David Einhorn: Investor, WSOP High Roller and Charity-Focused Poker Competitor
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
David Einhorn has built one of poker’s more unusual tournament résumés. Better known professionally as an American investor and hedge fund manager, Einhorn has repeatedly stepped into some of the game’s biggest events and produced deep runs against elite competition.
His most famous result came in the inaugural $1 million Big One for One Drop at the 2012 World Series of Poker, where he finished third for $4,352,000. More than a decade later, Einhorn demonstrated that he remained capable of competing at that level when he finished third in the $250,000 Super High Roller at the 2026 WSOP for another $1,862,941.
As of September 2026, Hendon Mob lists Einhorn with $8,032,172 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $4,352,000.
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Who Is David Einhorn?
David Einhorn is an American investor, hedge fund manager and high-stakes poker competitor whose recorded live tournament results date to 2004.
Poker has never been Einhorn’s primary profession. His public profile was established in the investment industry, particularly through his role as the founder of Greenlight Capital. At the poker table, however, he has compiled a record that goes well beyond occasional celebrity appearances.
Hendon Mob lists Einhorn as a United States player residing in Rye, New York. His tournament history is concentrated largely in no-limit hold’em and includes the WSOP Main Event, major high rollers and several of the largest buy-in tournaments ever staged.
Unlike a full-time tournament professional playing a heavy annual schedule, Einhorn has competed more selectively. That makes the size and quality of several of his results particularly notable.
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David Einhorn’s Early Poker Results
Einhorn’s recorded live tournament history begins in 2004 with a cash at the New England Poker Classic at Foxwoods.
His first result that brought him widespread attention came two years later in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. That tournament drew 8,773 entries, at the time the largest Main Event field in WSOP history.
Einhorn advanced deep into the event before finishing 18th for $659,730.
The result immediately established that he could compete deep in a massive championship field. It also became an important part of his poker story for another reason: Einhorn donated his winnings from the tournament to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Two years later, Einhorn recorded a tournament victory at the 2008 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods. He won a no-limit hold’em event for $89,547, providing an outright title to complement his Main Event breakthrough.
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Third Place in the 2012 Big One for One Drop
Einhorn’s largest career result came at the 2012 World Series of Poker in the inaugural $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop.
The event was one of the defining tournaments of the high-roller era. Forty-eight entries created a $42,666,672 prize pool, and the final table included some of poker’s most accomplished players.
Einhorn reached the last three alongside Sam Trickett and Antonio Esfandiari.
His run ended in third place, earning $4,352,000. Esfandiari went on to defeat Trickett for the title.
The finish remains Einhorn’s largest live tournament cash. He also announced that his entire payout would go to City Year, an education-focused nonprofit organization.
That decision reinforced a theme already established by his 2006 Main Event run: some of Einhorn’s biggest poker achievements have also been closely connected with charitable giving.
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David Einhorn’s WSOP Record
According to the World Series of Poker, Einhorn had eight WSOP cashes, three final tables and $7,932,010 in WSOP earnings as of September 2026.
The WSOP lists him with:
0 WSOP bracelets
0 WSOP Circuit rings
3 WSOP final tables
8 WSOP cashes
$7,932,010 in WSOP earnings
His lack of a bracelet does not mean he has lacked opportunities late in major WSOP tournaments. His career includes two third-place finishes in exceptionally expensive WSOP events as well as multiple Main Event cashes.
After his 18th-place result in 2006, Einhorn returned to the Main Event money in 2014, finishing 173rd for $44,728.
He also made the final table of the 2019 $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, finishing ninth for $122,551.
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Return to Poker’s Biggest Buy-In Events
Einhorn continued appearing in major high-stakes tournaments even as his schedule remained selective.
At the 2024 WSOP Paradise series in the Bahamas, he cashed for $865,000 in the $1 million Triton Million, another tournament built around an exceptionally high buy-in and a field containing many of the world’s strongest high-stakes professionals.
That result showed that Einhorn’s involvement in the upper end of tournament poker was not limited to his famous 2012 run.
Two years later, he produced one of the strongest performances of his poker career.
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Third in the 2026 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller
Einhorn reached another major WSOP final table in June 2026 when he entered Event #41, the $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em.
The event attracted 56 entries and generated a $13.72 million prize pool.
Einhorn advanced to the nine-player final table with one of the largest stacks remaining. The lineup included Phil Ivey, Jason Koon, Sean Winter, Bryn Kenney and Adrian Mateos.
He ultimately finished third for $1,862,941.
Mateos won the tournament, with Kenney finishing second.
For Einhorn, the result was significant because it came 14 years after his third-place finish in the Big One for One Drop and against another field filled with established high-stakes professionals.
