Barbara Corcoran is an American businesswoman, investor, syndicated columnist and television personality.
She is best known for her role as one of the original Shark investors on ABC’s hit reality TV show, Shark Tank.
Corcoran founded The Corcoran Group, a real estate brokerage in New York City, which she sold for $66 million in 2001.
With a net worth of $100 million, she has made 130 deals on Shark Tank, including a $350,000 investment for 40% of Coverplay.
Corcoran’s journey from struggling in school due to dyslexia to becoming a successful entrepreneur is a testament to her resilience and determination.
She is also known for her emotional intelligence, as demonstrated when she turned a rejection into an opportunity to compete on Shark Tank by directly contacting the show’s creator, Mark Burnett.
Net worth | $100 million |
Date of birth | March 10, 1949 |
Profession | Businesswoman, investor, syndicated columnist, TV personality |
Nationality | American |
Background
Corcoran was the second of the 10 children in her lower-middle-class Irish Catholic family.
Her father was an alcoholic, which made her childhood challenging.
Growing up in New Jersey, Corcoran attended various schools and graduated from Leonia High School.
She later earned a degree in education and began working in a real-estate company.
Corcoran’s professional journey began when she founded a company named, The Corcoran-Simone, with her then-boyfriend.
After her boyfriend left her for another woman, she renamed the company The Corcoran Group.
In the mid-1970s, Corcoran also started publishing a real-estate newsletter called The Corcoran Report.
She eventually sold her business to ‘NRT’ in the early 2000s.
In the 2010s, Corcoran appeared on reality TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Shark Tank.
She currently lives in Manhattan with her husband, Bill Higgins.
Corcoran’s parents played a significant role in her life.
Her father, despite his alcoholism, inspired her with his playful attitude and resilience in finding new jobs.
Corcoran mother was a positive influence, always combining efficiency with positivity.
She would give each child a specific trait when they were born, and Corcoran was labeled the creative and fun sibling, which contributed to her imaginative and entrepreneurial spirit.
Net worth
Corcoran’s net worth is estimated to be around $100 million.
She achieved significant financial success through her real estate ventures, investments, and her role as a prominent investor on the TV show Shark Tank.
Corcoran built a successful career, co-founding The Corcoran Group and later selling it for $66 million in 2001.
Her resilience, business acumen, and investments have contributed to her impressive net worth.
Barbara Corcoran’s net worth over time
Corcoran’s net worth has evolved significantly over time, reflecting her diverse business ventures and strategic investments.
Starting with her real estate business, The Corcoran Group, which she sold for $66 million in 2001, her financial growth accelerated.
Corcoran’s entry into television, particularly as a Shark on Shark Tank, further boosted her income and influence.
Through her smart investments, media appearances, speaking engagements and entrepreneurial acumen, she has steadily increased her net worth, demonstrating resilience, innovation and a keen eye for profitable opportunities.
TV career
Corcoran is best known for her role as a Shark investor on the ABC television show Shark Tank, where she has appeared in all 14 seasons to date.
She has made 130 deals on the show, with the largest being a $350,000 investment for 40% of Coverplay.
Corcoran’s television career began in the mid-1970s when she started publishing The Corcoran Report, a newsletter covering real estate data trends in New York City.
In 2017, she was announced as a contestant for season 25 of Dancing with the Stars, where she was partnered with Keo Motsepe.
In addition to her role on Shark Tank, Corcoran has been featured on Larry King Live and NBC’s Today show.
She also hosts The Millionaire Broker with Barbara Corcoran on CNBC.
Entrepreneurial career
After facing challenges and holding various jobs, Corcoran borrowed $1,000 and founded The Corcoran Group, a real estate business in New York City.
Despite initial setbacks, she turned this small investment into a multi-billion dollar enterprise, showcasing her resilience and business acumen.
Corcoran’s story is characterized by her ability to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and nurture them to success, as seen in her role as one of the ‘sharks’ on the TV show Shark Tank.
Through her motivational talks and book, Shark Tales, she shares valuable insights on team building, branding, and overcoming failures.
Corcoran’s entrepreneurial career exemplifies traits like determination, risk-taking, confidence, continuous learning, effective networking and sales skills, which have been pivotal in her journey to success.
The Corcoran Group
The Corcoran Group is a prominent American real estate firm founded in 1973 by Corcoran, a former diner waitress who started the company with a $1,000 loan.
