Kevin O’Leary net worth is estimated at over £300 million (USD $400 million) as of 2017 AKA Mr Wonderful from Shark Tank…
This article is about Kevin O’Leary net worth and about how he came to be such a successful entrepreneur.
On Kevin O’Leary’s website he says “to get rich, you need to get financially literate first.”
He’s been described as the Canada’s version of Donald Trump. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Also, bearing in mind he joined the race to lead Canada’s Conservative party, so at some stage in his career he may run for the prime minister role of Canada.
He dropped out of the race to be the leader of the conservative race due to a lack of support in Quebec. He will support Maxime Bernier for leader instead.
Kevin O’Leary early life before he became wealthy and a household name celebrity…
Way before Kevin O’Leary made his money. Before he gained his celebrity status from being on Canada’s Dragons Den and American’s Shark Tank, he came from humble beginnings.
Being fired change his life forever…
Kevin O’Leary was borne in 1954. It was in 1969 at the age of just 15, when he had hair and was working at Mangoo’s ice cream shop in Ottawa Canada as an ice cream scooper, when his life changed forever. He worked at this ice cream shop whilst he was at high school.
When he left high school his education included his studying at the University of Waterloo. His degree was in environmental studies and psychology, but he was to find his passion and path in life as an entrepreneur when he completed his business MBA.
It was what happened at the ice cream shop for Kevin O’Leary that changed him. On the day his boss fired him that made the difference. It was at that point he realised that he wanted to be an entrepreneur for the rest of his life.
O’Leary’s words disclosed on Business Insider…”I realized then that when you work for somebody else, you’re basically their slave,” he says. “From that day on I swore I’d never work for anyone else. That was the beginning of my journey.”
“Lately, I’ve been thinking about my boss from Magoo’s. If I could ever track her down, I’d write her a big, fat check, because she did me a great favor. She removed any notion that I could be happy working for someone else. I am an entrepreneur. I employ.” Quote from Kevin O’Leary on LinkedIn
His first steps into entrepreneurship with Special Events Television…
Kevin O’Leary’s first entrepreneurial steps were taken with ‘Special Events Television‘ (SET). He did this with two former MBA classmates, Scott Makenzie and Dave Toms.
His first business was an independent television production company. SET produced sports programs like The Original Six, Don Cherry’s Grapevine and others. He sold his share in this business to his startup co-founders for £18,000 (USD $25,000, CAD $31,250).
He used these funds along with around £6,000 (USD $8,000; CAD $10,000) from his mum to startup his next business, which is where he made his real net worth.
His entrepreneurial dream came true in 1986…
It was in 1986 that he was able to make his dream of being a truly successful entrepreneur come true. After completing his MBA in entrepreneurship at Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, he met what he describes on his website as “a man with a strange idea for a software product.”
Kevin O’Leary – what they don’t teach you at business school…”In business you either make money or you lose money; there’s no middle ground.”
This idea was turned into Softkey Software Products, which was later named The Learning Company (TLC).
This company was the first of its kind to apply the principles of consumer goods to the software industry and developed and sold education software.
Kevin O’Leary’s business hit a wave, as the cost of personal computers was dropping at the same time as families were looking to buy software to educate and entertain.
This business is mostly what has led Kevin O’Leary to his net worth of what it is today…
Kevin O’Leary net worth as of 2017 is £300 million…
“So How much is Mr Wonderful net worth?” The answer is estimated at £300 million in 2017.
There are large numbers of people asking: “What’s Kevin O’Leary net worth?”
The answer; through his hard work, perseverance and dedication; Kevin O’Leary net worth is estimated at £300 million (USD $400 million; CAD $500 million).
As already mentioned Kevin O’Leary started a software business Softkey, which later became The Learning Company. This business went from strength to strength and began an acquisition trail. The company raise over £700 million (USD $1 billion; CAD $1.25 billion) in financing to acquire a series of businesses. The acquisitions included WordStar International, Spinnaker Software Compton’s New Media to name a few. However it was after Softkey purchased The Learning Company for a reported £433 million (USD $606 million; CAD $760 million) that it adopted the name The Learning Company.
In 1998 the business had revenues of in excess of £570 million (USD $800 million; CAD $1 billion). Not long after in 1999 toy company Mattel, maker of Barbie Dolls and Hot Wheels cars, bought The Learning Company for £300 million (USD $4.2 billion; CAD $5.25 billion).
How the acquisition of The Learning Company led to controversy…
The acquisition of The Learning Company by toy company Mattel hit the UK news. In an article in the Telegraph with a heading “Mattel sale ends $3.6bn fiasco.”
The article leads with “THE $3.6 billion acquisition of The Learning Company, an educational software firm, by Mattel took its place yesterday as one of the worst takeovers in recent history when the toymaker sold on the company for less than one-tenth of the purchase price.”
It’s disclosed in the article that although the amount to be paid by Gores Technology Group was not disclosed, it was though to involve less than £36 million (USD $50 million; CAD $62.5 million) upfront cash. It was thought that a further £214 million (USD $300 million; CAD S375 million) was agreed in earn-out.
Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank and known as Mr Wonderful…
Kevin O’Leary is on ABC’s Shark Tank with fellow sharks; Real Estate Mogul and successful woman entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran; FUBU co founder and New York entrepreneur Daymond John; Fellow Canadian and security entrepreneur Robert Herjavec; Inventor, ‘QVC Queen‘ and successful business woman Lori Greiner; and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Here is Mr O’Leary welcoming an entrepreneur into what he calls the #Wonderful family on Instagram…
Kevin O’Leary has been on two TV shows and found his passion for being a celebrity angel investor on Canada’s Dragons Den. Kevin sat alongside other angel investors; veteran dragon Jim Treliving, returning dragon Arlene Dickenson and fellow Shark Tank shark Robert Hejavec. He sat in the Dragons Den chair for the first eight seasons of the show.
Kevin O’Leary shark tank deals…
Kevin O’Leary has made many deals on Shark Tank and always welcomes them to his ‘family’ when he does.
Here are a few of those deals that he has used some of his wealth to invest in and grow his net worth still further:
A recent investment on the 2017 Shark Tank show is Drainwig
A clever device that stops hair from going down the drain is Drainwig. Kevin O’Leary invested £214,000 (USD $300,000; CAD $375,000) in the business, which sells a simple device that prevents drain clogging.
In exchange Jennifer and Gifford Biggs gave away 15% stake in their business, after negotiating with the sharks. Lori Greiner asked for a 25% stake and Daymond John wanted 20%, which is the same as what O’Leary asked for. But Kevin O’Leary snapped the deal closed when a counter offer of 15% was made.
The Drainwig is available in major retailers like Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond. But they’ve also done a £10.14 million (USD $14.2 million; CAD $17.75 million) deal with an infomercial company too.
Kevin O’Leary’s comic side as he shares an image of him with hair on Twitter, commenting that his head of hair had clogged a lot of drains in its glory days.
Breathometer received £464,000 (USD $650,000; CAD $813,000) from the sharks
One of the most successful deals on Shark Tank was when Kevin O’Leary invested alongside fellow sharks in Breathometer. He jointly invester with Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner for a 30% stake in the business. They each invested £93,000 (USD $130,000; CAD $162,500) in this business, which went on to raise a further £4.64 million (USD $6.5 million; £8.12 million).
Young entrepreneur Charles Yim had invented a portable breathalyzer that works with a smart phone. Since the Shark Tank show he has since partnered with Cleveland Clinic and developed a more accurate reader. This new device also tracks oral health too.
Wicked Good Cupcakes saw O’Leary invest £53,500 (USD $75,000; CAD $93,750) in their business
Fellow entrepreneurs Tracey Noonan and Danielle Vilagie entered the Shark Tank with their business that makes cupcakes in a jar.
In the end a deal was struck with Kevin O’Leary for £53,500 (USD $75,000; CAD $93750) for royalties instead of an equity stake. His deal is to make $1 from every cupcake sold until he made his money back and then thereafter, he’d receive 50 cents per cupcake sold.
The Wicked Good Cupcakes investment has been the most profitable investment he’s made on the show. The company has gone from selling around £5,000 (USD $7,000, CAD $7,750) per month to over £285,000 (USD $400,000, CAD $500,000) per month, which is equivalent to £3.43 million (USD $4.8 million, CAD $6 million) per annum.
GrooveBook received a deal worth £107,000 (USD $150,000; CAD $187,500)
Keven O’Leary invested alongside fellow shark Mark Cuban in GrooveBook. The deal the pair of Shark Tank entrepreneur made with husband and wife team was for 80% of the licencing profits. In exchange they invested £107,000 (USD $150,000; CAD $187,500).
Brian and Julie Whiteman are the founders of GrooveBook, which is a digital-photo business subscription service. The subscription service business charged $2.99 per month and soon after appearing on Shark Tank they gained more than 50,000 subscribers.
In the end the Whitemans were the ultimate winners as their business was bought-out by Shutterfly for £10.36 million (USD $14.5 million; CAD $18.12 million).
Kevin O’Leary quotes
The first of Kevin O’Leary quotes I’m going to share is:
“Fear; it’s your greatest friend.” Kevin O’Leary
“Women led companies are more successful.” Kevin O’Leary
Kevin O’Leary personal life and his wife
Me and my shark on the set #Sharktank with @kevinolearytv pic.twitter.com/Y1V1ljlaDA
— Linda O’Leary (@thelindaoleary) September 18, 2014
Kevin O’Leary married his wife Linda in 1990. They separated for while in 2011, but are back together now. Linda O’Leary is the Vice President of O’Leary Wines and is a board member National Ballet of Canada.
They have two children together, a son Trevor and daughter Savannah. His son is a DJ and a music producer and his daughter is a college student.
There’s an interesting article about Kevin O’Leary and his wife and family on Liverampup.com, where O’Lery is quoted as saying “I tell wealthy parents that if they don’t kick their kids out of the house and put them under the stresses of the real world they will fail to launch – they will become unsuccessful adults.”
Finally please social share and comment below…
If you enjoyed reading this article about Kevin O’Leary net worth, please share. Choose your favourite social media channel below. I’d also appreciate your comments below too, and thank you for reading #inBizBlog.
