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Kevin O’Leary is one of the most successful men in business, but he didn’t build his empire alone. The Shark Tank star has had his wife, Linda O’Leary, by his side as he’s conquered various work fields like business, television, journalism and more. In March 2024, Kevin made headlines for explaining why he “forbids” sharing finances with his wife.
“I forbid it in my own family,” he said during his Fox Business “Varney & Co” appearance. “I force prenups; I force pro-cohabitation agreements on others, I want financial due diligence on significant others because I’m a realist. I deal in the real world.”
Kevin elaborated by noting that people “must, in this society, maintain your own financial identity. You have to,” adding that “50 percent of marriages end in divorce for financial stress over the first five years of marriage, and even if you have a long-term situation and anything would happen to your spouse, such as death … if you don’t have your own financial identity, you’re in the wilderness in America.”
So, who is Linda O’Leary? Keep reading to learn more about Kevin’s wife and their strong marriage.
Who Is Linda O’Leary?
Linda is a successful businessperson, just like her husband. She currently serves as at the vice president of marketing for O’Leary Wines and is a board member of the National Ballet of Canada, according to her Twitter bio (now known as X). The website for O’Leary Wines has a picture of Kevin and Linda drinking wine, along with a lengthy message from Kevin about how he started the company.
In a press release for the wine business, which launched in 2016, Kevin talked up his wife and her “remarkable palate for wine.” He said, “I am always amazed how she can distinguish one region from another, new world wines from old just from the look, nose and taste. I hide the bottles and she beats me every time. A marriage based on a good wine cellar can last forever!” Kevin added, “I took Linda with me to California and we began working with the Vintage Wine Estate winemakers. I made the decision early on that any wine I put my name on has to be spectacular, so we worked really hard on achieving that goal.”
On August 24, 2019, Linda, Kevin and their family friend were on the couple’s boat near Toronto, Canada when it crashed into another vessel, killing two passengers, Gary Potash and Susanne Brito, and injuring three others. Linda, who was driving the boat, was given a DUI test and passed. But a month later, Linda was charged with “careless operation of a vessel” under the small vessel regulations of the Canada Shipping Act, according to CTV. The operator of the other boat, Richard Ruh, was also charged in the incident.
When Linda was charged, her lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said that she made a “regulatory offense under the shipping act” and should not be blamed for the crash. “She has always been a cautious and experienced boater who came into collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night,” the lawyer said, according to USA Today. “The other boat was sitting in a dark spot on a lake, no cottage lights nearby, no moon.”
Linda went on trial in Canada and Kevin testified on her behalf. In September 2021, two years after the crash, Linda was found not guilty of being at fault for the incident. Justice Richard Humphrey said that the prosecutors “failed to establish evidence that Linda O’Leary drove her boat without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for others,” according to local reports. The court also decided that alcohol “played no part” in the charges against Linda.
Kevin O’Leary and Linda O’Leary’s Marriage
Kevin and Linda have been married since 1990. However, they did briefly separate in 2011, before getting back together two years later. At the time of their split, Kevin admitted that his work schedule caused issues for the couple. “To me, it’s just a job, but not to [Linda],” he told The Globe and Mail.
In Kevin’s book, Cold Hard Truth on Family, Kids and Money, he revealed that the couple was about to divide their assets, before they tried to give their marriage another shot. “We were at the point of dividing the assets [and] as we neared it, we decided not to do it,” he told GuelphMercury.com in 2014. “We have reunited and kept the family together. I’m glad we did that.”
Kevin O’Leary and Linda O’Leary’s Children
Kevin and Linda share two children: daughter Savannah, who was born in 1993, and son Trevor, who was born in 1995.
Savannah and Trevor were raised in Boston and attended school there. Savannah later went to New York City University’s Tisch School of the Arts and got a degree in film. Since July 2021, Savannah has been self-employed as a film director/creative producer, according to her LinkedIn.
Trevor, meanwhile, currently lives in San Francisco and works as a senior software development engineer, according to his LinkedIn. He’s been employed at Tesla since the beginning of 2021. Trevor went to college at McGill University and graduated with his Bachelor of Engineering in 2019.