
‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary circling to buy TikTok â if Trump can sway China to sellÂ
‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary circling to buy TikTok â if Trump can sway China to sellÂ
Author: Charles Gasparino
Published on: 2025-01-17 12:00:00
Source: Latest Technology News and Product Reviews | New York Post
Disclaimer:All rights are owned by the respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended.
Kevin OâLeary wants to buy TikTok and he spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago trying to convince President-elect Donald Trump heâs the right guy to run the controversial short video app.
Several news reports said OâLeary â aka Mr. Wonderful of the âShark Tankâ franchise â was hanging at The Donaldâs Palm Beach resort to discuss Trumpâs musings about buying parts of the Western Hemisphere, including his native Canada.
But On The Money has learned the â51st stateâ wasnât high on the agenda, TikTok was. OâLeary, a serial entrepreneur, wants to add the app to his holdings.

Not an easy lift even the future of the app operating in the US is in jeopardy.
TikTok is popular particularly with the younger set, but a bipartisan-supported ban is set to go into effect if the Chinese company ByteDance, which answers to the Chinese Communist Party, doesnât divest the app in the US by Sunday.
The fear is that the CCP is using the app for spy craft purposes.
One of the few things Republicans agreed with President Joe Biden about even as his wonky presidency comes to an end was to ban TikTok and remove the threat by making it impossible to download it from US app stores.
The Chinese donât want to sell the all-important algorithm that allows you to post all those crazy dance videos and have vowed to shut it down.
But OâLeary tells On The Money heâs teaming up with billionaire Frank McCourt and has enough money â say $20 billion plus â to both build out their own app and buy the name and business from the Chinese â if they are sellers.
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Thatâs where Trump comes in. Trump also wanted to ban TikTok back during his first term but he is now a convert since he believes he was able to use the app to gain voters, particularly among young people.
He could use his sway with Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a deal that gets it out of Chinese hands at a price that makes everyone happy.
On Wednesday, reports surfaced that Trump was considering issuing an executive order as soon as he gets into the White House on Monday that would delay the ban by a few months.
OâLeary told On The Money that Trump simply wants the business in US hands (presumably his Canadian citizenship is close enough).
But Trump, he said, made no commitment, specifically to him.
Disclaimer: All rights are owned by the respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended.