Rolex-loving millionaire who wears 6 watches a day needs to be buried with them

Millionaire Kevin O’Leary loves his watches so much, he wants to be buried with them.

The Shark Tank mogul dubbed “Mr Wonderful” even wears six timepieces in one day, donning two at once to keep track of different time zones. “All of these watches are coming into my coffin. I’m like the Pharoah of time,” he told GQ.

The hardcore collector admitted he travels with 17 to 20 watches “because I wear two in the morning, two at noon and when I switch for evening…It’s six a day.”

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The reason he wears two watches is so that he can keep tabs on both New York and LA time, but now that he’s working in the United Arab Emirates, he jokingly said he’s considering wearing one on his ankle too.

Kevin’s obsession began when he was a teenager when he moved to the watch capital of the world, Geneva, Switzerland. It was there he discovered the biggest players in the industry.

“I took a fascination with watchmaking in Geneva, and at that time, in the late 60s, there were remarkable dials I was beginning to learn about, in addition to the history of watchmaking. I developed a passion for watches, realising they are an unusual piece of art,” he told Haute Time.

He bought his first Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch in 1975 – a watch selected by NASA to be worn in space – and still has it.

His second watch was the classic Rolex Submariner which Kevin says is “priceless” to him.

Now his collection boasts “one-of-a-kind art masterpieces” that although are worth countless millions are invaluable to him.

“To me, [watches] are one of the most successful asset classes I have — compared to all of the other things I do in private equity, gold, crypto, stocks, and bonds. Nothing has beat my watch collection over the last five years.”

They are all kept under lock and key in several safes across the world after Kevin twice had his beloved collection stolen.

The millionaire, whose estimated net worth is said to be around $400m (£316m) said: “It’s impossible to steal my watches again because you’d have to travel to nine cities and break into nine different bank vaults.”

Kevin goes in search of unique pieces, some of which have been made especially for him. They have to supply a band in his trademark red – he won’t wear anything else while filming Shark Tank (the US version of Dragon’s Den).

He collects Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet as well as Grand Seikos. Among his most noteable are his 18k gold Rolex Day-Date 36 with a multicoloured puzzle dial and windows displaying emojis and emotions.

Another of his favourites is the Rolex Daytona Eye of the Tiger – an 18k yellow gold case bezel set with baguette diamonds.

Kevin issued advice for collectors saying: “Never borrow money to buy a watch.

“You want to link your achievement to a dial so that for the rest of your life, when you wear that certain watch, you will remember why it is on your wrist and how you got there.”

And it’s not just during his lifetime that he wants to appreciate his magnificent collection.

He told GQ” Paul Boutros (the head of watches in America for Phillips auction house) has been talking to my wife, Linda, about the after-I’m-dead auction, because I’ve got a lot of watches. And I said: ‘Don’t worry about that. All of these watches are coming into my coffin.’ All of them. They’re all coming with me into the afterlife.

“I’m like the Pharaoh of Time. There’s no way this sh*t is getting auctioned, none of it. And Linda said: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll bury you with all your watches.'”

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