Shark Tank

Alex Rodriguez ain't no dumb jock -- he's a legit business mogul who should be a ROLE MODEL for pro athletes who wanna STAY rich after their playing days are over ... so says Kevin O'Leary.

The "Shark Tank" star says he was REALLY impressed with A-Rod when he appeared on the show last season ... saying, "The guy is, for an ex-athlete, very savvy on business."

In fact, Mr. Wonderful heaped all sorts of praise on the guy for figuring out how to invest and run a company while he was still playing ball ... so the transition was easy.

"He's kind of a model of what should happen to athletes," O'Leary says ... "Learn something while you're in the game, you've got your cash to reinvest it."

Kevin O'Leary straight-up says 99 percent of Facebook users don't give a damn about its data breach crisis ... and business will continue as usual in no time.

We got the "Shark Tank" star leaving Craig's Monday night and wanted to get his take on whether Facebook's latest scandal will bring down the social media giant. Kevin's adamant ... FB will NOT go down after it shockingly announced more than 87 million users -- mostly in the U.S. -- had their personal data improperly accessed by the data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

Kevin says it's simple ... a whole new generation simply couldn't give a crap.

One of the investors on "Shark Tank" says he'd shell out the dough to buy Martin Shkreli's rare Wu-Tang Clan album now that he's going to jail ... but there's a catch.

Our camera guy ran into Fubu founder Daymond John, who tells us he'd absolutely be willing to drop $2 million Wu-Tang album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" -- but wouldn't just sit on it like Shkreli did ... he'd make his money back by selling it to the public.

It's a smart business move -- the guy's on 'ST' after all -- but the record might not even be up for grabs in the long run. The feds say they'll seize Shkreli's property if he can't pay his victims restitution on the heels of a 7-year prison sentence in his securities fraud case.

Kevin O'Leary's not done getting you drunk, and he's not done riding the "Shark Tank" wave either -- 'cause he might have some wonderful drank coming your way soon.

O'Leary just applied to trademark "Mr. Wonderful" for a variety of alcoholic products, which we imagine the multimillionaire entrepreneur wants to sell to the masses. He's also aiming to sell books and pamphlets featuring the beverages.

In case you don't know ... O'Leary's nickname on the reality show is Mr. Wonderful. So yeah ... drink that in. The booze he wants to brand includes just about everything but beer -- so we might be seeing "Mr. Wonderful" shots of tequila and wine coolers any day now.

Speaking of wine ... O'Leary already has an entire collection named after himself -- otherwise known as O'Leary Fine Wines. Those retail for about $25 a bottle.

No word on what his 'Wonderful' hooch might go for, though.

Kevin O'Leary is in a pretty good mood, considering he and the other "Shark Tank" moguls missed out on a cut of $1 BILLION Amazon paid for a product they let slip through their hands.

Mr. Wonderful talked to us about whiffing on Ring, a smart doorbell company once pitched on "Shark Tank" (as DoorBot) by its creator Jamie Siminoff. Kevin proudly reminded us he's the only shark who made an offer.

Even though he couldn't close the deal, Kev has no hard feelings and says he KNEW Jamie was gonna make it big.

Now that Siminoff's a billionaire, Mr. Wonderful has some advice for him on what to do with his cheddar. Hint: It's time to swim with the sharks.

One of Mark Cuban's "Shark Tank" business partners says the billionaire always acted like a consummate pro with her ... and she'd be SHOCKED if he really did know about the horrible things happening with the Dallas Mavs.

We spoke with Raven Thomas who got Mark to invest in her gourmet food business -- The Painted Pretzel -- during a 2012 episode of "Shark Tank."

Thomas had nothing but positive things to say about her 6-year work relationship with Cuban -- and says he's always been a respectful partner and honorable business owner.

In fact, Thomas says she was "shocked" by the allegations that the Mavs' front office was a nightmare for women ... saying, "I would be surprised, shocked if he had any knowledge of this and didn't do anything about it."

Thomas says she's also spoken with other people who work with Mark and has not heard anything negative about their experiences.

The company Mark Cuban handed $2 million dollars on "Shark Tank" to scare the living daylights out of people ... is now getting sued for an allegedly terrifying injury.

Ten Thirty One Productions famously creates frightening Halloween experiences, and one of them was on NYC's Randall's Island in 2016 -- the Haunted Hayride. A woman who was attending says a fog machine fell during her fright night ... and banged her on the head.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, she says she suffered serious and permanent injuries that have prevented her from performing her regular duties.

She's suing Ten Thirty One -- which also produces the "Great Horror Camp Out" -- to compensate her for her medical costs, plus damages. She is not suing Cuban.

One of the guys who successfully pitched the Paint Brush Cover to Mark Cuban and the rest of the "Shark Tank" team got swept up in a cocaine bust this week.

John DePaola was arrested Sunday as part of a massive drug bust in New Jersey in an operation prosecutors are calling Operation Snowball. Law enforcement officials believe DePaola is one of 9 people tied to a cocaine distribution ring.

The group was allegedly moving about one third of a kilo per week. Cops say they confiscated more than 700 grams of coke, and $14,943.

