November 10, 2024

‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary says he won’t invest in ‘loser’ New York after $355M judgment against Trump

New York #NewYork

“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary said he won’t be pouring any money into “loser” New York after a Manhattan judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $355 million as part of a civil lawsuit alleging fraudulent business practices.

O’Leary issued his warning to real estate investors following Friday’s decision by Judge Arthur Engoron that Trump and his two eldest sons lied about his wealth and inflated the value of his assets.

“This award, I mean, just leaving the whole Trump thing out of it and seeing what occurred here … And I’m no different than any other investor, I’m shocked at this,” O’Leary told Fox Business Network on Monday.

O’Leary, a judge on the hit reality show known as “Mr. Wonderful,” said he “can’t even understand or fathom the decision at all.”

“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary blasted a New York judge’s $355 million ruling against former President Donald Trump. Getty Images

“There’s no rationale for it.”

O’Leary said that he has heard from peers in the business world who have pledged to shun New York, which “was already on the top of the list of being a loser state.”

“I would never invest in New York now,” O’Leary said, adding: “And I’m not the only person saying that.”

Engoron, a Democrat, concluded that Trump and his company were “likely to continue their fraudulent ways” without the penalties and controls he imposed.

Engoron concluded that Trump and his co-defendants “failed to accept responsibility” and that experts who testified on his behalf “simply denied reality.”

“This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin,” Engoron wrote in a searing 92-page opinion.

“They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways.”

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron handed down the ruling against Trump on Friday. AP

O’Leary said that his protest “has nothing to do with Trump.”

“This is not a Trump situation, this is a New York problem,” he said, accusing the state’s Democratic leaders of lowering “the legal bar.”

“Aren’t they going to question this judge? What is this?” he said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul insisted on Sunday that the massive judgment against Trump shouldn’t scare away other business owners.

“This is really an extraordinarily unusual circumstance that the law-abiding, rule-following New Yorkers who are businesspeople have nothing to worry about because they’re very different from Donald Trump and his behavior,” Hochul said on the “Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 radio.

The former president was accused of inflating the value of his assets and lying about his wealth. REUTERS

But O’Leary wasn’t impressed by Hochul’s attempt to calm nervous investors. He said “Her words fall on deaf ears to everybody” and that private enterprise will leave the Empire State in favor of low-tax areas such as Texas and Florida.

He said “Every investor is worried because where is the victim? Who lost the money?”

“This is some arbitrary decision a judge made,” O’Leary said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said that New York business owners should not be worried that authorities would pursue legal action against them. G.N.Miller/NYPost

Trump praised O’Leary, writing on his Truth Social account: “Kevin O’Leary is so great, and tells it like it is.”

“Businesses will flee NYC & State after the Corrupt Judge’s ruling!” Trump wrote.

The Post has sought comment from Hochul and Engoron.

With Post Wires

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