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[[Maxime Bernier]], a Conservative Quebecois politician, criticized Kevin O'Leary, calling him a "tourist"<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2016/02/27/004-maxime-bernier-attaque-kevin-oleary-course-succession-harper-touristes.shtml| title = " Un touriste! " : Maxime Bernier s'en prend à l'ex-dragon Kevin O'Leary {{!}} ICI.Radio-Canada.ca| last = ICI.Radio-Canada.ca| first = Zone Nouvelles -| website = Radio-Canada.ca| language = fr-ca| access-date = 2016-02-28}}</ref> for not being able to speak French and wanting to be Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.torontosun.com/2016/02/27/maxime-bernier-slams-english-only-kevin-oleary?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=recommend-button&utm_campaign=Maxime%20Bernier%20slams%20English-only%20Kevin%20O%27Leary| title = Maxime Bernier slams English-only Kevin O'Leary| website = Toronto Sun| access-date = 2016-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/oleary-brings-the-trump-formula-north/article28955226/| title = Kevin O'Leary may speak jobs, but it's French that Quebecers want to hear from next Tory leader, says Bernier| website = Globe and Mail| access-date = 2016-03-01}}</ref> Bernier later clarified his comments by explaining that he wanted all leadership candidates to learn French and praised his fellow leadership contender [[Lisa Raitt]], who was struggling to learn French. O'Leary is currently learning French, and has promised that he will be fluent by 2019.<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/o-leary-shows-off-his-french-lessons-promises-proficiency-by-2019-1.3240840| title = O'Leary shows off his French lessons, promises proficiency by 2019| access-date = 2017-01-15}}</ref>
[[Maxime Bernier]], a Conservative Quebecois politician, criticized Kevin O'Leary, calling him a "tourist"<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2016/02/27/004-maxime-bernier-attaque-kevin-oleary-course-succession-harper-touristes.shtml| title = " Un touriste! " : Maxime Bernier s'en prend à l'ex-dragon Kevin O'Leary {{!}} ICI.Radio-Canada.ca| last = ICI.Radio-Canada.ca| first = Zone Nouvelles -| website = Radio-Canada.ca| language = fr-ca| access-date = 2016-02-28}}</ref> for not being able to speak French and wanting to be Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.torontosun.com/2016/02/27/maxime-bernier-slams-english-only-kevin-oleary?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=recommend-button&utm_campaign=Maxime%20Bernier%20slams%20English-only%20Kevin%20O%27Leary| title = Maxime Bernier slams English-only Kevin O'Leary| website = Toronto Sun| access-date = 2016-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/oleary-brings-the-trump-formula-north/article28955226/| title = Kevin O'Leary may speak jobs, but it's French that Quebecers want to hear from next Tory leader, says Bernier| website = Globe and Mail| access-date = 2016-03-01}}</ref> Bernier later clarified his comments by explaining that he wanted all leadership candidates to learn French and praised his fellow leadership contender [[Lisa Raitt]], who was struggling to learn French. O'Leary is currently learning French, and has promised that he will be fluent by 2019.<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/o-leary-shows-off-his-french-lessons-promises-proficiency-by-2019-1.3240840| title = O'Leary shows off his French lessons, promises proficiency by 2019| access-date = 2017-01-15}}</ref>


