We estimate John Danaher has a net worth of $25 million (see calculations below). That’s what he got for revolutionizing the leg lock game, coaching the winningest BJJ athlete of all time, and recently pivoting to a more lucrative business strategy. Let’s dive into the net worth calculations below.
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What John Danaher earns from instructionals
The most important income source of John Danaher are his instructionals.
We estimate that the best Danaher instructionals together pull in about $5 million per year currently (see calculations below).
His income over time breaks down as follows:
- 2017-2019: ~$1-2M annually (early instructional boom, enter the system: leg locks)
- 2020-2022: ~$3-4M annually (peak DDS success period, many instructional series)
- 2023-2024: ~$5-6M annually (strategic business pivot to master the move and older grapplers)
Cumulative instructional revenue: ~$20-25M over 8 years through BJJ Fanatics partnership. His 45+ instructional series span every major BJJ position, with premium pricing that consistently outperforms industry averages.
This John Danaher net worth number is higher than Craig Jones’ net worth but still lower than Gordon Ryan’s net worth, per our estimation.
How we estimate john Danaher’s income instructional
John Danaher doesn’t post how much hhe earns from instructionals publicly, so we have to estimate his income.
We do this based on Gordon Ryan’s income statements – which he does post online, because, of course he does…
And we compare number of reviews, best seller status, and price of John Danaher’s instructionals compared to Gordon Ryan’s.
What we find is that John Danaher sells a similar amount of instructionals as Gordon Ryan, but at a significantly lower average price point.
Why the lower price point, you ask? That’s due to John’s new business strategy…
Why John Danaher earns more now than ever
John Danaher did something very smart recently to earn more from his instructionals...
He started to target older grapplers specifically with his “Ageless Jiu-Jitsu” series. And who has more money than younger grapplers? That’s right: older grapplers.
This higher purchasing power, combined with the fact that this demographic had historically not been served, makes this instructional an instant best seller.
And he did something else too.
He started to sell much shorter instructionals in his Master the Move series. These focus on a single move, like the Anaconda strangle, and he’s cranking them out like hot cakes. They’re much cheaper than his longer series too. This series is an instant best seller too.
These two strategic pivots will serve John Danaher very well in sky rocketing his net worth.
Don’t want to make Danaher richer? Watch this free instructional.
Free Danaher Secrets
What do you get? Gordon Ryan, Danaher and more show their best submissions for free
What we don’t count: Other income sources and expenses
John Danaher likely has other income sources too, but they’re immaterial compared to his instructionals.
From what we can find, he earns thousands for seminars if he ever still gives them, andn hundreds per hours for seminars, and he likely has a financial stake in the New Wave (now Kingsway) gym in Austin. However, this is not adding an extra million to his annual income, so we leave it out of consideration.
Also out of consideration are income from investments, crypto, and so forth.
Also out of consideration are his expenses: we know he lives a rather modest life and only spends lavishly on gifting knives.
John Danaher bio
John Danaher was born on April 2, 1967, in Washington D.C., United States. He grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, where he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy. He returned to the USA to pursue a PhD in epistemology at Columbia University in Manhattan.
His academic background in philosophy provides the systematic thinking methodology that distinguishes his instructional approach from technique-focused competitors.
