"Built a huge portfolio": Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary shares his late mother's strategy for investing in stocks and bonds

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary shared a clip via his Instagram account on February 23, 2025. He talked about his mother, a working woman but not a stock analyst. Even though she built a considerable portfolio with a simple strategy.

Kevin O'Leary learned about this after his mother's passing, as he received a call about her mother's investments. Sharing more about the same, the Shark Tank mentor captioned the clip with the following:

"My mom was not a stock analyst—just a working woman. But she built a huge portfolio using one simple strategy: 20% of every paycheck went into dividend stocks and bonds. No more than 5% in any one stock, no more than 20% in any sector. She did that for 60 years. When she passed, she was rich. That strategy? I built an ETF around it."

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Shark Tank mentor Kevin O'Leary opens up about his mother and her understanding of investments

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary, aka Mr Wonderful, shared an Instagram reel recalling his mother's investments. Despite being a working woman with no prior background in the finance sector, she managed to have considerable profits from stocks and S&P.

While opening up about his mother, the Shark Tank mentor also recalled her mother's first marriage, which ended in divorce.

"My mother was a fiercely independent woman. She went through a very difficult first marriage to my biological father and ended in divorce. From that experience, she wanted to have her own financial independence for the rest of her life. She took 20% of her paycheck each week and invested it in just stocks in the S&P that paid dividends and telco bonds."

Further, he stated that her mother's portfolio went on for 60+ years, and he learned about it after receiving a call from the executive. Being an older brother, he received the call and learned that his mother was a "very wealthy woman."

He was in denial after he was notified about his mother's investments. It was because they were a "middle-class" family. Later on, Kevin learned that his mother only spent the "interest"/ "dividends."

"So this thing grew over 60 years at 8, 10, 15, 20% a year. Her rule was very simple. No more than 5% anyone's stocker bond, no more than 20% anyone's sector, and just keep adjusting it every year."

The clip concluded with the Shark Tank mentor stating how his mother was "not an analyst" but "just a working gal."

Based on what his mother had done in her lifetime and getting inspiration from that, Kevin O'Leary formed an ETF company. For that, he stated that he followed his mother's rule of investment.

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Fans can follow Shark Tank mentor Kevin O'Leary via his Instagram (@kevinolearytv) to learn more tips, insights, and knowledge about finance and investments.