'Boys, Never Spend The Principal, Only The Interest' — Kevin O' Leary's Mom Taught Him The Best Money Lesson Of His Life At 7

Kevin O'Leary isn't just handing out financial advice on TV—he's passing down the same wisdom he got from his mom when he was seven years old. And no, it wasn't something from a fancy finance textbook.

In a Facebook post, O'Leary shared, "My mom taught me the greatest financial lesson of my life when I was seven: ‘Never spend the principal, only the interest.' Decades later, it's the backbone of my entire investment strategy."

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That one rule stuck. According to O'Leary, it's shaped the way he manages everything he owns. "Everything I own has to generate yield—it's about discipline, sustainability, and making your money work for you. Trust me, it works," he wrote.

He didn't stop at the post. In a video attached to it, O'Leary spoke about his mother, Georgette, who was a disciplined saver. She'd regularly take Kevin and his younger brother to the bank—where she'd invest in bonds—and give them a crash course in cash flow.

"She'd say to us, ‘Boys, never spend the principal, only the interest,'" he recalled.

Now well into his career as an investor and television personality, O'Leary still sticks to that same philosophy. "I view my portfolio, and my trust and my positions as a chicken on a spit dripping cash," he said in the video. "Everything has to generate yield … I take that, I disperse it. The family lives off that, the charities I've committed to."

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The logic behind it is simple but powerful: don't touch the original money you've invested—only live off the returns. That way, your wealth continues to grow.

For example, if you've got $100,000 generating 5% a year, you're making $5,000 annually. Reinvest that, and your money compounds. In about 15 years, you've doubled your wealth. But spend the $5,000 each year instead, and you're stuck at that same $100,000. Start dipping into the principal itself? You're draining the pot—fast.

In O'Leary's words, everything has to work for him. And the secret to that system? Yield. It's a mindset of preservation, not depletion.

So while some people grow up with piggy banks and spending sprees, O'Leary grew up hearing one clear mantra: protect the principal. Let the interest do the heavy lifting. And decades later, that one line from his mother still runs the show.

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