“I wanna make them mad”: Shark Tank's Kevin O’Leary blasts China’s treatment of American entrepreneurs

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary has shared his thoughts about China’s treatment of American entrepreneurs. During an interview with MSNBC news, he shared his thoughts on China's position on the American entrepeneur market, saying:

“I wanna make them mad.”

Kevin O’Leary's assertion was in reference to China’s longstanding pattern of intellectual property theft. In a fiery statement, O’Leary accused China of systematically wiping out American small businesses by stealing their ideas — especially once those businesses begin to show success. And this time, he said, he is not going to stay silent.

He pointed to what he sees as decades of inaction, saying that for 21 years China has been “stealing and cheating,” while previous administrations — both American and European — chose to stay complacent. They were too worried about upsetting China, he said, often repeating the line:

“Let’s not make them mad.”

For O’Leary, who spent years building businesses and backing entrepreneurs through Shark Tank, the time for such quiet diplomacy is over. During the interview which is available on his verified Instagram page, kevinolearytv, he warned that thousands, if not millions, of American companies hitting $5 million in sales have witnessed their intellectual property being ripped off — leaving them unable to compete or survive.

Kevin O’Leary’s Shark Tank perspective on China’s business behavior

The Shark Tank star is no stranger to small businesses. Through Shark Tank, O'Leary has been hearing thousands of pitches and invested in many startups, watching them scale from garage operations to national brands. That is the reason he was especially riled up. The way he saw it, China targets precisely the kind of companies he backs. O' Leary asked:

“You wanna start entrepreneurship?”

He added:

“Let a family build a business and have China wipe it out because they didn’t have to pay any I.P.? I think I’m done with that.”

According to O’Leary, it is not just about lost revenue. It is about lost dreams, too. Entrepreneurs who manage to hit $5 million in sales should be on a path to expansion — not bracing for their products to be cloned overseas without consequence.

For him, this isn’t a macroeconomic debate — it is personal. The kind of innovation and hustle Shark Tank celebrates is under threat, and O’Leary says he is sounding the alarm.

Why small business is at the heart of O’Leary’s frustration

What really makes O’Leary tick isn’t Wall Street — it is 'Main Street.'

“62% of jobs in America are created [by] companies [with] five to five hundred employees,” he pointed out.

And that’s where the damage hits hardest, he said, and further stated:

“I am their advocate and we’re pissed. We’ve finally got somebody in the White House saying, ‘What about this IP theft?’”

While big corporations may have legal teams to fight back, smaller players don’t. Many of the businesses that appear on Shark Tank are run by founders who are still fulfilling orders from their kitchens or garages. When their ideas are stolen, the consequences are devastating.

For O’Leary, it’s about fairness.

“I’m just speaking on behalf of every small entrepreneur in America,” he said.

O'Leary added:

“And I think I have my army behind me.”

What makes this time different, according to O’Leary

The battle over intellectual property theft isn’t new. What is new, according to the Shark Tank star, is the political willingness to finally tackle it head-on. He said:

“We’re finally getting an administration... that isn’t afraid to say, ‘Let’s make them mad.'”

The Shark Tank investor further stated:

“I think that narrative’s starting to pick up a little momentum here.”

While he acknowledges he’s just “one voice,” he believes people are starting to wake up to the scale of the problem. Entrepreneurs, especially the ones Shark Tank fans root for, are increasingly aware that their biggest threat isn’t just market competition — it is global copycats operating with impunity.

The bottom line: Why this matters now more than ever

The Shark Tank star's latest comments may sound fiery, but many small business owners have voiced that the issue is real — that intellectual property theft isn’t a distant threat, it is a daily risk. With the U.S. government now starting to pay more attention, O’Leary said it is time to act.

All through Shark Tank, he has watched hundreds of entrepreneurs chase their dreams, and he said that he is now trying to protect them — not just with investments, but with advocacy.

“Let’s not make them [China] mad,” used to be the rule, according to O'Leary.

O’Leary, however, is flipping that logic on its head. He said: