Dan Zanger Net Worth, Biography, Career (Updated)

Daniel J. Zanger declares himself an expert in the stock and equities markets. Media attention was focused on Zanger when audited returns revealed that he had turned $10,775 into over $18 million in less than two years.

With a total return of 29,233% on his own portfolio, Dan Zanger holds the World Record. Dan writes a nightly stock picks and analysis newsletter on his website chartpattern.com.

Dan Zanger Net Worth

Dan began to see powerful moves underway in the stock market as technology and internet stocks took center stage in 1997. In order to enter the market fully, he had to sell his Porsche for about $11,000.

After nearly two decades of playing the market and re-reading William O’Neil’s works, Dan turned $11,000 into $18 million in the next two years. Due to his success, he was able to leave contracting and become a full-time trader.

Dan Zanger Biography & Career

Early years

Zanger was raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. His father was a doctor & his mother a psychotherapist. He attended college for a few years, then left to ski in Colorado and Idaho.

While he was in his early twenties, he worked a few odd jobs, including bellhop, cab driver, and preparation cook for a living.

Later, he moved back to Los Angeles with no experience in trade or education beyond his high school education. Eventually, he became a licensed contractor in California while working for a landscaping company. As an independent contractor, he built pools in Beverly Hills where he earned a modest living.

Dan often watched business channels on television with his mother Elaine, who was a huge stock market fan. 

On one particular day in 1978, Dan watched as a stock exploded across the ticker and reached $1. After purchasing his first stock, he sold it a few weeks later for over $3.

After that sale, he became addicted to the market tape and carried a quote trek with him to stay on top of stock prices when he was out on contracting jobs.

Dan Zanger world records

The website of Dan Zanger indicates he has studied every form of chart pattern formation imaginable for about 20 years and 10,000+ hours.

His strategy is to combine chart patterns with rapidly growing firms with strong earnings growth. Such stocks can yield huge returns, sometimes up to a few hundred percent.

Both Dan’s 12-month and 18-month portfolio returns are world records. Over the course of the late 90s, he turned around approximately $11,000 into roughly $18 million.

Newsletter and website

The Zanger Report, published in 1996, was a faxed newsletter that was sent out by Dan every night to hundreds of beginning traders.

In 1998, he turned this faxed letter into an educational website, chartpattern.com, which highlighted the patterns traders can observe and trade using daily stock charts.

Thousands of traders use this website around the world, including market makers, hedge funds, and private investors.