Kevin O’Leary: The Challenge of Making Your First Million and Why Getting to $5M Is Easier Once You Do
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
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Maria Concepcion
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It’s almost impossible to make your first million, entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary said in a video on his YouTube channel. Once you hit that milestone, his next goal was $5 million, which he believes was much easier to achieve.
And O’Leary isn’t the only wealth investor to say so, according to Moneywise.
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s business partner, also said his first $100,000 was the most difficult to earn. He’s now worth $2.5 billion, while O’Leary is worth an estimated $400 million.
Moneywise noted that the answer lies in compound interest. Or rather, it’s easier to make money with money than start with nothing.
Accumulating startup capital should be every investor’s top priority. This also comes with sacrifices and requires you to save every penny and avoid losses.
O’Leary explained that to make your first million, you must “have the discipline of not buying sh*t you don’t need.” To make that first million, he says you need to invest it in the stock market for about an 8% return and then start working towards your next target. It was $5 million for O’Leary, but it wasn’t as hard as it was to get to one million. To get to $50 million and beyond, O’Leary said you have to love what you’re doing.
In 1986, O’Leary founded Softkey Products, the company that launched his career and net worth, Parade reported. Throughout the 90s, Softkey acquired its biggest competitors and eventually sold to Mattel for $4.2 billion in 1999. Today, O’Leary owns several companies he founded, including O’Leary Fine Wines and O’Leary Ventures, his private venture capital investment company.
“Here’s how I think of my money: as soldiers. I send them out to war everyday. I want them to take prisoners and come home, so there’s more of them,” he said, as reported by Parade.
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