venues.

Dan also established a consultancy firm under the name The Guthrie Group, in 1997. It is headquartered in The Guthrie Castle, Scotland, and Manilla, Philippines. The client list comprises wealthy individuals, government officials, global corporations, and other financial institutions.

Books and seminars

Dan Pena is not selfish with his knowledge, and after leaving Great Western Resources Inc., he authored the book "Your First 100 Million" in 1999. He also has several e-books and podcasts to enable people to become rich. He continues to be invited across the globe to lend his insight in business; in 2016, he was a guest at Oxford University. If you want to attend the Quantum Leap Advantage (QLA) seminars, be ready to dig deep in your pockets. According to some sources, Dan Pena puts a price tag of $15,000 for learning from him in person, but you can choose the free method, going online. Additionally, firms that want to benefit from his wealth of experience have to pay at least $100,000 daily to have Dan as their guest speaker.

Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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