Dan Pena’s Net Worth and Life Story

Net Worth:	$450 Million
Age:	75
Born:	August 10, 1945
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Entrepreneur
Last Updated:	2020

 

Dan Pena is a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and motivational speaker. As a high-performance business coach, he has consulted in various industries such as coal, natural gas, and oil. He is famously known for his personal net worth and the net worth that he has helped others create. 

Over the years, he has developed the Quantum Leap Advantage from his endeavors in the business world, where he teaches his methods to eager entrepreneurs on how to create wealth. 

Net Worth of Dan Pena

Today Dan Pena has a net worth of around $450 million. Pena is referred to as the $50 billion dollar man because that is how much wealth has been created by those he mentors using the Quantum Leap Advantage. With each year, that number is growing to the 1 Trillion dollar mark. 

Early Life of Dan Pena

In his early life, Pena was not always the driven, high-performing man that he is today. 

The Barrio Bad Boy of East Los Angeles

Pena did not come from a family with generational wealth. He was born on August 10th, 1945, in Jacksonville, Florida. His grandparents had migrated from Spain to Mexico. Then his mother and grandmother came to America in the 1940s after crossing the Rio Grande illegally. Later, his family moved to East Los Angeles. He became the first generation Mexican-American in his family. His mother was not a naturalized citizen until she was thirty years old. 

Pena describes his barrio of East Los Angeles during the 1950s as a rough place with a life full of fighting. 

The RFK Assassination Connection

As a man who believed in tough love, Dan’s father, Manny Pena, was a lieutenant colonel in both WWII and the Korean War. After leaving the military, Manny joined the LAPD in 1947 and served for twenty-eight years where he grew to become a Lieutenant Commander.

After retiring from the police force, Manny Pena was recruited by the CIA. As a CIA operative, Manny worked as lead investigator in the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Many conspiracy theories claim that Manny Pena was responsible for covering up the ballistic’s findings from the assassination of RFK. Pena also claims that his father was an assassin for the CIA and responsible for anywhere from nine to thirteen kills. Manny Pena passed away in 1991. 

Dan Pena School Life

While in grade school, Dan stayed in a lot of trouble. In one interview, he describes how he was expelled not only from his school but every school in the district for his unruly conduct with such acts as threatening to kill his teacher in which he attempted by dropping a glass aquarium on them. 

During his high school years as a young man, Pena had a track record and was notorious for fighting and causing trouble. He was arrested multiple times for drunk driving and alcohol-related charges. Dan’s father even told local officers to beat him if he was misbehaving in public. It wasn’t until he joined the military that his life would begin to change.

Dan Pena’s Military Career to Businessman 

In 1966, he volunteered for the draft at the height of the Vietnam War. Pena credits much of his business success to the military and the place where he learned self-discipline and leadership skills. 

Mr. Peña entered the military as a private and a few years later left as a lieutenant commander. While in the military, he was stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia. As an officer, he spent time in Europe, where he was surrounded by senior military officers and ambassadors.

It was at this point that Pena experienced a more cultured life and a way of doing things. He knew he wanted the good life. As he was being awarded a medal from a two-star general, according to Pena, the general stated, “You know if you were in the real world, you could probably get rich.” At this moment, his life would change forever and set him on his business journey.  

Dan Pena and His Early Career 

In 1971 he graduated with honors from San Fernando Valley State College, now known as California State University, Northridge, with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After leaving the military, he eventually made it to Wall Street. As he stated in one interview, “I wanted to go where the money was.”

He began his career at a commercial real estate firm in Los Angeles with a 94.6% closing rate. 

From there, he became a stockbroker for Payne Webber in the Los Angeles office. In 1972, he was transferred to the New York City office. During a five year period, he was able to double his income from the previous year. In 1977 he left Payne Webber went on to serve as an advisor, financial analyst, and business consultant with the investment banking firm of Bear Stearns in New York City.

After starting his career, Pena realized there wasn’t much difference between the military world and the business world. 

In 1979, he left Bear Stearns and became the president of Kennedy Industries in Los Angeles that focused on real estate investments, natural resources, and the entertainment industry. 

Then in 1980, Dan Pena became the CEO and chairman of JPK Industries, where he held fifty percent ownership. Two years later, Pena would find himself ousted by shareholders. 

Great Western Resources, Inc.

In July of 1982, Dan Pena founded his own company, Great Western Resources, with only $820, a phone, and a fax machine. With barely enough money, over the course of eight years, though, he grew his initial investment to a $450 million dollar natural resources business that owned several energy companies at a time when the oil business was at its worst. 