Since first announcing his political ambitions, O'Leary has frequently been compared in the press to [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/opinions/meet-canadas-trump-kennedy-opinion/| title =Can Canada's Trump repeat the Donald's success?| date = 2017-01-25 |publisher=CNN.com |first=Sean |last=Kennedy}}</ref> Comparisons have noted the similarities in their biographies: both are very wealthy businessmen who became more famous as a result of long-running stints on reality television,<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada's Donald Trump? 'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary runs for Tory leadership |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/19/politics/canada-kevin-oleary-conservatives/ |first=Joshua |last=Berlinger |date=January 19, 2017 |publisher=CNN.com}}</ref> both are known for their brash, outspoken style,<ref>{{cite web |title=Trump of the Great White North? |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/444150/kevin-oleary-canadian-trump-anti-establishment-businessman-tv-star |first=Michael |last=Taube |date=January 24, 2017 |publisher=National Review}}</ref> and both entered politics by running for office at a national level on a conservative, jobs-focused platform.<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kevin-oleary-leitch-cpc-1.3759631| title = Kevin O'Leary 'writing off' Kellie Leitch's Tory leadership bid| date = 2016-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://ipolitics.ca/2017/01/17/could-oleary-teach-millennials-to-love-the-conservatives/| title = Could O'Leary teach millennials to love the Conservatives?| date = 2017-01-17}}</ref> Even one of O'Leary's catchphrases on ''Shark Tank'', "You're dead to me", has been compared to Trump's catchphrase on ''[[The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)|The Apprentice]]'', "You're fired".<ref name="trumpism goes">{{cite web |title=TRUMPISM GOES TO CANADA: SHARK TANK STAR MULLING RUN FOR PARLIAMENT |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/01/shark-tank-kevin-oleary-parliament |first=Tina |last=Nguyen |date=January 21, 2016 |publisher=''Vanity Fair''}}</ref> O'Leary has praised Trump, calling him "smart as a fox",<ref name="trumpism goes" /> but has dismissed comparisons to him, noting that on Trump's signature policy, immigration, the two have opposing views: "I'm of Lebanese-Irish descent, I don't build walls, I am very proud of the society we're building in Canada, I think it is the envy of the planet. There's no walls in my world. I wouldn't exist if Canada had walls."<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/i-am-not-donald-trump-kevin-oleary-denies-parallels-with-bombastic-american| title = 'I am not Donald Trump': Kevin O'Leary denies parallels with bombastic American| access-date = 2017-01-25}}</ref>
O'Leary has been compared to other businessmen-turned politicians such as [[Donald Trump]]. O'Leary responded to these comparisons by stating, "I'm of Lebanese-Irish descent, I don't build walls, I am very proud of the society we're building in Canada, I think it is the envy of the planet. There's no walls in my world. I wouldn't exist if Canada had walls."<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/i-am-not-donald-trump-kevin-oleary-denies-parallels-with-bombastic-american| title = 'I am not Donald Trump': Kevin O'Leary denies parallels with bombastic American| access-date = 2017-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kevin-oleary-leitch-cpc-1.3759631| title = Kevin O'Leary 'writing off' Kellie Leitch's Tory leadership bid| date = 2016-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/01/18/kevin-oleary-tory-leadership-arlene-dickinson_n_14256148.html| title = Kevin O'Leary Isn't Fit To Be Canada's Prime Minister: Arlene Dickinson| date = 2017-01-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://ipolitics.ca/2017/01/17/could-oleary-teach-millennials-to-love-the-conservatives/| title = Could O'Leary teach millennials to love the Conservatives?| date = 2017-01-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/opinions/meet-canadas-trump-kennedy-opinion/| title =Can Canada's Trump repeat the Donald's success?| date = 2017-01-25}}</ref>


On January 18, 2017, his former ''Dragons' Den'' co-star [[Arlene Dickinson]] stated that she found O'Leary to be too "self-interested and opportunistic" to be qualified for the office of Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/kevin-o-leary-is-self-interested-says-former-co-star-arlene-dickinson-1.3249077|title=Kevin O'Leary is 'self-interested' says former co-star Arlene Dickinson|first=Graham|last=Slaughter|publisher=CTV News|date=2017-01-18|accessdate=2017-01-23}}</ref> In response, another former ''Dragons' Den'' co-star, [[W. Brett Wilson]], endorsed Kevin O'Leary highlighting differences between O'Leary as a businessman and his TV persona.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/brett-wilson-kevin-o-leary-1.3944082|title=Brett Wilson endorses Kevin O'Leary after Arlene Dickinson's scathing column|first=David|last=Bell|publisher=CBC|date=2017-01-23|accessdate=2017-01-23}}</ref>
On January 18, 2017, his former ''Dragons' Den'' co-star [[Arlene Dickinson]] stated that she found O'Leary to be too "self-interested and opportunistic" to be qualified for the office of Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/kevin-o-leary-is-self-interested-says-former-co-star-arlene-dickinson-1.3249077|title=Kevin O'Leary is 'self-interested' says former co-star Arlene Dickinson|first=Graham|last=Slaughter|publisher=CTV News|date=2017-01-18|accessdate=2017-01-23}}</ref> In response, another former ''Dragons' Den'' co-star, [[W. Brett Wilson]], endorsed Kevin O'Leary highlighting differences between O'Leary as a businessman and his TV persona.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/brett-wilson-kevin-o-leary-1.3944082|title=Brett Wilson endorses Kevin O'Leary after Arlene Dickinson's scathing column|first=David|last=Bell|publisher=CBC|date=2017-01-23|accessdate=2017-01-23}}</ref>

Revision as of 19:24, 3 February 2017

For other uses, see Kevin O'Leary (disambiguation).

Kevin O'Leary
O'Leary in 2012
Born
Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary[1]

(1954-07-09) 9 July 1954 (age 70)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Years active1979–present
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Linda O'Leary
​
(m. 1990)​
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website

Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary (born 9 July 1954) is a Canadian businessman and television and radio personality.[3] He co-founded O'Leary Funds and SoftKey. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows, including the business news programmes SqueezePlay and The Lang and O'Leary Exchange, and the reality television shows Dragons' Den and Redemption Inc.[4] Since 2009, he has appeared on the American equivalent of Dragons' Den, Shark Tank.

O'Leary co-founded SoftKey Software Products, a technology company that sold software geared toward family education and entertainment. During the late 1980s and 1990s, SoftKey acquired rival companies such as Compton's New Media, The Learning Company and Brøderbund. SoftKey later changed its name to The Learning Company and was acquired by The Mattel Toy Company in 1999, with the sale making O'Leary a multimillionaire.[5][6] O'Leary was later fired by Mattel after the acquisition resulted in significant losses and multiple shareholder lawsuits.[6]

O'Leary has been outspoken in his conservative economic views, advocating economic responsibility in both personal finance and government expenditures.[7] In January 2017, he announced his intention to run for leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in the leadership election to be held in May 2017.[8]

Early life and education

O'Leary was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Georgette (née Bukalam), a small-business owner and investor, and Terry O'Leary, a salesman.[9][10] His father was Irish, and his mother was of Lebanese descent.[11][12]

O'Leary's parents divorced when he was a child, and his father died shortly thereafter. After his father's death, O'Leary's mother ran the business as an executive.[13] His mother later married an economist who worked with the UN's International Labour Organization.[11][14] His stepfather's international assignments caused the family to move frequently, and O'Leary lived in many places while growing up, including Cambodia, Tunisia, and Cyprus.[15] O'Leary attended Quebec schools Stanstead College[16] and St. George's School.[4]

O'Leary's mother was a skilled investor, investing a third of her weekly paycheque in large-cap, dividend-paying stocks and interest-bearing bonds, ultimately achieving high returns in her investment portfolio. She kept her investment portfolio secret, so O'Leary only discovered his mother's skill as an investor after her death, when her will was executed.[17] Many of his investment lessons came from his mother, including the admonition to save one-third of his money.[4][17][18][19]

After graduating from Nepean High School in Ottawa, he studied for two years at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.[20]

O'Leary had aspired to become a photographer, but on the advice of his stepfather attended university,[14] where he continued to develop his interest in business and investing.[21] He received an honours bachelor's degree in environmental studies and psychology from the University of Waterloo in 1977[22][23][24] and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the Ivey Business School at The University of Western Ontario in 1980.[23][24]

Business career

In 1979, between the first and second years of his MBA program, O'Leary was selected for an internship at Nabisco in downtown Toronto, and then worked as an assistant brand manager for Nabisco's cat food brand.[18][19][25][19] O'Leary credits his later success at The Learning Company to the skills he developed in marketing during his days at Nabisco.[26]

After leaving Nabisco, O'Leary began a brief career as a television producer. With two of his former MBA classmates, Scott Mackenzie and Dave Toms (both of whom had assisted on O'Leary's MBA documentary), O'Leary co-founded Special Event Television (SET).[13][27][28] SET was an independent television production company that produced original sports programming such as The Original Six, Don Cherry's Grapevine and Bobby Orr and the Hockey Legends. The company achieved limited success with minor television shows, soccer films, sports documentaries, and short in-between-period commercials for local professional hockey games.[18][29][6][30][31] One of his partners later bought out his share of the venture for $25,000.[4][28]

Softkey

After selling his share of SET, O'Leary started Softkey in a Toronto basement in 1986, along with business partners John Freeman and Gary Babcock.[31] The company was a publisher and distributor of CD-ROM-based personal computer software for Windows and Macintosh computers. A major financial backer who had committed $250,000 in development capital to the company backed out the day before signing the documents and delivering his cheque, which left O'Leary looking for funding to support the fledgling business. He used the proceeds from the sale of his share of SET and convinced his mother to lend him $10,000 in seed capital to establish SoftKey Software Products.[32]

The software and personal-computer industries were growing rapidly in the early 1980s, and O'Leary convinced printer manufacturers to bundle Softkey's program with their hardware. With distribution assured, the company developed a number of educational software products focused on mathematics and reading education. Softkey products typically consisted of software intended for home users, especially compilation discs containing various freeware or shareware games packaged in "jewel-case" CD-ROMs.[19][6]

Softkey weathered stiff competition from other software companies in the late 1980s and prospered throughout the 1990s. By 1993, Softkey had become a major consolidator in the educational software market, acquiring rivals such as WordStar and Spinnaker Software.[33][34] In 1995, Softkey acquired The Learning Company (TLC) for $606 million,[35] adopting its name, and moved its headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

TLC lost $105 million (US) in 1998 on revenues $800 million and suffered losses over the previous two years.[36] TLC bought its former rival Brøderbund in June 1998 for $416 million.

In 1999, TLC was acquired by Mattel for US$4.2 billion.[31] Sales and earnings for Mattel soon dropped, and O'Leary departed Mattel. The purchase by Mattel was later called one of the most disastrous acquisitions in recent history.[37] Following the acquisition, Mattel experienced a USD $105 million loss where management had projected a US$50-million profit. Mattel's stock dropped, wiping out USD$3 billion of shareholder value in a single day. Mattel's shareholders later filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Mattel executives, O'Leary, and former TLC CEO Michael Perik of misleading investors about the health of TLC and the benefits of its acquisition. The lawsuit alleged that TLC used accounting tricks to hide losses and inflate quarterly revenues. O'Leary and his defendants disputed all of the charges. Mattel paid $122 million to settle the lawsuit in 2003. O'Leary blamed the technology meltdown and a culture clash of management of the two companies for the failure of the acquisition.[36][38]

O'Leary and backers from Citigroup made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire the video game company Atari, and O'Leary made plans to start a video-gaming television channel that never came to fruition.[6]

