A look at businessman Kevin O’Leary, now running for Tory leadership

Some facts about businessman Kevin O’Leary, who announced Wednesday that he is running for the Conservative leadership:

Biographical facts and Education: Born in 1954 in Montreal, O’Leary completed high school in Ottawa before completing a BA in environmental science and psychology from the University of Waterloo and then going onto an MBA at the Ivey School of Business at Western University.

Business: O’Leary gained marketing experience at Nabisco before founding software company Softkey in the mid 1980s. The company enjoyed financial success for more than a decade before it acquired The Learning Company (TLC) and adopted its name. O’Leary eventually sold TLC to Mattel. He went in to become a co-investor and director at Storage Now, a chain of climate-controlled storage facilities. He ran a mutual fund company, O’Leary Funds Inc, until it was sold in 2015.

Legal troubles: The acquisition of TLC led to significant losses for Mattel, and the company’s shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit against a number of former executives including O’Leary, alleging that they misrepresented the company’s finances. O’Leary denied the allegations in court, and the suit was eventually settled.

Television: O’Leary is perhaps best known for his stints as a caustic, tough-talking judge on CBC’s “Dragons’ Den” and the U.S. equivalent “Shark Tank,” both of which invite prospective entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas before a panel of celebrity advisers who may offer financial backing if the idea is viable.

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Politics: O’Leary has proclaimed himself a political agnostic in the past but has aligned himself with the Conservatives.

Family: O’Leary and his wife Linda have been married since 1990. They have two children.

Quote: “I hope to make this a nightmare for politicians who think they can continue wastefully spending our money.”

The Canadian Press