The company has grown to become one of the three largest residential brokerages in New York City, with 11 offices and a significant presence in the real estate market.
In 2001, Corcoran sold the company to NRT (now Anywhere Real Estate) for $66 million but remained involved in its operations, focusing on marketing and brand development.
The Corcoran Group is known for its commitment to innovation and technology, utilizing the Internet to expand its reach and improve its services.
In the late 1990s, the company launched corcoran.com, which featured listings from independent affiliates in 128 cities in 45 countries.
However, the online unit was later reincorporated into the Corcoran Group due to its inability to meet expectations.
Despite this, the Internet has allowed some of Corcoran’s brokers to work from home, saving substantial office expenses in the pricey Manhattan area.
The company has also expanded its geographical reach, opening offices in neighboring boroughs like Brooklyn and Harlem, and creating a healthcare property division led by former Douglas Elliman agent Paul Wexler.
In 2000, The Corcoran Group joined forces with Douglas Elliman and the Halstead Property Company to create a new Internet service sharing all their listings, a move that was described as preemptive and aimed at addressing the lack of a shared listing service in Manhattan at the time.
Today, The Corcoran Group is part of the country’s largest residential real estate group and offers a comprehensive benefits package to its employees.
The company is committed to promoting a fun, fulfilling, and respectful environment that encourages personal growth and innovation, and it is dedicated to creating exceptional real estate experiences for its customers and communities.
Most successful investment
Corcoran’s most successful investment to date has been in The Comfy, a wearable blanket company.
She invested $50,000 for a third of the business in 2017, and the company has generated $468 million in revenue over the past three years.
This investment has been her most lucrative Shark Tank deal, with a return of 936,000%.
Corcoran has been a Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank since 2009 and has made over 650 investments, with a third of them turning a profit.
She is known for her investment strategy of “buying the entrepreneur” rather than the product or service, focusing on the ambition and vision of the entrepreneurs.
In addition to her successful investments on Shark Tank, Corcoran has also made personal investments, such as buying an expensive coat at the age of 23, which she considers her best investment ever.
The coat gave her the confidence she needed to succeed in her real estate business, eventually leading to the sale of her firm.
Real estate
In 1994, Corcoran purchased a Fire Island house for $75,000 in the Saltaire neighborhood of New York’s Fire Island.
In 1999, her real estate portfolio included a co-op in Manhattan, a summer house in Fire Island, and a country residence in Pawling, New York, which she sold for $545K in 2012.
In 2001, Corcoran and her husband, Bill Higgins, bought a three-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot apartment in a co-op building at 1192 Park Avenue for $3.5 million, which they sold for $4.87 million in 2016.
In 2015, they purchased a $10 million penthouse on the Upper East Side, a 11-room duplex with a solarium off of the kitchen, a landscaped terrace, and unbeatable views of Central Park from its own swing.
Personal life
Corcoran is married to Bill Higgins, a retired Navy captain and former FBI agent who participated in the Gulf War.
The couple married in 1988 and have two children together, Tom, who was born in 1994 via in vitro fertilization with an egg donated by Corcoran’s sister Florence and Kate, who was adopted in 2005.
Corcoran is also a stepmother to Higgins’ four oldest children from a previous marriage.
The family resides in Manhattan, where Corcoran is a prominent figure in the real estate industry.
Corcoran is known for her love of skiing and going to the beach.
She has also been open about her approach to marriage, which includes having separate bedrooms.
In a 2024 interview, she stated that this arrangement adds a level of sexiness to their relationship and allows them to maintain their individuality.
Corcoran has also spoken about the importance of taking your partner as they are and not hoping for change, as well as surrounding yourself with happy people.
Struggles with dyslexia
Corcoran has openly shared her struggles with dyslexia.
Despite being labeled the ‘dumb kid’ in school due to her reading and writing difficulties, Corcoran used her dyslexia as a motivator in her life and career.
She attributes her success to the resilience and determination she developed from facing challenges associated with dyslexia.
Corcoran believes that her dyslexia, although initially viewed as a weakness, ultimately became a strength that prepared her to handle rejection, embrace failure and work on her own terms as an entrepreneur.
Notably, dyslexia seems to be a common trait among successful entrepreneurs, with a significant proportion of them, including Corcoran, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, having dyslexia.
This condition has not hindered their success but has, in fact, contributed to their unique perspectives and abilities, turning what some may see as a challenge into a superpower that drives their achievements.