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Tag: OLeary

  • Trump is ‘right’ to order US to ditch ‘stupid’ penny, Kevin O’Leary says

    Trump is ‘right’ to order US to ditch ‘stupid’ penny, Kevin O’Leary says

    O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary shares whether he’s concerned about President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, the fate of the U.S. penny and the handling of the TikTok sale.

    President Donald Trump is one cent away from scrapping the U.S. penny and ‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary is agreeing with him.

    “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

    During an appearance on “Varney & Co.,” Monday, O’Leary said the president is “right” in his request to stop minting.

    ELON MUSK’S DOGE FACES FIRST LEGAL CHALLENGE WITHIN HOURS OF TRUMP INAUGURATION

    “It’s stupid. Why would you pay $0.02 for a commodity that’s worth one?,” O’Leary questioned.

    In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. had to pay $3.69 to make one penny, $5.76 to make a dime, $13.78 to make a nickel and $14.68 to make a quarter, according to the U.S. Mint.

    FOX Business’ Lydia Hu reports on the Department of Government Efficiency’s latest plan to cut spending during an appearance on ‘Varney & Co.’

    “Who uses a penny anyways? Unless you’re putting them in your loafers and nobody does that anymore. Get rid of it. It’s useless,” O’Leary expressed. 

    The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, posted on ‘X’ that producing the penny is costing American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, suggesting that it may be one of the items the department may consider eliminating. 

    ELON MUSK WARNS FEDERAL RESERVE MAY FACE DOGE AUDIT

    However, there are some critics who are pushing back on this move by the president.

    Americans for Common Cents Executive Director Mark Weller told FOX Business that “eliminating the penny will cost the government more – not less.”

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses President Donald Trump’s economic and fiscal goals during his first interview on ‘Kudlow’ since joining the administration.

    He went on to mention that “without the penny, nickel production could double, compounding the Mint’s financial losses. Any structural change to U.S. coinage should include revamping the nickel and evaluating Mint overhead.”

    In the U.S., the penny was one of the first coins made by the U.S. Mint after its establishment in 1792. When it was first produced, the coin was larger and made of pure copper. Today’s smaller coin is made mostly of zinc, according to the U.S. Mint.

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    Fox News’ Greg Wehner and FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report

  • O’Leary rips Costco for bucking DEI trend: ‘Bad for business’

    O’Leary rips Costco for bucking DEI trend: ‘Bad for business’

    ‘The Big Money Show’ explores companies turning against DEI policies while Costco bucks the trend.

    As more companies turn their backs and rescind DEI policies, Costco’s move to stand firm puzzled O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary.

    The “Shark Tank” investor declared Costco is “nuts” during Wednesday’s “The Big Money Show” for doubling down on DEI.

    During his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the termination of discriminatory practices in the federal government and encouraged termination in the private sector. Following the order, attorneys general from 19 states urged Costco to turn away from its DEI policies. 

    STATE AGS WARN RETAIL GIANT COSTCO FOR DOUBLING DOWN ON ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ DEI

    While big companies like Target, McDonald’s and Walmart backed off from their DEI policies, Costco shareholders voted last week to reject an anti-DEI proposal brought by activist shareholder group National Center for Public Policy Research. The measure would have required the wholesale grocery chain to issue a report on the risks associated with their DEI policies. 

    O’Leary, who is also a Costco shareholder, weighed in on the wholesaler’s resistance.

    “They’re nuts if they think I want them fighting the federal government on policy.”

    “I don’t care who took that poll when there’s no way you’d get that result today,” he continued. “You don’t fight the attorney general in multiple states, you got to be out of your mind.”

    “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary remarked how Costco fighting the government over DEI is “bad for business.” (Getty Images)

    He also believes that it is “bad for business” and urged the retail company to find a resolution. 

    “Chop chop, guys. Figure this out,” O’Leary instructed. “You’re breaking the law. Get compliant. I mean, hire for merit and advance people that deserve it.”