The $1.86 million score also pushed his Hendon Mob career earnings beyond $8 million.
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Einhorn’s 2026 WSOP Main Event Cash
Einhorn continued his 2026 WSOP by entering the $10,000 Main Event.
He finished 807th for $22,500, adding another Main Event cash to a record that stretches back to his breakthrough run in 2006.
The result itself was modest compared with his Super High Roller finish, but the combination of the two cashes showed that Einhorn remained active in major live tournaments during the 2026 series.
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David Einhorn’s Major Poker Accomplishments
Einhorn’s tournament career is defined less by volume than by several unusually deep finishes in major events.
His most significant accomplishments include:
Third place in the 2012 $1 million Big One for One Drop for $4,352,000
Third place in the 2026 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for $1,862,941
18th place in the 2006 WSOP Main Event for $659,730
A $865,000 cash in the 2024 WSOP Paradise Triton Million
Ninth place in the 2019 WSOP $50,000 High Roller for $122,551
Victory in a 2008 World Poker Finals no-limit hold’em event for $89,547
More than $8 million in recorded live tournament earnings as of September 2026
He has accomplished those results without building his public identity around being a full-time professional poker player.
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What Kind of Poker Player Is David Einhorn?
Public tournament records provide stronger evidence about Einhorn’s results than they do about a single, easily defined playing style.
Assigning labels such as tight-aggressive or loose-aggressive would therefore go beyond what reliable sources clearly establish.
What the record does show is that Einhorn has repeatedly been willing to compete in deep, high-pressure no-limit hold’em tournaments with enormous buy-ins. His appearances in the Big One for One Drop, Triton Million and WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller placed him directly against many of the strongest tournament professionals in poker.
His selective tournament schedule also separates him from players whose rankings and earnings are built through hundreds of annual entries. Einhorn’s résumé is concentrated around a comparatively small number of appearances, several of which produced major scores.
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Poker, Competition and Charitable Giving
Einhorn’s influence in poker extends beyond his tournament earnings because of what he has done with some of those winnings.
After finishing 18th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, he donated the $659,730 payout to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Six years later, he committed the $4,352,000 he earned for finishing third in the Big One for One Drop to City Year.
Those two results alone generated more than $5 million in poker winnings associated with charitable donations.
That connection between competition and philanthropy has become one of the defining elements of Einhorn’s poker career and distinguishes his record from that of most other high-stakes tournament participants.
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David Einhorn’s Live Tournament Earnings
As of September 2026, Hendon Mob lists David Einhorn with $8,032,172 in live tournament earnings.
His largest recorded cash is the $4,352,000 he earned for third place in the 2012 Big One for One Drop.
Tournament earnings databases change whenever a player records a new eligible result, so Einhorn’s lifetime total may increase with future tournament appearances.
The WSOP separately lists $7,932,010 in World Series of Poker earnings. The difference reflects results Einhorn recorded outside WSOP-branded events.
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David Einhorn’s Current Poker Status
Einhorn remained an active tournament participant in 2026, although his schedule continued to be far more selective than that of a full-time poker professional.
His third-place finish in the $250,000 Super High Roller was his most important result in years and one of the largest scores of his career. His subsequent cash in the 2026 Main Event provided additional evidence that he was still participating in major WSOP competition.
More than two decades after his first recorded live cash, Einhorn’s poker résumé includes deep Main Event runs, a tournament victory, multiple elite high-roller final tables and more than $8 million in recorded earnings.
His place in poker is unusual: he built his career outside the game, yet repeatedly proved capable of competing deep into tournaments featuring some of poker’s strongest professionals.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much has David Einhorn won playing poker?
Hendon Mob lists David Einhorn with $8,032,172 in live tournament earnings as of September 2026. Tournament earnings totals can change when new results are recorded.
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What is David Einhorn’s biggest poker cash?
David Einhorn’s largest live tournament cash is $4,352,000. He earned it by finishing third in the 2012 WSOP $1 million Big One for One Drop.
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Does David Einhorn have a WSOP bracelet?
No. The World Series of Poker lists David Einhorn with zero bracelets as of September 2026.
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How many WSOP Circuit rings does David Einhorn have?
The WSOP lists David Einhorn with zero WSOP Circuit rings as of September 2026.
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How did David Einhorn finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event?
David Einhorn finished 18th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event and earned $659,730. The event attracted 8,773 entries.
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How did David Einhorn finish in the 2026 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller?
Einhorn finished third in the 2026 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for $1,862,941. Adrian Mateos won the tournament and Bryn Kenney finished second.
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Has David Einhorn donated poker winnings to charity?
Yes. Einhorn donated his 2006 WSOP Main Event winnings to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and committed his $4,352,000 payout from the 2012 Big One for One Drop to City Year.