Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary has a blunt message for entrepreneurs tempted to wade into political fights: it's bad for business. Taking sides might feel satisfying, but it comes with a steep cost.

Why Political Neutrality Pays

In a Monday post on X, O'Leary tackled a question he gets constantly about balancing business with political commentary. His answer was simple and direct.

"People always ask how I mix business and politics. I don't. The minute you pick a side, you piss off 50% of the market. I focus on policy, not politics," he wrote.

The distinction matters. O'Leary isn't suggesting entrepreneurs ignore how regulations or laws affect their operations. He's saying there's a difference between understanding practical rules that shape your business environment and engaging in partisan warfare on social media.

"You don't make money being loud online, you make money understanding the rules," he added.

Entrepreneurship As The Ultimate Competition

O'Leary previously compared running a business to playing professional sports, highlighting how both involve intense pressure but operate on different timelines. Athletes deal with career spans measured in years, while entrepreneurs face decades of ongoing challenges and competitive battles.

That's why athletes like Tom Brady and Shaquille O'Neal often pivot to business after retirement. They're still competing, just in what O'Leary calls "the biggest sport on earth now… MONEY."

When asked how he'd make $10,000 in 30 days starting from zero, O'Leary pointed to a skill many businesses still struggle with: short-form video for customer acquisition. He'd offer it on a results-based deal, monetizing a basic social media capability.

His financial discipline traces back to his mother, Georgette, who invested a portion of her weekly earnings into dividend-paying stocks and bonds while never touching the principal. That approach shaped his investing philosophy and eventually led him to build an indexing company early in his career.