    “You will find every race, color, gender, everybody will come to the fore,” he added. 

    The businessman also commented on hiring practices, arguing that diversity can be achieved through a merit-based approach.

    “[If] you just hire on merit as we do, you get tremendous diversity.”

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    O’Leary expanded, arguing that it comes down to how capable a person is at doing their job.

    “We don’t care if you’re gay or transvestite, or you have tattoos or fishhooks in your eyelids. We couldn’t give a damn. ‘Can you do the job, can you execute on the mandate?’ Those are the people we advance,” he stressed. 

    “If you can do it, I don’t care what planet you came from, you got a job, and that actually solves this whole problem.”

    “We should have never got ourselves in this place,” O’Leary concluded. 

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    RNC youth advisory council co-chair CJ Pearson reacts to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion on ‘The Evening Edit.’

    Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

  • O’Leary defends his TikTok offer now competing against MrBeast as ‘only’ viable option

    O’Leary defends his TikTok offer now competing against MrBeast as ‘only’ viable option

    O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary unpacks President Donald Trump’s latest billion dollar investments and the future of TikTok ownership as multiple deals hit the negotiating table.

    As the internet’s top creator MrBeast allegedly readies to enter the TikTok sale arena, “Mr. Wonderful” is defending his deal as the best and most viable option for the Chinese-owned social platform.

    “The most, not troubling, but difficult part of this is in the fifth and sixth page of that order two Fridays ago from the Supreme Court, it specifically outlines: not a single line of code can be used from the existing Chinese algorithm. That’s 5 billion codes nobody can use,” Kevin O’Leary explained on “Varney & Co.,” Thursday.

    “So now it comes back to which group — I don’t care how many people announced this — has the tech to support this. And as far as I know, it’s only the McCourt-O’Leary bid. We have the tech.”

    O’Leary and billionaire entrepreneur Frank McCourt have put out a $20 billion cash offer to TikTok to purchase the app after the Supreme Court upheld Congress’ federal law requiring the company to divest to a U.S. buyer or face a user ban.

    KEVIN O’LEARY WARNS TIKTOK’S FATE COULD BE DETERMINED BY ‘SECRET GOLDEN SHARE’ GRANTING BEIJING ‘VETO’ POWER

    The Associated Press reported that, on Tuesday, a law firm advising Recruiter.com Ventures founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley’s TikTok offer named Jimmy Donaldson – better known as MrBeast – as an interested party in the deal.

    Kevin O’Leary says his TikTok offer is the “only” viable option as mega-popular internet creator MrBeast reportedly enters the race, too. (FOXBusiness)

    Adding to speculation, Donaldson had posted on X on Jan. 13 that he’d “buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned,” adding the next day that “I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”

    ‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary talks TikTok’s future, the Chinese government’s role with a ‘secret golden share’ and the role Trump could play in keeping the platform available in the U.S.

    But a representative for Donaldson confirmed to the Associated Press Wednesday that MrBeast hasn’t officially joined any bids, saying: “Several buyers are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy… He has no exclusive agreements with any of them.”

    “The only two that can decide what’s going to happen here are [President Donald] Trump and Xi [Jinping]. And so Xi has not yet indicated if he wants to sell it, that’s the next step,” O’Leary expanded. “If he does, everybody’s happy with whatever Trump comes back with as long as it complies with the laws of Congress and the order from the Supreme Court.”

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    Billionaire entrepreneur Frank McCourt details what will happen when his offer with Kevin O’Leary to buy TikTok could be accepted and they begin negotiations with ByteDance.

    “We’ve been to the Hill this week talking to senators and congressmen about what we’ve got,” Mr. Wonderful added. “We can move it over without a single line of Chinese code and allow Americans to sequester their own data so there’s no leakage. And I’m hoping that’s, [at] the end of the day, why this deal comes to us.”

    Though TikTok’s future operation and ownership remains uncertain, President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in the Oval Office that extends its divest-or-ban deadline by 75 days, giving the Chinese social media app more time to decide on a buyer.

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