Top 10 Wealthiest Investors On “Shark Tank” (Worldwide)

There are many success stories that come out of the hit TV show Shark Tank. Inventors and entrepreneurs with big dreams present their plans to a board of 5 “sharks”, millionaires who are able to turn their dreams into reality – if their idea is good.

The wealthy investors, of course, don’t give out money for free; they take stakes in the companies they finance and hope for the best.

ADVERSTISEMENT

And, most of the time, their hunch is correct and their investments in companies such as Squatty Potty, Scrub Daddy and Tipsy Elves prove it. We are counting down 10 of the richest entrepreneurs who took up the role of Shark on Shark Tank!

10. Robert Herjavec

10. Robert Herjavec
Forbes, CNBC

Net Worth: $100m

Robert Herjavec immigrated to Canada from Croatia as a young boy. His family had a rough start in their new home; his mother, who barely spoke English at the time, was tricked by a vacuum salesman; and the family lost nearly all of their money. Herjavec pulled himself up by his bootstraps, though!

In 1990, he launched BRACK Systems, which he sold to AT&T in 2000, and he has been instrumental in the sale of RAMP to Nokia. On Shark Tank, he invested in successful companies such as Butter Cloth, Adventure Hunt, Pup Box, and the most successful one, Tipsy Elves, which is now valued at $12m.

9. Ashton Kutcher

9. Ashton Kutcher
TV Insider, Business Insider

Net Worth: $200m

Ashton Kutcher, most famous for his acting career, was also a Shark, guest-starring in the hit TV show’s 7th and 8th seasons. He built a lot of his wealth through acting, but most of it comes from his career as a venture capitalist

Kutcher co-founded the investment company A-Grade Investments in 2010, and they invested $500K into Uber in 2011. On the show, the actor and businessman invested in the Beebo, a hands-free baby bottle that helps parents feed their kids easily, while they can do other things with their hands.

8. Daymond John

8. Daymond John
ABC Go, inc

Net Worth: $250m

The owner of the FUBU clothing brand, Daymond John got his start in the world of fashion after he had convinced his mother to take out a second mortgage on her house to help him start his career. FUBU became popular in the ‘90s when rapper LL Cool J started wearing it. 

John is known to invest in many projects on Shark Tank; he invested in 61 business over 100 episodes. His biggest deal was made during season 1, when he invested in Hells Bells Helmets, a company that creates 3D designs on motorbike helmets. He offered $500K for a 50% stake in the company. 

7. Kevin O’Leary

7. Kevin O’Leary
pressfrom.info, NBC News

Net Worth: $400m

Similarly to Daymond John, O’Leary received $10K from his mother to start his business. He founded SoftKey in his basement in Toronto. The company specialized in distributing software on CDs in the 1990s. O’Leary bought out all of his competitors steadily over the years, and in 1999, he sold his firm to Matter for $3.7b. 

On Shark Tank, he is known as Mr. Wonderful because he is rather brash and severe with the people seeking money from the Sharks. He invests in all kinds of products, but he is conscious of choosing environmentally friendly projects. His biggest successes are Plated, a food delivery company that was sold to Albertson’s for $300m, he explained to CNBC. The other one was Groovebook, which was sold for $14.5m in 2014.

6. Kevin Harrington

6. Kevin Harrington
Forbes, inc

Net Worth: $450m

Harrington was one of the original Sharks on the show, during season 1 and 2. If you don’t remember him from back then, you’ve certainly seen many of his products before. He is the founder of “As Seen on TV”, and he is the guy who came up with infomercials. 

On Shark Tank, he invested into 13 different projects over the 2 seasons. His largest deal was with A Perfect Pear, a company that sells gourmet food items with pears as their main ingredient. Harrington gave the founder, Susan Knapp, $250K for 25% stake in the company. A Perfect Pear is a successful brand, sold across 650 retail stores in America.

5. Sara Blakely

5. Sara Blakely
CNBC, Money

Net Worth: $1b

Sara Blakely invented Spanx while she was still a fax machine salesperson. She tried out the product on herself and her family and friends until she figured out how to perfect the body-shaping clothing.

Her ingenious idea became a successful business after she met with a Neiman Marcus buyer and showcased her product by changing into it in the restroom during their meeting. Then, in 2000, Oprah shouted Spanx out and since then her company makes over $400m yearly.

Blakely was a guest on Shark Tank during season 9 and 10, investing $350K in Sonnet James, a clothing company that sells fun and stylish dresses to women, according to their website.

4. Chris Sacca

4. Chris Sacca
Fortune, Vox

Net Worth: $1.2b

Sacca is well-known on the show for wearing colorful cowboy shirts, but he is also one of the wealthiest people to appear on Shark Tank. He owns an investment company called Lowercase Capital, and he usually funds companies in their early stages. He has a hand in Twitter, Uber, Kickstarter, and Instagram.

Sacca appeared on season 7 of the show as a guest and invested in Hatch Baby, a device that provides white noise and calming sounds for babies to keep them sleeping soundly through the night.

3. John Paul Dejoria

3. John Paul Dejoria
Wikipedia, inc

Net Worth: $3.1b

John Paul Dejoria went bankrupt twice before he managed to make it big. He had $700 in his pocket and lived out of his car with a two-year-old when his wife left him, but his situation gave him the ambition to pull himself out of this rut. He made a fortune from Patron Spirits tequila and Paul Mitchel Systems, a haircare product line.

Dejoria was a guest on season 7 of the show and invested in Tree T-Pee, a water conservation system that helps hard-working farmers through micro-sprinklers and a frost protection system.

2. Mark Cuban

2. Mark Cuban
Hollywood Reporter Wikipedia

Net Worth: $3.2b

Cuban is a big player in the tech industry. He launched MicroSolutions, a company specializing in system integration and software reselling. Then, he sold his next company, Broadcast.com to Yahoo, earning himself over $2b. 

On Shark Thank, Cuban’s biggest investment was in Ten Thirty One Productions, a company that organizes live horror-themed attractions such as the Haunted Hayride in Calabasas. Cuban offered $2m for 20% stake in the firm.

1. Richard Branson

1. Richard Branson
Virgin, CNBC

Net Worth: $5.1b

Richard Branson owns over 400 companies, the most notable one being Virgin Records, a recording company that signed legendary artists like The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Mariah Carey. Coming from humble beginnings, Branson dropped out of high school and started a mail-order company selling records. 

Branson was a guest on season 9 of Shark Tank and invested in Locker Board, a company which was founded by a 12-year-old and repurposes skateboards to fit them inside lockers and backpacks, for easier access. Famously, Richard Branson invested in Ring, a home security company with video doorbells, which was rejected by the Sharks on the TV show, and is now worth $1.2b.

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Freakalytics, Money, Mental Floss

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