ShareAlthough many have tried and failed, becoming rich from poker is one of the most alluring aspects of the game. To play a tournament or a cash game and win one hundred times your buy-in is an exhilarating and freeing experience.
Some pros have seemingly found the secret to success in poker. Here are the richest poker players in the world.
Fedor Holz
With over $32 million in live poker earnings, Fedor Holz comes in at number ten. The German won seven figures in 2015 when he took down the WPT Highroller and never looked back.His most significant cash came when he took second in the Big One for One Drop in 2018 for $6 million. Just last year, Holz won a $25,000 heads-up event in the WSOP Online for a little over $1 million. His live earnings are impressive, but that’s not all Holz is doing these days.
Holz also has an impressive business acumen. He and Elliot Roe came together to produce the popular mindset coaching app Primed Mind.
Holz created a version of Primed Mind for kids called Primed Kids, along with a poker coaching service, a travel agency, a consulting firm and a clothing line.
Cary Katz
The founder of PokerGO is no slouch on the felt. Cary Katz has managed to amass over $33 million in live earnings while simultaneously pursuing a business career.Katz has been consistently playing tournaments since 2004 and recently has been focusing on high roller events, with his biggest cash coming in the 2019 Super High Roller Bowl in London for $2.6 million.
Before poker, Katz was already a successful businessman. He was the founder and CEO of College Loan Corporations for fifteen years. With Katz at the helm, his company provided $19 billion in loans and became the seventh largest student loan company in the United States.
Before PokerGo became the hit that it is today, Katz knew he had a gold mine when it came to televising and streaming poker.
Erik Seidel
Erik Seidel has been on the poker scene for quite a while. He took second to Johnny Chan in his first recorded event for $280,000 in the 1988 WSOP Main Event and never looked back. Later that year, he continued his early success by winning his second ever recorded live tournament for $144,000.He stayed consistent over the next few years, with his next significant win coming in the 1991 $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event where he took second for $105,000. In 2011, Seidel had one of his most impressive years to date.
At the Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne, Seidel cashed for over $3 million in less than a week. He took third in the $100,000 event for $618,139 before winning the $250,000 Super High Roller just a few days later.
Since 2011, the Aussie Millions have been good to Seidel, who booked numerous six-figure wins over the next five years.
He’s earned over $38 million throughout his career and hasn’t slowed down, with WSOP and Poker Masters Events being his main focus as of late. In October he took fourth in a $50,000 High Roller for $358,665.
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu performed exceptionally well at this year’s WSOP, but that’s nothing new. Kid Poker has been crushing live tournaments since the late ‘90s and has shown his ability to adjust to the game’s evolution.2004 was an impressive year for Negreanu. He was hot in the spring, cashing for over $700,000 in a little over a month. Things really heated up for Kid Poker towards the end of the year, however. He took down a $10,000 Borgata event for $1.1 million in September before winning a $15,000 in December for $1.7 million.
In 2013, Negreanu was named the WSOP Player of the Year for his incredible performance. He took down the WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event for a little over $1 million. In October, Negreanu took down a €25,000 High Roller in the WSOP Europe for just short of $1 million.
With $45 million in earnings and a whopping $8.2 million best live cash, Negreanu has earned his third place on the all time money list.
Justin Bonomo
The 36 year old Justin Bonomo has been battling Brynn Kenney for first place on the all-time money list, and earlier this month he surpassed Kenney in live earnings. He won a high roller at the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $928,200 and surpassed Kenney’s $56.9 million mark.In his climb to first on the all-time money list, Bonomo took second in a PokerGo Tour Super High Roller for $1.8 million earlier this year. He’s won three events and cashed a total of six for $3.9 million in the PokerGo Tour.
His WSOP career is quite impressive as well. He’s earned over $15 million throughout his WSOP career with three bracelets and a ring to boot.
The high-stakes regular has made over $57 million dollars throughout his career, and his biggest cash is a stunning $10 million, one of the largest tournament scores of all time.
These players have seemingly cracked the code to becoming successful in the poker industry. They’ve stayed relevant whether they parlay their poker success with their business ventures or consistently win tournaments across decades.