StorageNow Holdings

In 2003, O'Leary became a co-investor and director at StorageNow Holdings, a Canadian developer of climate-controlled storage facilities. StorageNow became the operator of storage services in Canada, with facilities in 11 cities, and was acquired by in Storage REIT in March 2007 for $110 million.[6] O'Leary sold his shares, originally worth $500,000, for more than $4.5 million.[6] In May 2005, Reza Satchu and O'Leary's partner, Wheeler, filed a $10-million wrongful-dismissal lawsuit, charging that they had altered an agreed-upon compensation deal and illegally reduced Wheeler's share of the profits.[6] O'Leary said that Satchu and Whleer failed to reach performance targets.[39]

Other projects

In March 2007, O'Leary joined the advisory board of Genstar Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on investing in healthcare services, industrial technology, business services and software. Genstar Capital appointed O'Leary to its Strategic Advisory Board to seek new investment opportunities for its $1.2 billion fund.[40]

O'Leary Funds

In 2008, O'Leary co-founded O'Leary Funds Inc., a mutual fund company focused on global yield investing. He is the company's chairman and lead investor, while his brother Shane O'Leary serves as the director. The fund's assets under management grew from $400 million in 2011 to $1.2-billion in 2012.[41] The fund's primary manager was Stanton Asset Management, a firm controlled by the husband-and-wife team of Connor O'Brien and Louise Ann Poirier.[19]

According to research by Mark R. McQueen, the fund dipped into investors' principal to pay returns, contrary to O'Leary's statements.[42] Another analysis also found that one quarter of the distributions from one of O'Leary's funds were return of capital.[39] In November 2014, O'Leary Funds Management agreed to pay penalties to the Autorité des marchés financiers for violating certain technical provisions of the Securities Act. At the time of the agreement, O'Leary Funds reported that it had taken steps to correct the violations.[43] On 15 October 2015, O'Leary Funds was sold to Canoe Financial, a private investment-management company owned by Canadian businessman W. Brett Wilson, who once was an investor with O'Leary on CBC's Dragons' Den.[44]

O'Leary Ventures

O'Leary founded O'Leary Ventures, a private early-stage venture capital investment company,[45] O'Leary Mortgages, O'Leary books, and O'Leary Fine Wines.[46][47] In April 2014, O'Leary Mortgages closed.[48]

ETF and investing

On 14 July 2015, O'Leary launched an ETF through O'Shares Investments, a division of his investment fund, O'Leary Funds Management LP, where O'Leary serves as chairman.

O'Leary often gives prudent personal financial advice. He consistently advises investors only to invest in blue chip stocks that pay a high dividend.[49]

O'Leary also ventured into gold investing, with five percent of his financial portfolio invested in physical gold. However, he does not invest in stocks of gold-mining companies because he says cash flow is an important investment factor to him.[50][51][52] O'Leary also advises diversification in multiple industry sectors so that no more than 20% of one's financial portfolio is held in one sector.[53][54]

Books

In September 2011, O'Leary released his first book, Cold Hard Truth: On Business, Money & Life, in which he shares his views on entrepreneurship, business, finance, money and life.[55] A sequel, The Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women, and Money: 50 Common Money Mistakes and How to Fix Them, was published in 2012. It focused on financial literacy and financial education as a foundation for achieving wealth.[56] O'Leary released a followup in 2013 in which he covers subjects relating to important life choices: education, careers, marriage and family, and retirement. He discusses the obstacles of raising a family while working to provide financial security for them and gives advice for developing financial literacy in family members, saving and investing money, and managing debt and credit.[57]

Media

Dragons' Den and Shark Tank

In 2006, O'Leary appeared as one of the five venture capitalists on the then-new show Dragons' Den on CBC, the Canadian installment of the international Dragons' Den format. On the show, O'Leary developed a persona as a blunt, abrasive investor, who at one point told a contestant who started crying, "Money doesn't care. Your tears don't add any value."[6] This television persona was encouraged by executive producer Stuart Coxe, who during the first two seasons occasionally asked O'Leary to be "more evil".[58] Dragons' Den became one of the most-watched shows in CBC history, with around two million viewers per episode.[6] Coxe attributed the show's success in large part to O'Leary's presence.[6]

In 2009, the American version of Dragons' Den, Shark Tank, began, and Shark Tank executive producer Mark Burnett invited two of the CBC Dragons' Den investors, O'Leary and Robert Herjavec, to appear on the show. Both have remained with Shark Tank since the beginning. For several years, they appeared on both shows, although Herjavec left Dragons' Den in 2012, and O'Leary left in 2014. Shark Tank became a ratings hit, averaging 9 million viewers per episode at its peak in the 2014-15 season.[59] It has also been a critical favorite, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program three times.[60]

During an episode of the first season of Shark Tank, after O'Leary made a particularly aggressive offer for a company, fellow investor Barbara Corcoran responded with the sarcastic riposte, "Well, aren't you Mr. Wonderful?"[61] O'Leary quickly embraced the nickname and began to refer to himself as "Mr. Wonderful"—both as a tongue-in-cheek reference to his reputation for being mean,[62] as well as a reflection of his view that his blunt assessments were helpful to misguided entrepreneurs. He also gained a reputation on the show for preferring deals in which he loans the entrepreneurs money in exchange for a percentage of future revenue, rather than taking a share of the company.[63]

Notable deals in which O'Leary has been involved on Shark Tank include investments in Talbott Teas (later bought by Jamba Juice)[64] and GrooveBook (later bought by Shutterfly), the latter with Mark Cuban.[65] O'Leary has a holding company, called "Something Wonderful", for managing his Dragons' Den and Shark Tank investments.[63]

The Lang and O'Leary Exchange

In 2009, O'Leary began appearing with journalist Amanda Lang on CBC News Network's The Lang and O'Leary Exchange.

