'Shark Tank' Investor Robert Herjavec Has a True Rags to Riches Story

The sharks of Shark Tank aren’t just judges — they’re investors. This means that every potential win for a Shark Tank contestant is money out of the shark’s pockets. One of our favorite sharks is Robert Herjavec, a rags-to-riches entrepreneur whose family emigrated to Canada from Yugoslavia in 1970 with $20 in their pocket.

Now, Robert is one of North America’s richest men. He has several successful business and investment ventures, alongside real estate opportunities, book deals, television appearances, and other cash cows. So, what is Robert’s net worth?

As of August 2023, it was reported that Robert’s net worth was upwards of $300 million. Of course, based on various investments, this can change at the drop of a hat. We’re pretty sure he has a pretty good buffer to remain one of the wealthiest men in North America no matter what. However, Robert didn’t begin his career as an entrepreneur.

At first, Robert went into film and television, working as a third assistant director on productions such as Cain and Abel and The Return of Billy Jack in the mid-1980s. Between film work, he found a position at Logiquest selling their IBM mainframe emulation boards. He rose in the ranks up to the General Manager of Logiquest. After he was fired, Robert founded his own tech security company in Canada called BRAK Systems.

It was this venture that turned Robert into the mogul he is today. He sold BRAK Systems to AT&T Canada in 2000 for $30.2 million and then became the VP of Sales at Ramp Network, which then sold to Nokia for $225 million. By 2003, he founded The Herjevac Group to integrate and manage tech security solutions, one of Canada’s fastest-growing tech companies.

With The Herjevac Group at his fingertips, Robert is a well-known business mogul who has appeared on America’s Shark Tank, Australia’s Shark Tank, and Canada’s version of the show, called Dragon’s Den (which is a way cooler title). Through these shows, Robert has successfully invested in companies such as Tipsy Elves, Aura Bora, and more.

In addition to his business ventures, Robert invests plenty in real estate. He owns a $7.5 million home in Bridle Path, Toronto, that has been featured on MTV Cribs, Joan Rivers’s How’d You Get So Rich?, and a Rolling Stones tour. The mansion has even hosted celebs like Michael Bublé and Bono, but that isn't Robert’s only home. He also has several vacation homes around the world.

Despite all of his success, Robert came from a modest background. His family emigrated from Zbjeg, Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia) in 1970 when he was 8 years old. According to various interviews, Robert explained that his father, Vladimir, was jailed because of his outspoken ideology against Communism.

“I came from Croatia, where my dad would tell me he was a political prisoner,” he told Fortune in 2016. “He’d drink a little too much, say bad things about Communism, and got thrown into jail 22 times for being an anti-Communist. In 1970 he escaped from jail, grabbed my mom and me, and we hightailed it out of there. I was 8 years old.”

They arrived in Canada (after getting rejected from the U.S.) with one suitcase, $20, and little to no English-speaking abilities. Like many children of immigrants, Robert was the translator for his family, helping them understand legal documents like leases and mortgages. His father worked in a factory and Robert was the “poorest kid in [his] class.” But through his hard work and grit, Robert is now a multi-millionaire mogul with his own Cinderella story.