"A scattered machine gun approach": Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary opens up about his charity philosophy

Shark Tank mentor Kevin O'Leary shared his thoughts about "charity" via an Instagram reel on February 19, 2025. The entrepreneur mentioned that he and his wife Linda came up with a system for which they decided to pick five charities for five years.

After offering them a particular amount, the couple decided to follow up on what they had donated, similar to any individual who would inquire about their money managers. Elaborating on this, Kevin O'Leary stated:

"There were many people approaching us with many good ideas. To me seemed like a scattered machine gun approach, so to speak, like one year give one institution something and then never again. Plus what really bothered me the most about the whole thing was how did I know my money went to what I was told it was going to do? That really troubled me because I have no idea what they did with it."

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Shark Tank mentor Kevin O'Leary opens up about what he and his wife decided when it comes to "Charity"

In the Instagram reel, the entrepreneur opened up about his approach to deciding which charities to support.

He wrote in the caption for this Instagram reel:

"Charity isn't about tossing money into a black hole and hoping for the best. My wife, Linda, and I set up a system—five charities, five years, and quarterly reports just like a business. If they waste money on overhead, we cut them off. Simple. I fund missions, not bureaucracies."

The video starts with the title card stating, "My Charity Philosophy." It featured Shark Tank investor, Kevin O'Leary sharing how he thinks charity shouldn't be just about donating money once and then forgetting about it. He further mentioned that he wanted to know whether the money he donated was being put to good use.

O'Leary, also mentioned how "many people approached" him and his wife with "many good ideas." However, he referred to the ideas as a "scattered machine gun approach." He explained that it involved giving one institution money in one year and "then never again."

To address this issue, the Shark Tank mentor shared the plan that he came up with his wife. He said,

"I came up with this idea with her with Linda, and I said why don't we do five for five? Pick five institutions that mean something to us and support them for five years. Ask them for quarterly statements just like you would a money manager."

While doing that, he mentioned inquiring about performance and "expense ratios." Additionally, the Shark Tank mentor also talked about the possibility if the expense ratio increases to a certain point, then they wouldn't want to fund "overhead." Hence it would mean, they would stop giving charity to those institutes.

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Fans can stream Shark Tank's latest episodes on Fridays, featuring Kevin O'Leary, on ABC Network.