ABC’s Shark Tank is a reality TV show where entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to investors in the hopes of getting a deal. The “Sharks”, are all self-made millionaires and made their fortunes starting businesses ranging from IT companies to clothing brands. Given the show’s massive ratings, fans are curious to find out which Shark is the wealthiest.
1. Mark Cuban – $5.7 billion
Mark Cuban is the only billionaire on the panel, which makes him the main Shark. He is the co-founder of 2929 Entertainment and former owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Cuban also co-owns Magnolia Picture and Landmark Theaters.
After graduating, Cuban worked on machines and networking at Mellon Bank. Despite being broke at 27 years old, Mark later became a millionaire through selling MicroSolutions for $6 million. The Dallas native netted $2 million from the sale after taxes.
Cuban made it to the big leagues by selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion during the dot-com bubble. The savvy entrepreneur received 14.6 million shares of Yahoo and used put options to protect his investment. In 2023, Cuban sold the Mavericks for over $4 billion according to Forbes. This is why he’s worth $5.7 billion.
2. Kevin O’Leary – $400 million
Kevin O’Leary first appeared on Dragons’ Den Canada and has been on Shark Tank since season one! Mr. Wonderful is a successful businessman with a huge ego and loves a royalty deal!
His mother was a business executive and a shrewd investor but kept her portfolio private. Kevin’s mother believed in investing one-third of your earnings and he still follows this advice to this day.
In 1986, Kevin co-founded the software company SoftKey Software Products and later rebranded to The Learning Company. O’Leary grew the business by acquiring rivals and eventually sold SoftKey for $4.2 billion to Mattel in 1999. Businessweek called it one of “the Worst Deals of All Time”! After this, he worked as a host on a number of Canadian business talk shows. Now, as the second-richest Shark, his net worth is $400 million.
3. Daymond John – $350 million
Daymond John is a motivational speaker and business magnate famous for co-founding the hip-hop clothing brand FUBU. Daymond has been the CEO of FUBU from the start until it broke into the mainstream.
When his parents split up, Daymond started working at 10 years old. At 16 years old, his mom had a new partner, an attorney, whom he regarded as a mentor. The young hustler worked on FUBU at their house and his mother taught him how to sew. At its peak, FUBU reached over $350 million in annual revenue in 1998.
John has been on Shark Tank since season one but doesn’t make a lot of deals. Despite this, he had huge success investing in Bombas, an apparel company that went on to become one of Shark Tank’s most successful products.
John launched Blueprint and Co, a coworking facility, and his Daymond On Demand training program. His reputation as a Shark helped him create a consulting firm, The Shark Group. Daymond’s fortune stands at $350 million.
4. Robert Herjavec – $200 million
Robert Herjavec is the owner of a prominent cybersecurity company, The Herjavec Group. Before joining the cast of Shark Tank, he featured alongside Kevin O’Leary on Canada’s version of Dragons’ Den.
Robert’s family were Croatian immigrants who settled in Toronto when Robert was eight. In the 1990s, he worked a number of minimum wage jobs to help support his family.
Herjavec initially started out in the filmmaking industry but transitioned into business by working for Logiquest and selling emulation boards. When Logiquest fired him, he created an internet security software integrator.
Herjavec started BRAK Systems from his basement and sold it for $30.2 million to AT&T Canada in 2000. Herjavec now operates Cyderes, an IT service management company. Despite having a $200 million fortune, Robert has to pay his ex-wife $150,000 per month in spousal and child support along with a $25 million payment.
5. Lori Greiner – $150 million
Greiner is an expert in branding and marketing consumer products. Dubbed “The Queen of QVC”, she has a talent for finding hot products to sell. Lori Greiner is also the founder and CEO of For Your Ease Only, Inc.
Lori started her career as a playwright and sold jewelry as a side hustle. In 1996, Greiner invented and patented the J.C. Penney plastic earring organizer. Greiner’s business grew after her product featured on the Home Shopping Network. This allowed her to pay off a $300,000 loan in 18 months!
This sparked her to join QVC and produce the show Clever & Unique Creations and Lori continued to design and patent products. Lori now has over 120 patents to her name.
Greiner joined Shark Tank in 2012 and is arguably one of the top Sharks on the show. Scrub Daddy and Squatty Potty are two of her most successful deals that helped her build a $150 million fortune.
6. Barbara Corcoran – $100 million
Last but not least is Barbara Corcoran. Barbara founded The Corcoran Group in 1973, a real estate brokerage firm that she sold for $66 million in 2001. Corcoran struggled at school due to her dyslexia. Still, Barbara managed to graduate from college with a degree in education and worked briefly as a teacher.
After a year in the classroom, she quit and worked 20 different jobs. Next, she co-founded The Corcoran-Simonè brokerage with her ex-boyfriend. But after breaking up, she branched out on her own.
Barbara also earns extra income as a consultant, writer and speaker. Barbara has made over 130 deals on the show and her most successful investment is The Comfy. Corcoran is a cautious investor and has a net worth of $100 million.