During a segment of The Lang & O'Leary Exchange on the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, O'Leary criticized Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges for sounding "like a left-wing nutbar." Hedges said afterwards that "it will be the last time" he would appear on the show and compared the CBC to Fox News.[66] CBC's ombudsman found O'Leary's behaviour to be a violation of the public broadcaster's journalistic standards.[67]

In January 2014, on The Lang and O'Leary Exchange, O'Leary remarked on reports that the world's richest 85 people owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the population was "fantastic news".

It's fantastic, and this is a great thing because it inspires everybody, gets them motivation to look up to the one percent and say, 'I want to become one of those people, I'm going to fight hard to get up to the top.' This is fantastic news, and, of course, I applaud it. What can be wrong with this? I celebrate capitalism. Don't tell me that you want to redistribute wealth again, that's never gonna happen ... it's a celebratory stat. ... If you work hard, you might be stinking rich one day.[68][69][70]

Other projects

O'Leary has produced and hosted his own reality show, Redemption Inc., in which he tries to help ex-convicts start and develop their own businesses.[4]

O'Leary worked as a co-host for the Discovery Channel's Discovery Project Earth, a show that explores innovative ways to reverse climate change.[71] Having also been a co-host of SqueezePlay on Bell Media's Business News Network (BNN), he returned to the network on September 1, 2014 to join as a contributor for its radio and television stations such as CTV.[72][73]

On 5 May 2015, O'Leary made an appearance on the game show Celebrity Jeopardy and received $10,000 for his charity despite finishing 3rd and in negative points after both Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy rounds.[74] In September of that year, O'Leary appeared as a celebrity judge in the 95th Miss America pageant.[75]

Politics

On January 18, 2017, O'Leary officially entered the upcoming leadership election of the Conservative Party of Canada.[8] Before this, he created controversy by offering to invest $1 million in the economy of Alberta in exchange for the resignation of Premier Rachel Notley[76] and appeared with four other prospective leadership candidates at a conference for federal Conservatives in late February 2016 where he gave a presentation titled "If I Run, This is How."[77][78] During this speech he predicted that the Liberal government would fall within four years as a result of economic collapse.[79] Politically, he sees himself as mainly focused on the economy and as an opponent of government waste, high taxes and a low Canadian dollar; he plans to avoid identity politics.[80][81]

Maxime Bernier, a Conservative Quebecois politician, criticized Kevin O'Leary, calling him a "tourist"[82] for not being able to speak French and wanting to be Prime Minister.[83][84] Bernier later clarified his comments by explaining that he wanted all leadership candidates to learn French and praised his fellow leadership contender Lisa Raitt, who was struggling to learn French. O'Leary is currently learning French, and has promised that he will be fluent by 2019.[85]

O'Leary has been compared to other businessmen-turned politicians such as Donald Trump. O'Leary responded to these comparisons by stating, "I'm of Lebanese-Irish descent, I don't build walls, I am very proud of the society we're building in Canada, I think it is the envy of the planet. There's no walls in my world. I wouldn't exist if Canada had walls."[86][87][88][89][90]

On January 18, 2017, his former Dragons' Den co-star Arlene Dickinson stated that she found O'Leary to be too "self-interested and opportunistic" to be qualified for the office of Prime Minister.[91] In response, another former Dragons' Den co-star, W. Brett Wilson, endorsed Kevin O'Leary highlighting differences between O'Leary as a businessman and his TV persona.[92]

O'Leary became a member of the Conservative Party shortly before the party's 2016 convention[93] and in December 2016, O'Leary revealed an exploratory committee that included former premier of Ontario, Mike Harris.[94]

On February 1, 2017, O'Leary posted a video of him shooting in a Miami gun range. Due to controversy, it was pulled down from Facebook based on the fact that there was funeral for three victims of the Quebec Mosque attack. It was also revealed that he was in New York promoting one of his business ventures when this occured. [95]

Political positions

Economy and trade

O'Leary supports free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. He described hypothetical trade negotiations between Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau as "Godzilla versus Bambi".[96]

O'Leary believes corporate tax rates in Canada are too high, and has promised to eliminate the national carbon tax.[97] O'Leary has threatened to punish provinces by withholding transfer payments if they do not eliminate their respective carbon taxes.[97]

O'Leary is a critic of deficit spending and supports eliminating the national debt.[98]

O'Leary opposes control of the CRTC over Canada's telecommunications system.[99]

Energy

O'Leary supports building a pipeline from the Athabasca oil sands to Eastern Canada with the intentions of making Canada "energy independent". He has criticized Canada's reliance on Saudi Arabia for oil and gas.[100] He has stated he would support a national referendum on the issue of pipelines.[101]

