Lori Greiner's 'Shark Tank' Investments Are Really Paying Off
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Lori Greiner, Queen of QVC, the “warm-blooded shark" ... call her what you want, but these names have one common denominator: success. Greiner is best known as a retail product inventor and TV personality, and joined the ABC’s hit show Shark Tank in 2012.
Although she’s not as rich as other sharks, particularly billionaire shark Mark Cuban, Greiner brings to the show decades of retail marketing experience. She holds 120 domestic and international patents and has created more than 1,000 successful products.
Here’s more on Greiner’s backstory and how she became the millionaire investor we know today.
How did Lori Greiner get so rich?
Greiner didn’t exactly come from humble beginnings. Growing up in Chicago, her father was a successful real-estate developer and her mother a respected psychotherapist. However, Greiner’s own rise to acclaim came from her creativity and knack for knowing what people will spend their money on.
“I think most people are born being a certain type or have a certain affinity to be better at certain things. I was always a creative person,” she told Forbes in 2014.
This quality served her well. In the mid-1990s, she invented a plastic earring organizer, patented it and launched her first company. The earring organizer was an immediate hit at JCPenney, which allowed Greiner to expand her business into other product categories, such as travel, electronics and household items.
“Typically, I get my best ideas when I am on an airplane! It's quiet and I have time to think and focus. [...] Often, my products are created from my own needs or the needs of others around me,” she said in the same interview.
By 2000, Greiner’s business had made over $10 million from products she sold through JCPenney, Bed Bath & Beyond and the Home Shopping Network. It was enough to land her a spot on QVC, a TV network specifically for home shopping. The show, Clever & Unique Creations by Lori Greiner, ran for 20 years, and turned her into a big enough name that she was invited to join the Shark Tank cast in its fourth season. She remains a shark as the series heads into its 15th season this fall.
What is Lori Greiner’s net worth?
Lori Greiner’s net worth reportedly sits at an impressive $150 million in 2023—a product of not only her millions in retail sales but the investments she’s made on Shark Tank, as well as her bestselling book, Invent It, Sell It, Bank It!: Make Your Million-Dollar Idea into a Reality.
Related: Find Out Mark Cuban's 10-Figure Net Worth in 2023
Is Lori Greiner still on QVC?
Greiner, often referred to as the “Queen of QVC,” was with the network for over two decades. However, in 2020 she decided to step away from her spot at QVC, instead focusing on her own brand and Shark Tank.
Does Lori Greiner sell products on QVC?
Although Greiner relinquished her permanent place in QVC’s lineup, that doesn’t mean she’s left it entirely. Greiner makes frequent guest host appearances and sells many of her products on the shopping network, a role that still holds value for her.
“I made my career on TV because I happened to invent highly demonstrable products, so that's where I knew I would see my biggest success. I didn't set out to be a serial inventor. After my first product was a success, the buyers wanted more and more. I was driven to keep creating by QVC and my customers,” Greiner told Entrepreneur.
How much did Lori make off Scrub Daddy?
Scrub Daddy, a sponge brand, appeared on Shark Tank in 2012, Greiner’s first year on the show. What made the product unique was its ability to change textures based on a fluid’s temperature. For that reason, multiple sharks were interested, but Greiner sealed the deal by ponying up $200,000 for a 20% stake in the company. And it’s been one of her best investments to date.
After making the Scrub Daddy deal, Greiner took to QVC the next day and sold 42,000 sponges in seven minutes. She also helped Scrub Daddy’s founder, Aaron Krause, get his product into retail stores, which expanded its reach far beyond the QVC and Shark Tank audiences.
It’s hard to know exactly how much Greiner has made from Scrub Daddy, as it's a privately held company that’s not required to announce earnings or revenue. However, in mid-2022 Yahoo! Finance reported that more than 10 million units had been sold; and other sources say Scrub Daddy has generated $209 million in revenue.
Greiner’s own website claims Scrub Daddy has done more than $400 million in retail sales. Whatever the case, with her 20% stake Greiner has surely banked millions from her investment.
Related: Barbara Corcoran's Net Worth in 2023 Is Fit for a Real-Estate Queen
How much did Lori Greiner make from Squatty Potty?
Squatty Potty is another of Greiner’s wildly successful Shark Tank deals. Its founders, Bobby and Judy Edwards, appeared on the show in 2014. Their product, what is essentially a bathroom footstool, was designed to create healthy toilet posture and alleviate constipation. Greiner invested $350,000 for a 10% stake in the company.
As of 2023, Squatty Potty is valued at around $50 million. With her 10% stake, that puts Greiner’s share at $5 million. The company has done an impressive $222 million in retail sales, per Greiner’s website.
How much does Lori Greiner make for an episode of Shark Tank?
According to an estimate from Variety, each of the sharks, including Lori Greiner, make $50,000 for an episode of Shark Tank. While this may seem like a low TV salary when compared to the likes of, say, Angela Bassett, who makes $450,000 per episode of 9-1-1, the sharks do have the added bonus of investment earnings if their deals in the tank pay off. For Greiner, there’s also a personal payoff.
“Today, people say that I move at lightning speed and I humbly say that I have helped many of the most successful products in Shark Tank history, including Simply Fit Board, Scrub Daddy, Squatty Potty, Bantam Bagels and Sleep Styler to name a few,” she told Entrepreneur. “I strive to make people's lives easier and better, and I find that's a primary force behind my passion for empowering entrepreneurs.”
How much does Lori Greiner make a year?
With her many income streams, Greiner’s yearly income is almost impossible to nail down. We do know that she makes an estimated $1.1 million for a 22-episode season of Shark Tank and about $5 million per year from her retail business (the one she founded when she invented her very first product). From her many investments as a shark, bestselling book and new production company, she’s likely banking millions more.
Next, You Have Yourself a Deal! All About Shark Tank Season 15
