15 Things You Didn’t Know about Robert Herjavec

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Robert Herjavec is a famous man in just about every industry.  He’s a Shark Tank investor.  He owns one of the most successful IT companies in the world. He is a reality television dancer. He’s a father and a fiancé, a son and a businessman. He’s charming and intelligent, and quite witty. He likes to back those who have the potential to turn their little idea into millions, and he does not have time in his life to focus on anything but what matters.

He prefers honesty and eloquence, people who say what they mean and people who are ready to take on the world. He’s a man worth knowing if you have the chance to know him, and he’s someone we think we could all learn a few valuable lessons from in our lives.

Here are some things you didn’t know about Robert Herjavec.

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R. Herjavec

Net Worth

Robert Herjavec is a wealthy man. His business ventures have allowed him to make a lot of money over the course of his career, and he is not ashamed of the fact that he can earn more in a month than many people will earn over the course of their entire lives. His estimated net worth as of 2016 is $200 million, and it is only growing at a rapid pace. His investments, businesses and his endeavors have paid of tremendously over the course of his career, and his net worth proves that he is a successful man.

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Robert Herjavec

He Was Born Out of the Country

Robert Herjavec was not born an American citizen. In fact, he didn’t live here for a very long time. When he was born in 1962, it was in a small country called Croatia. At that time, the country was not nearly as popular or as trendy as it is today, and many people had never heard of it at that time. He lived there for the first 8 years of his life until his family made the decision to move, taking him with and leaving Croatia behind forever. It was a big move for the family.

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Robert Herjavec

English Is Not His Native Language

When Robert Herjavec was born, he was born in Croatia. What this means is that he did not learn to speak English as it is not the native language over there. He moved to Toronto at the age of 8 and could not speak a word of English. This made the already very stressful transition for a little boy and his family even more difficult. None of his family spoke English at the time, and they had to learn by teaching themselves and by doing all they could to fit in where they decided to go.

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Robert Herjavec

He Grew Up Poor

When he was eight and his family moved to Canada, they had with them only one suitcase of personal belongings and a $20 bill in hand. For the first 18 months that they lived in Canada, the family lived in the basement of a friend’s house while they worked and saved money so that they could move into their own house. However, they were never able to make much money when Herjavec was a child, and they always lived a life that was pretty desperate and never wealthy.

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robert herjavec

His Father Taught Him Never to Complain

As a child, he came home one day to tell his family that his classmates were not being very nice to him. Robert Herjavec was not having any of that. He told his family about the situation hoping that they would have some advice for him. They did, but it was not what he might have expected from them. His father told him that he must never complain, as people do not like complainers and those who complain will never get anywhere in life. From that point forward, he made the decision not to complain and instead, he only focused on the good in his life.

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Robert Herjavec

He Supported His Family

When Robert Herjavec graduated from college, he had a family to support. It was the early 1990s and he had to do something to help his parents care for themselves, so he decided that his career would have to wait as he had to care for them. He took on odd jobs doing things like waiting tables and delivering papers so that he could help put food on the table and make money for rent and other expenses. It was a number of years before he finally put aside his desire to work for other people for minimum wage and take his career into his own hands.

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Robert Herjavec

He Worked His First Computer Job for Free

When he was working in the film industry, Robert Herjavec wanted to get a job with a company that sold IBM. However, he was not even remotely qualified for the job. To ensure he was given the job, he decided that he would tell the company he would work free of charge for six months. He was so good at what he did that he eventually went on to become the General Manager for Logiquest. It is, as they say, how he began his quest to become one of the most prolific and most successful businessmen in the world.

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Robert Herjavec

Being Fired Made Him Rich

It was 1990 when Robert Herjavec was fired from his job at Logiquest. Why he was fired is not something we are privy to, but he was able to lose his job there and quickly become a millionaire. At home, he created a business called BRAK Systems. It was wildly successful for many years, and it only took him 10 years to sell the company to AT&T in Canada for a reported $30.2 million. It was a huge moment for him, and one he is not likely to ever forget.

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Robert Herjavec

He Pays Attention to Body Language

When your body language says that you are not being honest, not ready for something and not thinking what you are saying, Robert Herjavec will not pay much attention to you. He knows that the way in which you carry yourself belies the kind of person that you are and that you want to be. He is more apt to focus on someone with fantastic body language than he is someone without it. He knows that it’s important in any industry, but especially his.

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He Loves Car Racing

As a very strict businessman, it often surprises the people who do not know Robert Herjavec very well that he enjoys to spend his free time racing cars. It’s a passion of his to do this, and it’s something that he’s been doing for many years. He is one of the many celebrities and businessmen who like to participate in the Ferrari Challenge, and he has a racing team in the Ferrari division. It’s a passion of his; a great love that he will not give up for most anything else in this life.

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Robert Herjavec

He Collects Rare Cars

Robert Herjavec has a couple hundred million dollars in his bank account that he can use to do whatever he wants, and he likes to find the world’s oldest, rarest cars and buy them. He keeps them in his private collection and he makes sure they are all pristine, and in wonderful condition. We simply do not know, however, if it takes any of his other cars from the collection on the road or if he chooses to keep them in the correct condition and stores them only to look at them and have them.

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Robert Herjavec

He’s Divorced

When he first began his own business back in 1990, Robert Herjavec married a woman by the name of Diane Plese. The two were married for more than 20 years, deciding to call it quits on their marriage in 2014. It was announced that they were separated at that time, but their divorce was not finalized until very early in 2016. It seems that they’ve been quite amicable about things in their marriage and in their divorce, but most of their private information has remained private over the past few years.

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Robert Herjavec

He’s A Father

You’re not married to someone for nearly 24 years without having some kids. Some people are, but not Robert Herjavec. He has three kids with his ex-wife. His daughters are Caprice and Skye, and his son is Brendan. He and his wife worked hard to raise their kids together, and they were able to do so in that they are all successful and all very intelligent kids. He sees them regularly, and he has a good relationship with all three kids and with his ex-wife, which is something he feels is important when raising children with someone.

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He’s Engaged

During the time he was freshly separated from his ex-wife, Robert Herjavec decided to partake on a little show that showcases famous people dancing. He was cast on Dancing with the Stars, and he was partnered with the very talented Ms. Kym Johnson. There was a bit of speculation that the two might be closer than they seemed on the show, but they did not confirm their relationship until late 2015. The couple became engaged shortly after his divorce was finalized. There is currently no official word on when they will wed, only that they are in the midst of planning their wedding.

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robert herjavec

He Believes in Dressing For What You Want in Life

Robert Herjavec once worked in a menswear store growing up. He learned from his coworkers that certain people were more successful than others based on the way that they dressed. He would find those who were already wearing nice clothes, focus on them and then get them to spend more. The science of it was that those who were already dressed well had more money to spend than those not dressed well – he realizes this is not always the case, however. One of his big pet peeves in life is when someone walks into an interview not dressed well. He believes if you want success, you dress for it.

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Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.