Social

O'Leary describes his social policies as "very liberal". He supports same-sex marriage and transgender rights.[102]

O'Leary supports the legalization and regulation of marijuana.[99]

O'Leary supports assisted suicide and cited Switzerland as a model for Canada to follow.[103]

Foreign and military policy

O'Leary supported ending Canadian airstrikes on ISIS and supports taking a peacekeeping role in the Syrian Civil War.[104]

O'Leary described Russia as "neither an ally or a foe" in an interview with the CBC.[105]

O'Leary has criticized Justin Trudeau's procurement plan. He supports purchasing aerial combat drones to defend the Canadian border and supports phasing out use of the Lockheed CP-140 Aurora citing cost reasons.[102]

O'Leary has criticized the lack of funding of the Canadian Armed Forces and supports spending the NATO recommended 2% of GDP on military expenditures.[102][106]

Immigration

As cited in an Opinion Piece by Chris Young, O'Leary believes that Canada has no major immigration problems. He opposes the policy proposal of screening immigrants with a values test as proposed by Kellie Leitch.[107]

Senate

In a 2017 interview with Evan Solomon, O'Leary suggested that Senators should pay money every year, instead of being paid, thus turning "a cost centre to Canada" into "a profit centre."[108]

Personal life

O'Leary and his wife, Linda, have been married since 1990.[17] The couple separated in 2011, but resumed their marriage after two years.[109] Linda now serves as the VP of Marketing for O'Leary Wines.[110] They have two children.[111] Trevor is a music producer and DJ.[111]

O'Leary's main home has been in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States since the early 1990s. He also maintains residences in Ontario, in Muskoka and in Geneva, Switzerland.[112] Legally, he remains a Canadian resident, and pays taxes there.[113] He has not committed to moving back to Canada full-time if he wins the Conservative Party leadership race.[112]

O'Leary is a big fan of the football team the New England Patriots, and claims to never miss a game of theirs, even when he is traveling around the world and the game occurs in the middle of the night.[61]

Bibliography

  • Cold Hard Truth: On Business, Money & Life. Doubleday Canada. 2011. ISBN 978-0385671743
  • Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women & Money. Doubleday Canada. 2012. ISBN 978-0-385-67850-6
  • Cold Hard Truth on Family, Kids and Money. Doubleday Canada. 2013. ISBN 978-0385682404

