• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

2

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

3

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

1

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

2

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

3

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
PoliticsU.S. Presidential Election

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary rips Kamala Harris’s economic platform: ‘They tried that in Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, the USSR’

By
Seamus Webster
Seamus Webster
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Seamus Webster
Seamus Webster
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 19, 2024, 4:39 PM ET
Kevin O'Leary speaks at House Committee on Small Business hearing this year.
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary told CNN he doesn't care who win the election, just about the policies they implement, and some of what Harris put forward last week is a "really, really bad idea."Julia Nikhinson—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary is out on Harris’s economic agenda.

Recommended Video

In an interview with CNN on Saturday, the 70-year-old investor tore into several components of vice president and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris’s plan to make the cost of living more affordable for everyday Americans, beginning with her proposal to implement a federal ban on price gouging on groceries.  

“They tried that in Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, the USSR,” O’Leary said. “No, that’s not going to work.”

Harris announced a broad economic platform at a rally in North Carolina last week that includes expansions for child tax credits and funding for affordable housing. She also announced a plan to penalize big corporations for price spikes on everyday essentials, a policy that has already become political fodder for conservatives.

O’Leary isn’t alone in comparing Harris’ price gouging proposal to models in socialist states. The Wall Street Journal editorial board on Friday called the plan a resort “to Venezuelan-style left-wing populism,” and argued price controls have failed everywhere they’ve been tried, “from Moscow to Caracas.” The Trump campaign also associated the policy with Cuba and Venezuela following the rollout of Harris’s agenda on Friday.

The cost of groceries has become a touchstone of the persistent inflation President Biden has grappled with since entering office, which has now become a pivotal issue in the presidential race. Food prices have risen more than 20% in the last four years, and more than two-thirds of Americans say food prices are where they’ve seen the effects of inflation the most. Earlier this month, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Kroger, one of the biggest grocery chains in the U.S., accusing the supermarket of price gouging. 

O’Leary also ripped the vice president’s new housing platform, which is targeting 3 million new homes by the end of her first term. The plan includes proposals to provide $40 billion in new funding for housing construction and $25,000 grants toward down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. 

“When you give $25,000 to anybody in a constrained market, you cause inflation,” O’Leary said. “So if there’s three houses for sale on the street and everybody bidding on it gets another $25,000, all of that attributes to the seller, and you cause the price of the house to go up because there’s no supply.” 

Harris has also proposed new legislation that would crack down on investors who buy houses and apartments in bulk to flip at a higher price. 

Skyrocketing home prices have left many first-time homebuyers feeling locked out of the housing market. In an interview with Fortune following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adewale Adeyemo said the affordability crisis wouldn’t be solved until the housing supply increased dramatically.

“Everybody knows in real estate…that it’s not controlled by federal mandate,” O’Leary said. “Housing is state by state. She can do nothing to solve that problem. There’s no way she’s building 3 million houses. Which state is going to give her that mandate?”

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Author
By Seamus Webster
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Politics

audrey
CommentaryInsurance
Aflac general counsel: Georgia lawmakers took a crucial step forward on sickle cell disease – but there’s more work to be done
By Audrey Boone TillmanJune 19, 2026
20 hours ago
Pete Hegseth and Emil Michael walk next to each other.
AIPentagon
The Pentagon claims a 1,775% boost in AI use is paying off the DOGE promise a year later—but adoption is still under 50%
By Sasha RogelbergJune 19, 2026
23 hours ago
The week that changed AI: Inside Trump’s Anthropic crackdown, and how a phone call from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy triggered the chaos
AIAnthropic
The week that changed AI: Inside Trump’s Anthropic crackdown, and how a phone call from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy triggered the chaos
By Sebastian Herrera and Beatrice NolanJune 18, 2026
1 day ago
‘Iran just basically put its wish list into this’: The Trump-Iran agreement gives Iran a free pass on nuclear treaty violations pending final deal
Middle EastDonald Trump
‘Iran just basically put its wish list into this’: The Trump-Iran agreement gives Iran a free pass on nuclear treaty violations pending final deal
By Mia OsmonbekovJune 18, 2026
1 day ago
Sanders stands at a podium with a poster that reads "fight oligarchy"
PoliticsBernie Sanders
‘Make AI work for ordinary people’: Bernie Sanders wants to pay you $1,000 every year from a government stake in AI companies 
By Jacqueline MunisJune 18, 2026
2 days ago
z
PoliticsElections
Zohran’s primary of power: the Democrat that Republicans fear most runs New York City
By Steve Peoples, Anthony Izaguirre, Matt Brown and The Associated PressJune 18, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
Environment
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Sydney LakeJune 19, 2026
18 hours ago
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
Success
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 18, 2026
2 days ago
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
Economy
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
By Jacqueline MunisJune 17, 2026
2 days ago
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
Success
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
3 days ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
5 days ago
Exclusive: Azzi Fudd joins Project B, the international league chasing a billion-dollar opportunity in global basketball
MPW
Exclusive: Azzi Fudd joins Project B, the international league chasing a billion-dollar opportunity in global basketball
By Emma HinchliffeJune 19, 2026
16 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.