Kevin O’Leary is a multimillionaire of Canada, best known as the founder of softkey software and jury members on TV show Dragons and Shark Tanks.
Born in Quebec, Canada, in 1954, Kevin O’Leary was the son of Irish Terry O’Leary’s father and a Georgette Lebanese mother. He has one brother, Shane. Thanks to his father’s origin, O’Leary also has an Irish passport too.
O’Leary’s first job was in Nabisco, where he landed an internship during his studies. He then became a brand manager assistant for Nabisco food brands. He often stated that his success was partly because of the experience he got while working there.
His first personal venture was a television special event, a company he started with two friends. The company produces sports TV shows like the original six, Grapevine Don Cherry, and Bobby ORR and The Hockey Legends. O’Leary then sells its shares in the company of $ 25,000. He then began softkey in 1986. In the 1990s, the company became the main dealer of educational software and in 1995, they bought a learning company (TLC) of $ 606 million.
Apart from the new investment and acquisition, TLC lost money and sold to Mattel for $ 4.2 billion in 1999. Then dubbed as one of the worst purchases in history. Mattel even sued O’Leary, claiming that he cheated them. O’Leary defended himself in court and Mattel had to pay an additional $ 122 million to finish the suit. Then, O’Leary said that it was a technological crisis and collision management culture that destroyed TLC.
In 2008, he began his own reward investment company O’Leary Funds Inc. He functions as an investor and main CEO, while his brother Shane is a director.
Kevin O’Lear is known as the general public for his appearance at Dragon Den and Shark Tank. His TV persona from rough and abrasive investors brought him his nickname Mr. Wonderful. He also organized the Discovery Channel Discovery project project.
The sluggishness of Kevin O’Leary is estimated at $ 400 million. Considering how many projects he managed to get involved, it was not surprising that he managed to gather the wealth. He is proof that, no matter how low someone’s origin is, it is still possible to go up to the stars.