References

  1. ^ O'Leary, Kevin (2011). Cold Hard Truth: On Business, Money & Life. Doubleday. p. 25. ISBN 9780385671750. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  2. ^ Walton, Justin (20 July 2016). "The Net Worth of the Shark Tank Cast". Investopedia. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  3. ^ Daniela Cambone (9 May 2012). "Kevin O'Leary's 'Cold, Hard, Truth' on Gold Investing". Forbes. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Kevin O'Leary – from Dragon's Den to Redemption Inc". The Montrealer.
  5. ^ "Leading Canadian Entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary Named to Genstar Strategic Advisory Board". CNW. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Kevin O'Leary: He's not a billionaire, he just plays one on TV". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 28 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Steal These 4 Investing Tips from Kevin O'Leary". 28 April 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Kevin O'Leary makes late entry into Conservative leadership race". 18 January 2017.
  9. ^ Jason McBride. "OperationO'Leary". Toronto Life.
  10. ^ O'Leary, Kevin (2011). Cold Hard Truth: On Business, Money & Life. Doubleday.
  11. ^ a b Allemang, John. "Kevin O'Leary: The shark who swims alone". The Globe and Mail. 23 September 2011
  12. ^ Schlesinger, Joel. "The dragon's pen: Reality TV villain writes about life and money in new autobiography". Winnipeg Free Press. 1 October 2011
  13. ^ a b "Kevin O'Leary – from Dragon's Den to Redemption Inc". The Montrealer. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  14. ^ a b Jane MacDougall. "Dragons' Den star Kevin O'Leary has another passion—photography". Maclean's.
  15. ^ "Shark Tank : Week 19: LuminAID, Taaluma Totes, Keen Home, Scholly - Season 6 Episode 19 Recap". ABC.
  16. ^ "Breakaway - Kevin O'Leary and his Townships past". cbc.ca. 3 September 2014.
  17. ^ a b c Laura Rosenfeld. "Who Is Kevin O'Leary's Wife? Linda Is Mrs. Wonderful & Totally Lives Up to the Name". Bustle. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  18. ^ a b c "T. Kevin O'Leary". uwo.ca.
  19. ^ a b c d e "The Kevin O'Leary machine". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 6 September 2012.
  20. ^ Campbell, Colin. "In conversation: Kevin O'Leary". Maclean's. 5 October 2011
  21. ^ "Kevin O'Leary's best advice from his 20s". Business Insider. 28 July 2015.
  22. ^ O'Leary, Kevin. (2012) Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women & Money. Doubleday Canada, page 106
  23. ^ a b "Kevin T. O'Leary". Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  24. ^ a b "T. Kevin O'Leary". Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  25. ^ "Be Like a Magpie". The Huffington Post. 19 April 2015.
  26. ^ "The secret of Softkey's success". Strategy Online. 16 November 1992. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Kevin O'Leary on leaving the CBC, learning from Don Cherry, and befriending Dragons". Toronto Life.
  28. ^ a b Ellen Ashton-Haiste (24 August 2013). "The Real Kevin O'Leary". Forever Young Information. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  29. ^ "Shark Tank - Latest News - From cameraman to Mr. Wonderful: Kevin O'Leary on where he started and what's coming up on 'Shark Tank'". CTV.ca.
  30. ^ "Kevin O'Leary, TV's 'Shark Tank' Guru: In Real Life, No Business Whiz". Time. 10 September 2009.
  31. ^ a b c Steve Burgess. "Kevin O'Leary". NUVO Magazine.
  32. ^ "'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O'Leary explains how a $10,000 loan from his mother helped him build a $4 billion company". businessinsider.com. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  33. ^ Willett, Shawn (24 May 1993). "Merger is first step to a consumer orientation for WordStar". InfoWorld. p. 31. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  34. ^ Bergin, Thomas J. (October–December 2006). "Word Processing Timeline". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  35. ^ "Softkey Reaches Agreement to Buy Learning Company". nytimes.com. 8 December 1995. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  36. ^ a b Joe Castaldo. "Kevin O'Leary: The natural". Canadian Business.
  37. ^ Cave, Andrew. "Mattel sale ends $3.6bn fiasco". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  38. ^ Gandel, Stephen (10 September 2009). "TV's Shark Tank Guru: In Real Life, No Business Whiz". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  39. ^ a b "A history of Kevin O'Leary's spotty business record, in four deals". Canadian Business. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  40. ^ "Leading Canadian Entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary Named to Genstar Strategic Advisory Board". PNR. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  41. ^ Oysey, Dan (1 May 2012). "Kevin O'Leary and Connor O'Brien use celebrity branding to take on Canada's fund managers". Financial Post. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  42. ^ "Kevin O'Leary's business history back in spotlight after entering race for Conservative Party leader". Financial Post. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  43. ^ "Gestion de fonds O'Leary to pay $38,000 in administrative penalties". www.lautorite.qc.ca. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  44. ^ Cain, Terry (15 October 2015). "Dragons reunite as Canoe picks up Kevin O'Leary's fund shop". Business News Network. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  45. ^ "About O'Leary Ventures". O'Leary Ventures. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  46. ^ "O'Leary Wines". Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  47. ^ "O'Leary Fine Wines Wins "Best Value" at InterVin International Wine Awards". Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  48. ^ McLister, Rob. "O'Leary Mortgages Is No More". CanadianMortgageTrends.com. 10 April 2014 [unreliable source?]
  49. ^ Smith, Nelson (16 April 2016). http://www.fool.ca/2016/04/13/collect-1000-per-month-by-investing-like-kevin-oleary/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  50. ^ "Kevin O'Leary's 'Cold, Hard, Truth' on Gold Investing". Forbes. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  51. ^ "Three investment tips from a dragon". Ontario Farmer. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  52. ^ "Kevin O'Leary on Dividend Investing". Spiked Finance. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  53. ^ O'Leary, Kevin. Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women, and Money. Simon and Schuster.
  54. ^ Padanyi, Matt (18 December 2015). "Kevin O'Leary tells a young investor how to turn $10,000 in a nest egg". BNN. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  55. ^ "Kevin O'Leary: The shark who swims alone". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  56. ^ "Order your copy of Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women & Money". Doubleday Canada. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  57. ^ "Cold Hard Truth on Family, Kids and Money". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  58. ^ Bambury, Brent (6 January 2017). "Meet the man who helped Kevin O'Leary shape his powerful personal brand". CBC Radio.
