'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O'Leary says he 'will never invest in New York' after Trump ruling

Even before the ruling, "New York was already a loser state," O'Leary said.

Published: February 20, 2024 10:57am

Kevin O'Leary, the "Shark Tank" investor known as "Mr. Wonderful," said he would "never invest in New York" again and other investors feel the same way after a state judge ruled that former President Donald Trump would have to pay more than $350 million in a civil fraud case brought by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James.

"Leaving the whole Trump thing out of it and seeing what occurred, I'm no different than any other investor. I'm shocked at this. I cannot understand or fathom the decision at all. There's no rationale for it," O'Leary, the chairman of O'Leary Ventures, said Monday on Fox Business.

O'Leary also said that "New York was already a loser state" due to its policies, including high taxes, and this title was only cemented further after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump responsible for fraud before the trial even began.

The judge later ordered Trump to pay about $355 million and he banned the former president from serving as a director of a New York-based business for three years. Engoron also fined Trump's two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, $4 million and banned them from being directors of businesses in the state for two years.

"I would never invest in New York now, and I'm not the only person saying that," O'Leary also said. Rather than investing in New York, O'Leary said he is looking into Oklahoma, North Dakota and West Virginia because they are "winner states."

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