They’re successful business people who have become television superstars. But what do we really know about the stars of Dragons’ Den?
We know that Kevin O’Leary is the founder of mutual fund company O’Leary Funds; Jim Treliving is the chairman and owner of Boston Pizza; Arlene Dickinson is the CEO of Venture Communications; Robert Herjavec is the president of The Herjavec Group; and W. Brett Wilson is the co-founder and chairman of FirstEnergy Capital Corp.
But how did they get their start? They just didn’t fall into success. Where did they grow up? Was O’Leary always a blunt, cutthroat guy? What made Wilson such a soft-hearted guy?
The excellent season finale of Dragons’ Den answers all of those questions, as TV cameras follow all five when they return to their roots, popping into their old neighbourhoods, reflecting on what got them to where they are today, and the regrets they’ve picked up along the way.
It all starts with W. Brett Wilson, who jets to North Battleford, Saskatchewan. The curly-haired success story left home at 16, and got swept up in the Alberta boom of the 80s, where he made the bulk of his riches. Wilson gets misty as he recalls the long working hours, hours that he at the time thought were worth it because he was earning money for his family. A divorce later, Wilson says he made the wrong call, and considers himself lucky that he has fostered a grounded and loving relationship with his children.
Robert Herjavec returns to his native Croatia, where he spent his formative years on a farm with his aunt and uncle, and then to Rexdale, Ont., where he breaks down in tears in front of his wife at the sight of his family’s old apartment.
Arlene Dickinson tells of becoming a single mom with four kids and working her way up; Jim Trevliving waxes nostalgic on his years with the RCMP and a fateful stop into an Edmonton restaurant called Boston Pizza.
But perhaps the most fascinating story is that of Kevin O’Leary, who went from a long-haired, and even longer sideburned troublemaker with no direction from the streets of suburban Montreal to the stinking rich, driven, take-no-prisoners guy he is today.
And to see him tear up when he talks about his first job drives home just how much the Dragons have given to this country, and how much they have gotten back in return. As WWF play-by-play man Billy Red Lyons would say, “Doncha dare miss it!”
Dragons’ Den airs Wednesday, March 17 at 8 p.m. ET on CBC
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