After partnering with Marion Oil in Mobile, Alabama, the joint venture gave Great Western Resources the support they needed to earn $50 million dollars in government fuel contracts. 

Great Western Resources began as an oil drilling exploratory operation. Later it evolved into all aspects of the oil business from pipeline construction to refinery. 

After taking the natural resource company public on the London Stock Exchange, at the height of its influence, the company was involved in onshore and offshore drilling in addition to twenty-two coal mines.

Great Western Resources Locations 

GRW has locations in South America, Great Britain, and the United States. 

He served as the organization’s CEO until he and the Board of Directors had a falling out about a decade later in 1990 during Desert Storm. At the time, the Kuwaiti government-owned 29% of GWR stock. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the stock price of Great Western Resources dropped by 75%. Pena was ousted again. 

From this natural resource company, Dan Pena has gone on to create much wealth. It was only after leaving Great Western Resources with half a billion dollars that Dan began to develop his high-performance, financial coaching program.

Dan Pena’s Famous Guthrie Castle Estate 

Since early adulthood, Pena dreamed of owning a castle. In 1984, a year shy of his 40th birthday, he purchased the 15th-century landmark, Guthrie Castle in Angus Scotland, from the Guthrie family who had owned the property for more than 400 years.  

The grounds consist of 156 acres, a horseshoe-shaped walled garden, and a loch. Also, the castle itself has thirteen bedrooms along with four cottages on the estate grounds. After a year of extensive renovations, he brought the castle back to its former glory with the addition of a golf course that now serves as his primary residence. Since purchasing the castle, the estate has undergone several additional renovations.

Guthrie Castle Scandal

In the early 2000’s he opened Guthrie Castle to the public, where it served a venue for weddings and public functions until 2017 when the wedding planner and coordinator for Guthrie castle was caught embezzling money and scamming brides and grooms by double-booking weddings. 

After finding out what his employee had done, Mr. Pena generously refunded each couple their money. 

Guthrie Castle serves as Pena’s primary residence and where he hosts his Quantum Leap Advantage seminars. . It is no longer open to the publish. 

Founder of The Guthrie Group

The Guthrie Group, founded in 1997 and named after his famous home, has locations in Scotland and the Philippines. Pena still serves as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Pena’s consultancy firm works with corporate finance clients across the globe. 

The company serves as a facilitator for European financial transactions for buying and selling. They focus primarily on pre-IPO funding.

What is the Quantum Leap Advantage?

Dan Pena began his career as a high-performance business coach in 1993. As the founder of Quantum Leap Advantage, the QLA methodology is based on his experience in the military and Wall Street. As a high-performance coach, Pena teaches other entrepreneurs wealth creation and how to become a high achiever. Dan provides week-long seminars at Guthrie Castle using his QLA Methodology that takes participants through the foundational steps of being successful. 

Workshops include information about how to raise capital, how to overcome obstacles when pursuing an idea, and the seven necessary steps to achieve “super success.”

Quantum Leap Advantage Graduates 

Among his most successful high-ticket, Quantum Leap Advantage Graduates include Dan Lok and Shawn Casey. 

Other successful Quantum Leap Advantage graduates include Klaus Kleinfield. In 2017, Kleinfield closed the largest deal in history, a deal that links Jordan with Egypt known as NEOM. Kleinfield now serves as an advisor to the Saudi Crown Prince. 

As a visionary and leader, the philosophy of Dan and his high-ticket seminars are straightforward: there are no free lunches. Each person must work hard to earn what they get in life. If you have the guts to follow his steps, you can start obtaining the wealth to support your family for multiple generations. 

The consensus of Dan Pena’s seminars is positive when reviewing forums, blogs, and websites that discuss QLA Methodology (Quantum Leap Approach). There is no fluff or feel-good stuff to worry about with Dan’s workshops. His focus is on growth. You can live a comfortable life and relax, or you can choose to pursue your goals and dreams. 

Despite having gone to jail multiple times in his youth, he is living proof that anyone can turn their life around. 

Your First 100 Million

Published in 1999, in his book, Your First 100 Million, it outlines how success is not for the touchy-feely. In the dedication he credits three men for making an impact on his life. He begins with Constantine Gratsos, an associate of shipping icon and business magnate, Aristotle Onassis, and second husband to Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis. 

Pena states, “He took a liking to me, became my first mentor, and showed me how to swim in the deep, dangerous waters of business.”

Then, he gives credit for his ability to move out of his comfort zone to Jim Newman, after attending one of his seminars in 1978. 

His knowledge of the oil industry is thanks to Jerry Ormand, the legendary Texas oilman. Ormand introduced Pena to the business and how to survive in it. 

