Investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, also known as “Mr. Wonderful” on “Shark Tank,” recently opened up about the cost of building wealth while raising a family.
In a post on X, O'Leary admitted that while he was constantly working during his children's younger years, he believes his role as a provider was equally important.
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Providing Over Presence
“I worked nonstop while my kids were growing up. My wife did the heavy lifting at home,” he wrote. “But I was a provider, and that matters.”
In the video, he expanded on this, saying, “It's always a really tough decision … you’re often not there for your kids while they’re growing up, because during those formative years, you’re just working. That was my case. So my wife did a great job in raising my kids, but I was a great provider.”
O’Leary emphasized that financial contribution plays a major role in family stability. “That's key too. I mean, part of the whole financial issue of marriage is you got to provide, you have to take care of your family. That’s mandate number one.”
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He also made it known what he believes is the biggest threat to a marriage. “If you have financial stress in a marriage, you’re going to get divorced. It’s the No. 1 reason people get divorced, not infidelity. It’s financial stress.”
When rating himself, O'Leary said, “I would say when my kids were young, I was probably a six out of 10, but as a provider, I’m taking 10 out of 10 for that.”
Solving Problems, Not Chasing Money
In a separate YouTube video from last year, O’Leary shared his philosophy on building wealth. According to him, the fastest way to make a million dollars is to earn your first $10,000. After that, things become more scalable.
But O'Leary says it's not just about money. “People get wealthy not by pursuing money out of greed, but by pursuing a passion around a problem-solving exercise. That’s what business is all about.”
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He encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to focus on real needs. “Think about that. Try and find something that’s a pain point that you know everybody has and then provide the product or service that solves for that.”
He says the model works at every scale: “That’s how you make a million. That’s how you make 5 million. That’s how you make 100 million. That’s how you make a billion.”
O'Leary also pointed out that social media is a powerful tool for building a business today, even if the work remains hard.
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