Kevin O'Leary

This article is about the Canadian businessman. For other uses, see Kevin O'Leary (disambiguation).

Kevin O'Leary
O'Leary in 2023
Born
Terrence Thomas Kevin O'Leary

(1954-07-09) July 9, 1954 (age 70)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Other names
  • Mr. Wonderful
  • Chef Wonderful
  • Uncle Kevin
  • Maple Man
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • Ireland
  • United Arab Emirates
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor, journalist, television personality
Known forReality TV host,
CNBC and BNN contributor
Political partyConservative (2004–present)
Liberal (before 2004)
Spouse
Linda Greer
​
(m. 1990)​
Children2
Websitekevinoleary.com

Terrence Thomas Kevin O'Leary (born July 9, 1954), sometimes called Mr. Wonderful or Maple Man, is a Canadian businessman, investor, journalist, and television personality.[1] From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows, including the business news programs SqueezePlay and The Lang and O'Leary Exchange, as well as the Canadian reality television shows Dragons' Den and Redemption Inc.[2] In 2008, he appeared on Discovery Channel's Project Earth. Since 2009, he has appeared on Shark Tank, the American version of Dragons' Den.

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 became a major consolidator in the global educational software market, having acquired rival companies via hostile takeover bids, such as Compton's New Media, The Learning Company, and Broderbund. SoftKey later changed its name to The Learning Company and was acquired by Mattel in 1999, with the sale making O'Leary a multimillionaire.[3][4] Mattel then fired him after the acquisition which resulted in significant losses and multiple shareholder lawsuits.[4]

In 2017, he campaigned to be the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.[5][6] He was a frontrunner in the polls during much of that time but dropped out in April 2017, one month before the election, citing a lack of support in Quebec.[7][8]

  1. ^ Daniela Cambone (May 9, 2012). "Kevin O'Leary's 'Cold, Hard, Truth' on Gold Investing". Forbes. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  2. ^ "Kevin O'Leary – from Dragon's Den to Redemption Inc". The Montrealer. February 2012.
  3. ^ "Leading Canadian Entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary Named to Genstar Strategic Advisory Board". CNW. August 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference plays one was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference fast track was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Kevin O'Leary makes late entry into Conservative leadership race". January 18, 2017.
  7. ^ "Kevin O'Leary drops out of Canadian Conservative Party leadership race – RUTV News". May 28, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  8. ^ "Kevin O'Leary drops out of Conservative leadership race and will support rival Maxime Bernier". National Post. Retrieved April 26, 2017.