When Robert Herjavec was 8 years old, his family emigrated to Canada with just $20 and a single suitcase to escape communist Yugoslavia (now Croatia). Today, the Shark Tank investor and founder of The Herjavec Group, one of the world’s largest privately held cyber security firms, has a net worth in the hundreds of millions.
“I’m not a very money-driven guy. Don’t get me wrong, I love airplanes and stuff, but it was never really what drove me,” the 63-year-old shark told CEO Magazine. “My overarching drive was how hard my mom and dad worked to give me an opportunity. And as I got older, I began to appreciate and understand that ‘Wow, these people sacrificed everything to give me an opportunity. And I’m just going to become a middle manager at some company?’ …I felt I had to justify their sacrifice.”
Keep reading to learn more about Herjavec’srags-to-riches story, and his best — and worst — Shark Tank investments.
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In 1970, Herjavec’s family left communist Yugoslavia to start a new life in Canada, where his mother eventually worked as a nurse and his father as a mechanic. But they started out poor.
“I grew up in a village back home and we had dirt floors, pigs running around, no phone or paved streets… but I didn’t know we were poor,” Herjavec told Toronto Waterfront Magazine. “I thought everybody lived like this and I thought it was great. Then I come to Canada, and the other kids tell me I’m poor. I realized we were different. We had to wear the same clothes every day because we had no money. My mom would wash them every day. People made fun of me. That was a really shaping moment for me.”
He went on to attend the University of Toronto in 1984 with majors in political science and English literature, then worked several jobs, including as a debt collector and a field producer for Canada’s Global TV, after graduation. A turning point came when he heard from his roommate about a computer startup called LogiQuest, which sold IBM mainframe emulsion boards, and decided to apply for a job. He didn’t get it (the company founder told him he lacked the necessary experience), but he cut a deal with the boss: He’d work for free for six months, and if by the end of that time he was considered an asset to the business, he’d join the staff. Not only did Herjavec get a job by the end of that agreed-upon time period, but he also went on to become general manager of the organization.
Then another turning point arrived in 1990, when he was fired.
Related: ‘Shark Tank’ Star Shares the Bold Email That Landed Her the Role: ‘This Is Gold’
How did Herjavec get rich?
After losing his job at LogiQuest, Herjavec started a business of his own, BRAK Systems, a cybersecurity-focused firm that took existing software tools (firewalls, encryption, etc.) and configured them for clients, essentially combining them into broader security solutions.
“I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. I just wanted to get a good job. I only became an entrepreneur because I got fired, and I needed to pay my mortgage,” Herjavec told Toronto Waterfront Magazine. “I remember the day I told my mom, ‘I’m going to start a business.’ She looked at me with worry in her face and said, ‘Don’t worry you’ll get another job one day.’ I started my business and I got a job. And I did both for the first three months and then one day, I literally couldn’t do both. So I quit the job.”
About 10 years later, he sold BRAK Systems for $30 million to AT&T Canada.
“At the moment all I remember thinking was — I hope their check clears the bank because I had never seen so much money,” Herjavec told Waterfront. “There is a great piece of advice I always give to entrepreneurs, they say, ‘When do you know it’s time to sell your business?’ I always say, in two situations: one, when the money can change your life, and two, when you don’t have the heart to do it anymore. That money, $30 million changed my life forever, so it was time to sell. The $30 million was so unbelievably more than I could fathom, that I didn’t have the ability to dream any bigger. It took a long time for me to think I [could] do more.” And yet, he did.
Herjavect took a job as VP of Sales at Ramp Network, then built another business, The Herjavec Group, in 2003.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Herjavec is worth $600 million. He’s made his money as an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist, a shark on Shark Tank, an author and more. (He published three books between 2010 and 2016: Driven: How to Succeed in Business and in Life; The Will to Win: Leading, Competing, Succeeding; and You Don’t Have to Be a Shark: Creating Your Own Success.)
Is Robert Herjavec a billionaire?
Herjavec is not a billionaire, but with a net worth of $600 million, he’s more than halfway there. He credits hard work for at least some of his success.
“People aren’t realistic about hard work. They always say they’re willing to work hard, but when push comes to shove, I don’t think many people are,” he told CEO Magazine. “Not in that ‘I’m going to put in an extra two hours’ kind of way, but in that obsessive, compulsive, no-sleep, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes’ kind of way.”
“Great entrepreneurs are by exception, not by right,” he added.
Herjavec started out as an on-camera investor on Dragons' Den, a Canadian reality show adapted from the Japanese original, in 2006. That gig led to him being cast on Shark Tank in 2009. Variety estimated in 2016 that the sharks got paid about $50,000 per episode, but it’s likely they make at least double that now.
Related: 10 of the Best Shark Tank Products of All Time
What is Robert Herjavec’s best Shark Tank investment?
According to Herjavec, his best investment on Shark Tank was with Tipsy Elves, a clothing company known for making “ugly Christmas sweaters” and other holiday apparel.
“Before Tipsy Elves, Christmas sweaters were old, they smelled terrible and you could only find them at your local thrift store,” cofounder Evan Mendelsohnsaid in his 2013 pitch to the sharks.
“Tipsy Elves recreates those sweaters of the past with fun, witty, high-quality quality sweaters that the whole family can enjoy,” his business partner, Nick Morton, added.
Harjevec invested $100,000 for 10 percent stake in the company, which made $160 million in sales in 2024 alone.
@itsdanielmacHis Shark Tank Investment Made $160M This Year ?
♬ original sound - DANIEL MACHerjavec named Breathometer, a smartphone breathalyzer and the first deal all five sharks got in on, as his least favorite investment.
“I think it was Daymond [John] or Mark [Cuban] who went to see the founder [Charles Michael Yim] in San Francisco, because there weren’t any sales, there was no traction," Herjavec recalled. "And [Yim is] sitting down with him and says, ‘Hey man, do you wanna see my brand new car?’ And outside he’s got a brand new Audi R8 sports car. And we’re like, ‘Holy sh-t, is that where our money's going?”
A month later, Yim was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for making false claims about his product. “Long story short, it all turned out to be pixie dust,” Herjavec said. “We all lost our money.”
Who is the wealthiest investor on Shark Tank?
The wealthiest investor on Shark Tank used to be Mark Cuban, whose net worth stands at $6 billion, but he left the show in Season 16. His replacement, Kind founder Daniel Lubetzky, is now the richest shark with a net worth of $2.3 billion.
The complete ranking of the sharks' net worths, lowest to highest, is as follows:
Lori Greiner net worth: $150 million
Kevin O’Leary net worth: $400 million
Daniel Lubetzky net worth: $2.3 billion
Kevin O’Leary net worth: $400 million
Daniel Lubetzky net worth: $2.3 billion
Next: ‘Shark Tank’ Returns for Season 17 With the ‘Biggest Deals Ever’ — And Pete Davidson
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