Kevin O’Leary’s Net Worth, Height, Age & Personal Info Wiki

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Kevin O’Leary, full name Thomas Kevin O’Leary, is a Canadian tycoon and television personality who goes by the nickname “Mr. Wonderful.” He co-founded SoftKey Software Products, a computer business that provided software to educate and entertain families.

Kevin ran a candidacy in 2017 to lead the Canadian Conservative Party. During much of that period, he was the front-runner in the polls. He did, however, resign one month prior to the April 2017 election, claiming a lack of support in Quebec. (1)

Kevin O'Leary's Appearance (Height, Hair, Eyes & More)

Height 5 ft 10 in
Weight 178 pounds
81 kg
Hair Color Black/Gray
Eye Color Dark Brown
Body Type Fit
Sexual Orientation Straight

Facts About Kevin O'Leary

Nationality Canadian
Estimate Net Worth $400 million
Religion Catholic
Zodiac Sign Cancer
Birthplace Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Birthday

July 9, 1954

Kevin O'Leary's Net Worth

As of 2022, the estimated net worth of Kevin O’Leary is around $400 million. Conjointly with John Freeman and Garry Babcock, he founded the software company SoftKey in 1986. He sought his mother for financial assistance when starting his business. (2)

Initially, the company created a lot of educational software. And in 1993, it had significantly consolidated the educational software market. Later, the company purchased its rivals Spinaker Software and Wordstar.

SoftKey purchased TLC (The Learning Company) for $606 million in 1995, ultimately acquired by Mattel for $4.2 billion in 1999. Then, Kevin joined the company Storage as a co-investor and director. Currently, Storage is Canada’s third-largest operator.

TV shows also contribute to Kevin’s net worth. His first television appearance was in 2006 on the CBC program “Dragons’ Den.” In 2008, Kevin co-hosted “Discovery Project Earth” on the Discovery Channel.

In addition, he was given a spot on “Share Tank,” the American equivalent of “Dragons’ Den,” in 2009. He appeared in the 2011 episode of “Cold Hard Truth: On Business, Money & Life.”

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Kevin O'Leary's Early Life

In 1954, on July 9th, Kevin was born in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Terry O’Leary, an Irish salesperson, and Georgette (née Bukalam), a Lebanese-born investor and small company entrepreneur, are his parents. He has Irish citizenship and travels on an Irish passport because of his paternal ancestry. His brother is Shane O’Leary.

Kevin was raised in the Quebec town of Mount Royal. His father’s alcoholism was a contributing factor in his parents’ divorce when he was a young child. Afterward, his father died while he was only seven years old. Following his father’s passing, his mother took on the responsibility of corporate CEO.

Later, his mother wed economist George Kanawaty from the UN’s International Labor Organization. Due to his stepfather’s frequent international assignments, he grew up moving about a lot, including to Cambodia, Ethiopia, Tunisia, and Cyprus. (3)

In order to maximize the returns on her investments, Kevin’s mother invested one-third of her weekly income in large-cap, dividend-paying corporations and interest-bearing bonds. He didn’t learn his mother was a good investor until after her death – when her will was carried out because she kept her financial portfolio private. His mother gave him a lot of advice on investments, such as setting aside one-third of his income.

Kevin O'Leary's Education

Kevin both attended Quebec’s St. George’s School and Stanstead College. He originally wanted to be a photographer, but on the suggestion of his stepfather, he decided to go to college instead, where he continued to grow his interest in business and investing.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and environmental studies from the University of Waterloo in 1977 and graduated with honors. Aside from that, he graduated from the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School with a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship in 1980.

Kevin O'Leary's Family Life

Kevin and Linda have been wed since 1990. The couple chose to reconcile in 2011 after divorcing for two years. Linda is currently O’Leary Wines’ vice president of marketing. They have two kids together. Trevor works as an engineer for Tesla, and Savannah lives and works in New York City as a multimedia producer and filmmaker.

The O’Leary family has residences in Toronto, Ontario and Miami Beach, Florida. Kevin also owns properties in Boston, Geneva, and Muskoka. In a 2022 CNBC interview, he stated that he got UAE citizenship to collaborate on investments with Emiratis.

On August 24, 2019, an accident involving Kevin and Linda on Lake Joseph in Muskoka, Ontario, claimed the lives of two persons. They were on Kevin’s boat, which Linda was driving. According to reports, a 64-year-old male and a 48-year-old woman perished in the accident involving the other boat.

According to Kevin, the other boat “fled the scene” without activating its lights and that he was helping the police with their investigation. According to the authorities, both boats departed the area in order to “visit a place,” and both parties made 911 calls.

