Kevin O’Leary invests in modern art to diversify and to profit, but he is far from alone in focusing on pieces he and his wife truly enjoy in the hopes visual appeal is followed by the desired appreciation.

The goal for a modern or pop art investor is to buy items that will appreciate, while also enjoying the creations personally. O’Leary, a billionaire panelist on the “Shark Tank” television program in which he and other wealthy investors are pitched by entrepreneurs to fund the expansion of their start-up businesses, enjoys collecting items he loves such as the best guitars, watches, wines and art that could be sold profitably later if he chooses.

Damien Hirst’s headless bronze sculpture, “Demon with Bowl,” stands nearly 60 feet high. (Photo by Paul Dykewicz)

“I have a pretty good art collection, but it is curated by my wife,” O’Leary told me when I met with him for an interview at the Palms Resort Casino as he shared wine and sushi with a small table of guests at the hotel’s Shark Bar, featuring a view of artist’s Damien Hirst’s nearly 60-foot headless bronze sculpture “Demon with Bowl.” The dramatic piece was part of an extravagant 2017 exhibition at collector François Pinault’s Palazzo Grassi museum in Venice, Italy.

Investment columnist Paul Dykewicz interviews billionaire Kevin O’Leary, of “Shark Tank,” in the Shark Bar at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

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Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce,Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. Follow Paul on Twitter@PaulDykewicz.