How Kevin O’Leary’s $500K Retirement Plan Works
Written by
Peter Burns
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Having enough to retire comfortably is a worry that many Americans have. A study by Allianz Life found that 64% of U.S. citizens worry more about running out of money than dying. With the average amount Americans believe they need to retire hovering around $1.26 million, it can be easy to get discouraged. However, there are different strategies when it comes to stretching your money in retirement. According to one money expert, you might not need even half the average amount.
Kevin O’Leary, successful businessman and panelist on “Shark Tank,” claims to know how you can retire with only $500,000. Here’s his method.
Is It Possible To Retire on $500K?
O’Leary believes that with careful investing, you can make the most out of your half-million dollars and use it to live comfortably. In most cases, you can get 5% back on your investment without much risk. For example, if you put your $500,000 into one of the top high-yield savings accounts, you could get a return of 5% annually. This would mean you’ll receive $25,000 per year in interest.
Having $25,000 of income each year doesn’t seem like very much. While it is over the federal poverty line for an individual ($15,650), it’s well under the median salary in the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that in the second quarter of 2025, the median weekly earnings for a full-time employee in the U.S. amounted to $1,196. Based on this, the median salary in the U.S. is $62,192 or more than double what you could make from a 5% return on $500,000.
O’Leary pointed out that riding the volatility of the market and investing in a slightly riskier security could amount to more gains. For example, investing in an index fund could result in a better return and keep risks to a minimum.
The S&P 500 index fund tracks the top 500 companies in the U.S. and accounts for 80% of the U.S. stock market’s total value. In the past 33 years, the S&P 500 has given a return of 10.47%. In this scenario, you would get $52,350 annually on paper. However, the constant increase in inflation will bite into those profits.
Over the past 20 years, inflation has increased by around 2.1% on average. This makes the interest rate of the index fund 8.37% and the annual income around $41,850. As the stock market is more volatile than a high-yield savings account, some years will be more or less than that amount. Depending on your lifestyle and location, having just over $40,000 a year may be possible, but it may come with many challenges.
Should you try O’Leary’s $500,000 retirement plan of wisely investing that money and continuing to receive returns, you might need to cut costs and rely more on other income like Social Security. While it is doable, it isn’t necessarily doable for all.
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