A charge of “careless operation of a vessel” was brought against Linda on September 24 in accordance with the small vessel provisions of the Canada Shipping Act. This offense carries a potential sentence of 18 months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada concluded on October 11 that Linda would not be sentenced to prison. A charge of failure “to exhibit navigation light while underway” was brought against Richard Ruh, the operator of the other boat. On September 14, 2021, Linda was held not guilty for a negligent vessel operation. (4)

Kevin O'Leary's Business Career

 

 
 
 
 
 
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In 1978, Kevin was chosen for an internship at Nabisco in Downtown Toronto, which he completed during the course of his first and second years of his MBA. Later, he was employed in the same company as a brand manager’s assistant for Nabisco’s cat food business. The marketing expertise he acquired while working at Nabisco is what he attributes to his eventual success at The Learning Company.

Kevin started a short stint as a television producer after leaving Nabisco. He co-founded Special Event Television with two of his former MBA classmates, Dave Toms and Scott Mackenzie, who had also worked on his MBA documentary.

SET had only little success with small-scale television programs, soccer movies, sports documentaries, and quick intermission ads at nearby pro hockey games. Kevin’s business shares were eventually purchased for $25,000 by one of his partners.

Softkey

Kevin, John Freeman, and Gary Babcock co-founded Softkey in a Toronto basement in 1986 after selling his SET shares. The business published and distributed CD-ROM-based desktop applications for Macintosh and Windows PCs.

To launch SoftKey Software Products, Kevin used the money from selling his SET share and persuaded his mother to give him a $10,000 loan. In the early 1980s, as the software and personal computer sectors expanded, he convinced printer makers to include Softkey’s software with their hardware.

By 1993, Softkey had established itself as a significant player in educational software by acquiring competitors like WordStar and Spinnaker Software. In 1995, Softkey paid $606 million to acquire The Learning Company (TLC). After assuming TLC’s name and relocating its corporate headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Softkey also adopted TLC’s name.

StorageNow Holdings

Kevin joined Reza Satchu and Asif Satchu’s Canadian climate-controlled storage facility developer, StorageNow Holdings, as a co-investor and director in 2003. StorageNow was acquired by Storage REIT in March 2007 for $110 million, and with facilities in 11 locations, it now leads the Canadian storage services market. Kevin sold his shares, which had a $500,000 initial market value, for more than $4.5 million.

Reza and Kevin’s operational partner Wheeler filed a $10 million wrongful dismissal case in May 2005, alleging that they had improperly changed Wheeler’s share of the earnings and an agreed-upon remuneration arrangement. Wheeler allegedly did not meet performance goals, according to Kevin and Reza. The dispute was resolved out of court.

O'Leary Funds

Kevin co-founded O’Leary Funds Inc., a mutual fund business specializing in international income investing, in 2008. He is the chairman and principal investor of the company, and his brother Shane O’Leary is a director. Assets under management for the fund increased from $400 million in 2011 to $1.2 billion in 2012.

The principal managers of the fund were married couple Connor O’Brien and Louise Ann Poirier, who own Stanton Asset Management. O’Leary Funds Management ended up paying penalties to the Autorité des marchés financiers in November 2014 as compensation for breaking a few specific technical Securities Act regulations. When the agreement was made, O’Leary Funds declared taking action to address the infractions.

Canoe Financial acquired O’Leary Funds on October 15, 2015. It is a private investment management firm controlled by Canadian entrepreneur W. Brett Wilson, who once participated in CBC’s Dragons’ Den as an investor with Kevin.

Cryptocurrencies

Kevin has been a supporter of investing in cryptocurrencies, and he personally holds tokens in the digital currencies Ether, Polygon, SOL, Bitcoin, and Pawthereum. He invested strategically in Defi Ventures, a decentralized finance platform based in Vancouver, in June 2021. Defi Ventures later changed its name to WonderFi Technologies in honor of Kevin, known as “Mr. Wonderful.”

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References

  1. Kevin O’Leary’s Net Worth 2022, Age, Height, Wife, Kids. Retrieved from https://www.scintillatingstars.com/kevin-oleary-net-worth-2021-age-height-wife-kid/
  2. Kevin O’Leary. Retrieved from https://gameshows.fandom.com/wiki/Kevin_O%27Leary
  3. Kevin O’Leary. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kevin-OLeary
  4. Linda O’Leary found not guilty of careless driving in fatal Ontario boat crash. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/8188491/linda-oleary-boat-crash-trial-verdict/

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