Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary finds himself in polluted waters after sending a controversial tweet over the weekend sharing his philosophy of putting work and financial success ahead of family.
He was roasted by the Twittersphere tweet: “You can lose your wife, you can lose your dog, your mother can hate you.
“None of those things matter. What matters is that you succeed and become free. Then you can do what you want.”
Kevin O’Leary is best known as one of the panelists on ABC’s long-running investment opportunity show Shark Tank
Kevin O’Leary (centre left) with wife Linda (right) and their two children
O’Leary shared his controversial view of what the pursuit of success looks like and was immediately snubbed online
Blowback was quick to attract users who disagree with its wealth-focused philosophy.
Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg analyst, replied: “That sounds more like the definition of hell.”
‘Mister. Wonderfully downgraded to Mr. Sad,” wrote Douglas Boneparth, President of Bone Fide Wealth.
Opinion poll
Is making money the most important thing in life?
- Yes 12 votes
- No 104 votes
Others thought more seriously about the meaning of success.
“Define success. [Success] can be a lovely wife, a happy dog, and a loving mother to others who appreciate them [relationships] more than material or business success,” wrote Michaël van de Poppe, a crypto startup founder.
“They are clearly confused about what success really means,” wrote investor Syed Balkhi.
O’Leary, 68, is best known as a judge on ABC’s long-running Shark Tank. The Canadian businessman got most of his $400 million net worth after he sold his software company, SoftKey, for more than $3.5 billion.
He is a major proponent of cryptocurrency and had significant exposure to FTX prior to its abrupt demise late last year. He was reportedly signed with the company in a $15 million deal to become an ambassador for the company founded by Sam Bankman-Fried.
In the wake of the unprecedented stock market collapse, he was named in a lawsuit against the company and its celebrity backers, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry and Larry David.
He is also a father of two children with his wife Linda O’Leary, to whom he has been married for more than 30 years, although they separated between 2011 and 2013.
It’s unclear if his immediate family was offended by his broad-based declaration that success and “getting free” are more worthy, and indeed entirely separate, goals than focusing on family.
Linda and Kevin O’Leary attend an event together. In 2019, late at night, Linda drove the couple’s boat into a boat full of stargazers, killing two people
Kevin O’Leary will testify before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and City Affairs at the cryptocurrency hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Kevin O’Leary and his wife Linda stroll along the beach in Miami
You are clearly confused about what success really means.
— Syed Balkhi (@syedbalkhi) February 12, 2023
O’Leary tests a turkey traverse device on Shark Tank
Despite his unsolicited explanation, O’Leary has actually been forced to prioritize family in recent years.
In August 2019, his wife Linda was driving the family boat with her husband and a friend on Lake Joseph in Canada when she crashed into a boat carrying 12 stargazers, killing two of them.
It was late at night, the couple and their friend were returning from a dinner party when Linda rammed the boat into another ship, which she said had no lights.
Linda was eventually found not guilty of operating her boat without due care or consideration for others.
Although police called her “uncooperative” during the trial.
“She didn’t want to speak to the police any further and pretty much told us she was done talking,” said a member of the Ontario provincial police who visited the O’Learys’ home after the accident.
The constable said she arrived at the O’Leary’s lake house and found Linda lying in bed immediately after the crash, one leg sticking out of a blanket.
Gary Poltash, 64, (left) of Florida, and mother-of-three Susanne Brito (right), 48, of Ontario, were killed in the August night’s clash. The driver of her boat, New York native Richard Ruh, was charged with driving without navigation lights
Linda, who serves as vice president of marketing at O’Leary Wines, was sailing her and Kevin’s luxury boat on Lake Joseph in Ontario, Canada, on August 24, 2019 when it collided with the other vessel, causing two deaths and injuring three others . Pictured is one of many boats owned by the O’Learys
Witnesses to the accident who were on the other boat testified that Linda immediately blamed them after the crash. They even hinted that they bumped into her.
“The woman initially did all the talking and was like, ‘You hit us,’ or, I don’t remember the actual words, but it sounded like she wasn’t argumentative, just a little bit pissed off or bitchy, excuse my language , just a little cheeky.
Honestly I thought she was a teenager who hit our boat,” Cathryn Hibbard told the court.
Witnesses from the other boat also testified that the ship’s lights were on at all times, a claim the judge ultimately found unreliable.