How Did Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary Make His Money?
Succeeding on ABC's business investment reality series "Shark Tank" means agreeing to a deal with one of its so-called Sharks. Each Shark has valuable experience on top of considerable funds, and their involvement is meant to be coveted by entrepreneurs. Kevin O'Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, is one of the show's principal investors, and his business experience landed him a spot alongside names like Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran.
As a child, O'Leary began learning valuable financial skills from his mother. She immigrated from Lebanon to Montreal, Canada, where she opened a small business. Among other lessons, she taught O'Leary to save one-third of whatever money he made and never withdraw from his savings, only ever touching funds accumulated from interest. He internalized these guidelines and eventually implemented them at a management firm he founded called O'Leary Funds.
Before he got started in wealth management, O'Leary's first big success was called SoftKey Software Products. He started up this company with an MBA degree from the University of Western Ontario, some work experience at Nabisco, and money he made after selling a production company he co-founded called Special Event Television. SoftKey ended up becoming a runaway success, to the extent that O'Leary sold it to the toy and entertainment brand Mattel for $4.2 billion in 1999. This was his first big win and the initial source of the large sum of money he maintains as a "Shark Tank" investor.
Outside of Shark Tank, Kevin O'Leary is primarily involved in wealth management nowadays
Kevin O'Leary built himself up as a formidable businessperson by selling SoftKey — renamed the Learning Company prior to its sale. That set him on the trajectory that led him to "Shark Tank," but rather than resting on his laurels, he remained committed to growing his wealth even in this sale's wake.
After trying and failing to break into the video game industry, O'Leary's next major business venture was StorageNow Holdings Inc. This company was eventually sold to a larger competitor called InStorage in 2007. Meanwhile, by this point, O'Leary had already debuted on "Dragon's Den," the Canadian counterpart to "Shark Tank," and likewise based on a Japanese series of the same name. The show kicked off his TV career and helped establish his "Mr. Wonderful" nickname.
Amidst his TV stardom, O'Leary refocused his business ventures on wealth management. First, he co-founded O'Leary Funds in 2008. Since then, he's also helped spearhead similar businesses, namely The O'Leary Financial Group and O'Leary Ventures. So, while it was SoftKey that led him to become one of the richest Sharks on "Shark Tank", it's his considerable involvement in wealth management that helps him maintain his net worth in the present day.