  59. ^ "Full 2014–15 Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  60. ^ "Shark Tank – Awards & Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  61. ^ a b Malamut, Melissa (10 October 2013). "Q&A: Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary". Boston magazine. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  62. ^ Vivian Giang (25 November 2013). "What It's Like Working With the Meanest Investor on "Shark Tank"". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  63. ^ a b Ho, Ky Trang (10 April 2016). "Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary: How Debt And Licensing Deals Can Benefit Entrepreneurs More". Forbes.
  64. ^ Shropshire, Corilyn (21 February 2012). "Jamba Juice buys Talbott Teas". Chicago Tribune.
  65. ^ Perez, Sarah (17 November 2014). "Shark Tank-Backed GrooveBook Acquired By Shutterfly For $14.5 Million". TechCrunch.
  66. ^ James Crugnale (12 October 2011). Journalist Chris Hedges Argues With CBC's Kevin O'Leary: 'This Sounds Like Fox News And I Don't Go On Fox News!' Mediaite. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  67. ^ Szklarski, Cassandra. "O'Leary's 'nutbar' remark breach of policy, CBC ombudsman says." Globe & Mail, 14 October 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  68. ^ Kludt, Tom (22 January 2014). Businessman, TV Host: It's 'Fantastic' That 85 People Have More Wealth Than Billions In Poverty (VIDEO). Talking Points Memo. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  69. ^ Martin, Abby (23 January 2014). Orwell's Kiev, warnings from BP employees, 4 years of corporate personhood. Breaking the Set on RT. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  70. ^ Hulsman, Noel (22 January 2014). Kevin O'Leary thinks global wealth gap is 'fantastic news'. Yahoo News. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  71. ^ "Discovery". Discovery. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  72. ^ "Kevin O'Leary, Bruce Croxon leaving CBC's Dragon's Den". CBC.ca. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  73. ^ "Former 'Dragon' Kevin O'Leary leaves CBC to join CTV". Toronto Star. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  74. ^ Daro, Ishmael N. (13 May 2015). "Kevin O'Leary did not do very well on Celebrity Jeopardy!". National Post. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  75. ^ Field, Sarah. "How Miss America Judges Can Impress Judge Kevin O'Leary". Inquisitr.com. The Inquisitr. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  76. ^ "Kevin O'Leary circling as key Conservatives test Tory leadership waters". CBC News. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  77. ^ "Potential Tory leadership candidates test waters at weekend conference". CTVNews. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  78. ^ "5 auditions to lead the post-Harper Conservatives". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  79. ^ Naumetz, Tim. "Leary shakes up Manning conference, predicts economic collapse, Liberal turmoil". hilltimes.com. The Hill Times. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  80. ^ Geddes, John (16 January 2017). "Kevin O'Leary's campaign got rolling over lunch". Maclean's. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  81. ^ "Kevin O'Leary swears to be a 'nightmare' for wasteful politicians". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  82. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Nouvelles -. "" Un touriste! " : Maxime Bernier s'en prend à l'ex-dragon Kevin O'Leary | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  83. ^ "Maxime Bernier slams English-only Kevin O'Leary". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  84. ^ "Kevin O'Leary may speak jobs, but it's French that Quebecers want to hear from next Tory leader, says Bernier". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  85. ^ "O'Leary shows off his French lessons, promises proficiency by 2019". Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  86. ^ "'I am not Donald Trump': Kevin O'Leary denies parallels with bombastic American". Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  87. ^ "Kevin O'Leary 'writing off' Kellie Leitch's Tory leadership bid". 13 September 2016.
  88. ^ "Kevin O'Leary Isn't Fit To Be Canada's Prime Minister: Arlene Dickinson". 18 January 2017.
  89. ^ "Could O'Leary teach millennials to love the Conservatives?". 17 January 2017.
  90. ^ "Can Canada's Trump repeat the Donald's success?". 25 January 2017.
  91. ^ Slaughter, Graham (18 January 2017). "Kevin O'Leary is 'self-interested' says former co-star Arlene Dickinson". CTV News. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  92. ^ Bell, David (23 January 2017). "Brett Wilson endorses Kevin O'Leary after Arlene Dickinson's scathing column". CBC. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  93. ^ Tristin Hopper (27 May 2016). "Inside the Tories' 'warring tribes': Hard-drinkers, pro-lifers and the Ayn Randians who want to kill them". National Post.
  94. ^ "Kevin O'Leary assembles Conservative advisory team for possible leadership bid". CBC News. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  95. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/oleary-gun-range-shooting-thursday-1.3963724. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  96. ^ "'I'm going to be his worst nightmare': 'Shark Tank' judge Kevin O'Leary is running to lead the Conservative Party in Canada". Business Insider.
  97. ^ a b "Kevin O'Leary promises to scrap the carbon tax if elected prime minister".
  98. ^ "Kevin O'Leary on why he's running for the Tory leadership". Maclean's.
  99. ^ a b "Bank mergers, housing and marijuana: Kevin O'Leary on his leadership bid".
  100. ^ "Kevin O'Leary: 'If I don't deliver a majority mandate in 2019, fire me'".
  101. ^ O'Leary, Kevin (14 September 2016). "It's Time to End Canada's Pipeline Circus". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  102. ^ a b c "Kevin O'Leary enters Conservative leadership race: 'I'm in'".
  103. ^ "Kevin O'Leary is way too boring to be called Canada's Donald Trump".
  104. ^ "Kevin O'Leary supports ending airstrikes against ISIS".
  105. ^ "Kevin O'Leary on Russia". Twitter. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  106. ^ "Kevin O'Leary explains his vision for Canada, says he's 'coming' for PM Trudeau".
  107. ^ "Kevin O'Leary points toward the wrong path: Editorial". Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. 18 January 2017.
  108. ^ http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/senate-seats-for-sale-o-leary-says-he-d-consider-it-1.3240864. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  109. ^ John Allemang. "Kevin O'Leary: The shark who swims alone". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  110. ^ "Linda O'Leary: Shark Tank Kevin O'Leary's Wife". Daily Entertainment News. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  111. ^ a b "Kevin O'Leary: Shark, Dragon, Dad". Inbetween Magazine. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  112. ^ a b Hepburn, Bob (2 February 2017). "Why Kevin O'Leary still calls Boston home". Toronto Star. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  113. ^ Russell, Andrew (15 January 2016). "Where is home? Kevin O'Leary who's called Boston 'home' says his priority is Canada". Global News.
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