Kevin O'Leary Starts Day Trading, Says Reddit Users 'Aren't Stupid'

Kevin O’Leary, also known as "Mr. Wonderful" and a judge on the hit television show "Shark Tank," appeared on CNBC’s "The Squawk Box" Wednesday to discuss Robinhood day traders. 

Why O'Leary Downloaded Robinhood: “The majority of the people criticizing the system, or Robinhood, or the Wall Street Bets crowd, or Reddit, have never used it," he said. 

“I forced myself to download Robinhood.”

O’Leary told CNBC he put $10,000 into Robinhood and joined Reddit, adding that he “rides with the herd now.

“There’s a whole new sheriff in town and they’re not stupid,” O’Leary said. “I’m riding with them; I’ve made 5% yesterday on some pharmaceutical company I’ve never heard of.”

O’Leary said he's conducting his own experiment, testing whether a portfolio following Wall Street Bets can beat a roboadvisor he downloaded.

So far, O'Leary said he's unsure if he will be able to beat this automated portfolio advisor, but added that he has faith in the WSB community.

Related Link: Peak Stupidity': The End Of The GameStop Short Squeeze Trade?

O'Leary On What's Next: Mr. Wonderful ended the interview by telling CNBC it's OK to gamify and make it easy for young investors to get involved with the stock market through Robinhood.

“They’ve done a great job with the interface,” O’Leary said of the app. 

"There’s an education process. And if we can get an 18-year-old learning that early on — because we certainly haven’t covered that in high school or college; we’ve failed them as a society. If they have to learn through Reddit or trading on Robinhood, I’m OK with it.”

Benzinga file photo by Dustin Blitchok.

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