'Shark Tank' Investor Daymond John Has a Lot of Clothes Money
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Daymond John, already successful as the founder and CEO of FUBU, became “The People’s Shark” after he was approached to join Shark Tank in 2008.
“When I got the call it was a waste of my time. I was like, ‘This crappy show? Nobody will ever watch it. Who the hell is going to watch five business people talking?’” John told Business Insider. Nonetheless, he saw Shark Tank as an opportunity to diversify his brand, and was pleasantly surprised when the show took off.
Since then, John has authored multiple bestselling books, founded The Shark Group to help grow small businesses and was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship by President Barack Obama.
Here’s a look at the entrepreneur’s current net worth (and exactly how he made those millions).
How did Daymond John get so rich?
John’s shark tale started in 1992, when he co-founded the hip-hop fashion brand FUBU.
FUBU, which stands for “For Us, By Us,” was a shared project between John and three friends from Queens, New York: Carl Brown, Keith Perrin and J. Alexander Martin. The mission was to sell streetwear made by the people who wore it, hence the acronym.
"'[I would] come home at night, sew shirts, wake up in the morning and deliver the shirts, then go back to Red Lobster, because I had to pay the bills," John told CNN Business. "But I also wanted to chase this dream, so I had to give up every single thing for it."
John hustled to turn his business into a real brand, marketing himself on rappers’ NYC video sets and even turning his house into a factory. And it worked—at its peak in 1998, FUBU was making $350 million in yearly sales. Although the apparel company was more popular in the 1990s and early 2000s than it is today, it still enjoys worldwide recognition.
Related: How Shark Tank Star Lori Greiner Became a (Very Rich) QVC Queen
What is Daymond John's net worth?
In 2023, Daymond John is worth an estimated $350 million.
How much is FUBU worth?
FUBU is not a publicly traded company, so is not required to release its financial information. However, according to Forbes, the brand has grossed more than $6 billion worldwide since its founding.
Is Daymond from Shark Tank a billionaire?
With a net worth of $350 million, John hasn’t reached billionaire status. But that doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. In his 2018 book Rise and Grind, John says he’s never been busier or more ambitious in his life.
“I think entrepreneurship is in everybody's blood,” John told Business Insider in a 2018 podcast episode. “It's just sometimes the people [...] around us, or society, tells us that we can't do what we are dreaming about doing. But as a kid none of us sit there and go, "It can't be done." We all go, "I'm going to be Superman." We grow up dreaming, right?”
Is Daymond the richest shark?
While hundreds of millions is nothing to sniff it, John is nowhere near the richest shark. That title goes to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, whose net worth rings in at $5.1 billion, per the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
Related: How Did Mark Cuban Get So Rich?
How much did Daymond make on Bombas?
John’s investment in sock company Bombas is one of his most successful to date. Founders David Heath and Randy Goldberg pitched the sharks in 2014, when they had just $45,000 in sales. For every pair of ultra-comfy Bombas socks sold, another pair would be donated to charity. This resonated with John, who, as the only shark interested, invested $200,000 for a 17.5% stake.
“No. 1 the socks are amazing, they have no seams on the front so your toe doesn’t get jammed up,” John said on a podcast episode of The James Altucher Show. “No. 2 is they donate a pair to the homeless shelter, because the homeless, one of their biggest challenges [is] the care for their feet.”
Another reason Bombas attracted John was its direct-to-customer sales model—in fact, he encouraged Heath and Goldberg to stay out of brick and mortar.
According to CNBC Make It, Bombas was bringing in about $100 million a year in 2018. This marked a big jump from $46.6 million in 2017 and a massive leap from $4.6 million in 2015. The brand has also expanded past socks into T-shirts and underwear.
As of 2023, Bombas’ yearly revenue is unknown, but it’s thought to be worth around $100 million, according to Market Realist. John’s 17.5% stake would give him a $17.5 million piece of that pie—but it’s impossible to know how much John has really made from the company.
Why did Daymond John get a restraining order against former Shark Tank contestants?
In late July, John made headlines when he secured a restraining order against former Shark Tank contestants Al “Bubba” Baker and his family. The action was taken to prevent the family from making defamatory comments about John and their 2013 deal with him on Shark Tank.
Baker, a former NFL player, went on the show to pitch his barbecue restaurant and its signature de-boned baby back rib steak. John invested $300,000 for a 30% stake in the business. However, things soured when Baker and his family later accused John of taking more than his fair share of profits.
In 2019, a legal settlement was reached where Baker, his wife and daughter were barred from publicly disparaging John. But they broke the agreement in May through an L.A. Times article, calling their deal with John a “nightmare,” among other things.
John was granted a permanent injunction in court, meaning the Bakers are no longer allowed to make comments against him and must take down preexisting social media posts that do so.
"The decision against the Bakers, their company and their false statements is a moment of vindication," John told CBS MoneyWatch in a statement. "The actual facts, the record and the federal judge's opinion have confirmed that I did not—and could not have—committed any wrongdoing. Let this be a reminder of the importance of the truth in an age of misinformation and clickbait."
How much does Daymond John make for an episode of Shark Tank?
In 2016, Variety reported that the sharks get paid around $50,000 per episode of Shark Tank. While there’s no public information to say otherwise, John could very likely be making more than that today, as the hit ABC show heads into its 15th season.
Next, You Have Yourself a Deal! All About Shark Tank Season 15
