Brett Danko Net Worth 2026: Financial Planner and Mentor

No reputable outlet has published a net worth for Brett Danko, the certified financial planner behind the Danko Education CFP exam-prep courses and founder of the advisory firm Main Street Financial Solutions. The $8 million figure and $250,000 salary that appear online have no source. His wealth comes from two private businesses he has run for more than two decades, neither of which discloses revenue or his stake.

What is Brett Danko's net worth?

Forbes, Bloomberg, Celebrity Net Worth and the financial trade press have not estimated Danko's fortune. Both of his companies are privately held, so any exact number is guesswork. What is on the record is the scale of what he built: his training business says it has helped tens of thousands of students earn the CFP certification over more than 25 years, and his wealth management firm had about 25 advisors working under it around the country in 2022, by his own account.

Where the money comes from

Danko Education (CFP exam prep)

Danko is owner, president and lead instructor of Danko Education, which sells the education courses required for the CFP credential, exam-review classes, continuing-education programs for working planners, and a video series. The company says its program can be finished in as little as nine months and that every course is taught by a practicing CFP professional. Its team includes instructors John Choi, Matt Goren and Adam Scherer, plus corporate and university partnership staff, and several relatives hold roles in the company.

The course has independent recognition. A 2025 guide to CFP prep courses published by the Sacramento Bee ranked Brett Danko among its top five providers and named it the best choice for live classes.

Main Street Financial Solutions

Danko founded Main Street Financial Solutions, a registered investment advisor, in 2002. In a 2022 podcast interview with Elements, he said he began managing assets around 2008 and 2009 and that about 25 or 26 advisors were working under the firm's registration across the country. Most bring their own clients; he described himself as the person advisors call for help with difficult planning cases.

In August 2023 the firm named former Merrill Lynch and UBS executive Ted Durkin as president and managing partner, with Danko continuing as chief executive officer. The firm offers investment management, retirement, estate, tax and risk planning.

Investments

The old version of this page said Danko worked for "Investo Budge, Inc." That was a garbled version of a real fact: in September 2022 Budge, a paycheck-management startup, announced a $1.75 million seed round and listed Danko, as president of the Financial Planning Resource Center, among its individual investors. He was a backer, not an employee. The size of his stake was not disclosed.

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Early life and education

Danko told the Elements podcast that he grew up in Pittsburgh and attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. After college he worked for several small investment firms, then set out to train people for the CFP credential. He earned the certification himself, started teaching, took on planning clients, and spoke to colleges and community groups about personal finance, with a focus on young adults.

The earlier claim that he was "born into a family of financial planners" and holds a degree in financial planning from Penn has no source and has been removed.

Career timeline

• Early career: works at small investment firms after graduating from Penn.
• By 2000: begins teaching CFP candidates; his company says it has more than 25 years of experience.
• 2002: founds Main Street Financial Solutions.
• 2008–2009: the firm begins managing client assets.
• 2018: quoted by CNBC as a CFP and founder of Main Street Financial Solutions in a story on permanent life insurance in retirement.
• 2022: invests in the Budge seed round; discusses "just-in-time" training for advisors on the Elements podcast.
• 2023: Ted Durkin joins as president; Danko stays CEO.
• 2025: the Sacramento Bee names his course the best CFP prep option for live classes.

Brett Danko's wife

An earlier version of this page said Danko is married to a woman named Laura. We found no source for that, and it has been removed. His personal life is not documented in any public profile.

Age, height and weight

Danko has not published his date of birth, and no reliable source lists his height or weight. The figures previously on this page (59 years old, 5 feet 5 inches, 83 kg) had no source.

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Net worth compared

Other financial educators and advisors on this site include Bill Gunderson and Brian Preston. Like Danko, both earn from advisory businesses whose revenue is private.

Why there is no reliable figure

Danko's income depends on course enrollment and on the fees generated by advisors at his RIA, and his ownership shares in both companies are not public. Regulatory filings for investment advisors show assets under management, not the owner's personal wealth. Until a reputable publication estimates it, his net worth is unknown.