Pena uses his book as a tool for his mentees to understand the origins of his business strategy and how they can apply them to their own business. 

What are the Necessary Steps to Success Using the QLA? 

Pena begins the Quantum Leap Advantage by recommending that you read the following: 

• Dr. Spocks Baby and Childcare     
• Think and Grow Rich-Napolean Hill    
• Release Your Brakes- James Newman   
• You First Hundred Million (Audio Book)- Dan Pena   
• The 50 Million Dollar Man’s QLA Book (eBook)- Dan Pena 

As a high-performance coach, Mr. Pena is a firm believer that you need to learn some important lessons if you want to find success.  For instance, it starts by getting out of your comfort zone and moving away from conventional wisdom. Your parents are to blame for your lack of self-esteem and ambitions. Therefore, you have to get away from your parents’ influence to achieve anything. 

Furthermore, a person should begin by developing high-quality relationships and focus on surrounding themselves with high-performance people. From there, he recommends working on developing a sense of high self-esteem and learning how to trust your guts. Moreover, he believes that doubt is not a product of accurate thinking but habitual thinking.  

According to Pena, you have to practice being successful and begin with a strong foundation. For example, success comes from the way you look and the way you talk. 

Additional Seminars 

The Quantum Leap Advantage also features lessons on how to raise money for your business with the Raising Capital Series. His Deal Making and Acquisitions seminars explain how to buy larger companies using little to none of your own money. 

Some of the best advice that Dan Pena gives is to try to make money doing something that you are passionate about after doing good research. 

More information can be found on his web site along with a free Success Test. 

The Snowflake Generation 

Pena doesn’t hold back his opinion about what he calls the snowflake generation. In an interview with the London Real, he is outspoken in his belief that ordinary people today lack the mental toughness and drive to be successful. 

He believes that “snowflakes” are too concerned with what people are going to say about them, overreact to situations and easily triggered. 

As part of his QLA program, he offers The Snowflake Test for free, which is a short series of multiple-choice questions asking about childhood, parents, and how you would react to certain scenarios. It’s challenging and the results are a hard pill to swallow if you aren’t prepared. 

Dan Pena on Raising Children

In addition to his views about “snowflakes,” the billionaire is very vocal about how people should raise their children. According to Pena, children do not do what they are told do; they do what they see their parents do. 

Taking into consideration how he was raised, he is adamant that parents teach their children leadership skills. It begins by equating discipline with success and understanding that success requires sacrifice. 

Dan Pena Quotes

“Find something that you love that can change a billion lives. The odds of you becoming a billion have gone up exponentially or at least made you a bunch of money.”

 “Growth only comes from pain.” 

 “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.”

 “Never ever share your doubts.” 

“Man’s greatest burden is unfulfilled potential.” 

“Focus on the few, not the many.” 

For the past years, Dan spends numerous hours traveling around the globe speaking at universities, pro bono and other organizations. For a brief time, he taught a university course at his alma mater. He and his wife are involved in multiple charitable Catholic organizations that focus on missionary work in Sri Lanka and South America.  

He promotes his teachings through a series of YouTube videos, podcasts, and seminars along with his book and social media channels full of robust content of video clips. 

His video, “Ultimate Advice for Students and Young People- How to Succeed in Life,” has over six million views. 

Dan Peña Awards  

Throughout his career, American businessman Dan Pena has been the recipient of many awards: 

Who’s Who in America  

Who’s Who in Public Speaking

Latin Business Association Outstanding Business Owner (1981)  

Nominated for Inc’s Entrepreneur of the Year (1989) 

US Presidential Roundtable (1991)  

Most Distinguished Alumni California State University, Northridge, School of Business and Economics Commencement Speaker (1991)  

Award for Excellence by the Center for Entrepreneurial Management (1994) 

Chosen TOP TEN Marketing by Entrepreneurs Magazine (1995) 

“The Communicator” award (1995 & 1996) 

“Telly Award” in (1996 & 1997)  

Leaders and Success by Investor’s Business Daily (US) in (1997)  

Chairman of the company chosen as “Entrepreneurial Company of the Year” (1998) 

First Honorary Member of Onderneuend Nijenrode (1998)  

Chairman of the Company nominated for European Entrepreneur of the Year (EU) (1999) American International Real Estate Expo and Conference AIREEC “Man of the Year Award” (2008)   

AIREEC “Inspirational Leadership Award” (2008)

Dan Pena lives with his wife Sally, and they have three children. 

Fun Fact: Dan Pena has a 13th rib.