"Shark Tank" star Robert Herjavec says an ex-girlfriend of his is trying to exploit the Harvey Weinstein/Hollywood sexual harassment scandal by extorting him for millions of dollars over what he says are false claims of sexual assault.

Herjavec has sued Danielle Vasinova, whom he dated from 2013 to 2015. He says when he ended the relationship she became a woman scorned and threatened to go public with false claims he gave her herpes and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Herjavec says at one point she demanded $20 million in return for her silence, and he told her to kick rocks. He says at one point she reduced her demand to $5 million which he squarely rejected.

He also says she sold a story to the National Enquirer about his romp with her at a sex fantasy club. Herjavec says in Sept., 2014, Vasinova invited him to the sex club, telling him it was "a legitimate, fantasy experience ... innocent fun." He went, and consented to be strapped to a table and blindfolded, after which he was tickled with a feather.

Herjavec says unbeknownst to him, Vasinova took pictures of him while he was blindfolded, which she used in her extortion attempt.

Herjavec says after her extortion attempt failed he didn't hear from her for a while, until Monday, when he got a letter from her attorney saying Vasinova was threatening to reignite her assault claims. The letter says, "she bears full awareness that the problems plaguing Hollywood are far bigger than she is, and appreciates fully that her willingness to come forward now will not only be cathartic for her, but will go far in serving the interests of other women and men who have not yet found their voices."

According to the lawsuit, the letter goes on to suggest an "informal resolution" -- which Herjavec interprets as renewed extortion.

They're not just money partners, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Cuban have been actively mentoring Chris Gronkowski ever since making a deal for his Shaker Cup Company on "Shark Tank."

Chris -- supported by Rob Gronkowski and the rest of his musclebound bros -- sold 15% of his Ice Shaker biz to A-Rod and Mark for $150k on Sunday's show (which was taped months ago).

TMZ Sports spoke with Chris (who also played in the NFL) to find out how his new business partners are REALLY like to work with off camera ... and it sounds AWESOME!

"It's a dream," Gronk says ... explaining that both sharks are extremely accessible to him and usually email back within 10 mins when he's got a question.

But it wasn't all sunshine and roses on the show -- Chris says one of the sharks he turned down gave him TERRIBLE advice ... and he's definitely putting her on blast now!

Mark Cuban just got a ringing endorsement for President from old pal Daymond John ... who couldn't stop singing the guy praises.

We got Daymond outside Craig's Sunday night where the baller "Shark Tank" star ran down a list of reasons why he's hopping on the "Cuban for President" train. Remember ... Mark's seriously flirting with the idea, and if Trump can win, anything's possible.

Check it out ... Daymond says Mark's innate ability to relate and care about people makes him the perfect candidate. It's so eloquently said he's now got us thinking ... Daymond for Veep?!

Barbara Corcoran was hangin' onto Keo Motsepe for dear life ... hangin' onto his junk.

The "Shark Tank" star and her pro dancer scored a 14 on the season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" Monday ... but the bigger story was Barbara grabbing onto Keo's crotch as the judges were dishing scores.

What's unclear is if Babs was oblivious or conscious that she was in the region.

One of the biz moguls on "Shark Tank" thinks Apple's latest iPhone is priced ridiculously ... but it's still gonna sell like crazy and it will make him a bloody fortune.

We got Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary Wednesday at LAX and he says the reason the iPhone X is gonna be so damn expensive at $1,000-plus is 'cause Apple has become a luxury brand, and more than that ... it's turned into a lifestyle.

Maybe Tom Brady's $500,000 valuation for his stolen Super Bowl 51 jersey ain't so far off after all -- because "Shark Tank" star Robert Herjavec says he's down to pony up that kinda dough.

The company behind Scrub Daddy -- the most successful product ever pitched on "Shark Tank" -- is accusing a man of tricking customers with a knockoff sponge.

Scrub Daddy says Brian Reaux's attempt to push "Scrub 'N EZ" will confuse faithful Scrub Daddy customers because of the similar name and use of a smiley face ... this according to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, Scrub Daddy also has beef with Reaux marketing his sponge holder as fitting "perfectly in Scrub Daddy [sponges]."

SD has reportedly generated more than $75 mil since striking a deal with Lori Greiner on the show. The company wants "Scrub 'N EZ" to change its name, and quit using Scrub Daddy in advertising.

The co-founder of a product featured on "Shark Tank" is in serious trouble after he was busted for allegedly pulling a gun on someone outside his home.

Burbank police tell TMZ ... Mike Barzman -- who pitched "Invisiplug" in season 5 -- went off the rails earlier this month on a man smoking in front of his house. We're told Mike got into a heated argument over the ciggy, and pulled out a gun threatening to kill the man.

We're told cops arrived at his home the next day and recovered a semi-automatic handgun. Barzman was arrested for felony assault with a firearm. He posted $50k bail the next day.

Barzman's attorney, Gregory Brenner, says his client did have an unloaded gun on him ... but never pointed it at the smoker and never threatened him. In fact, he says Barzman is the one who felt threatened.