Here's a funny disconnect: Nearly half of America's CEOs think artificial intelligence could do their jobs, but investor Kevin O'Leary isn't losing sleep over robot bosses. His take? AI isn't coming for the corner office. It's just going to make the people already sitting there absurdly wealthy.

The Productivity Multiplier Nobody's Talking About

According to a 2023 survey by edX and Workplace Intelligence, 49% of CEOs believe most or all of their role could be automated or replaced by AI. That sounds alarming until you hear what the "Shark Tank" star and entrepreneur has to say about it.

When Forbes Middle East asked O'Leary earlier this year whether AI would replace CEOs or "just make the existing ones 10 times richer," he sided firmly with the latter. "It'll make everybody richer if they learn how to use the tool," he said. The key phrase there is "if they learn."

O'Leary sees AI not as a threat but as a massive multiplier for productivity and decision-making. The real divide, he argues, isn't between humans and machines. It's between people who know how to use AI and those who don't. "The biggest challenge," he said, is that there are "two generations: people that know how to use it and those that don't."

How O'Leary Is Already Cashing In

O'Leary isn't just theorizing. He's actively deploying AI across his business empire. In his wine company, which moves 3 million bottles annually, AI tracks real-time consumer preferences to predict regional demand for different varieties. The result? Inventory accuracy within 3%. "Imagine how effective the reduction of cost of capital is," he told Forbes.

Beyond wine, O'Leary is betting big on AI infrastructure. He's investing in massive data centers in Alberta, Canada, and scouting additional sites across the U.S. based on access to cheap stranded gas. His reasoning is blunt: "Unless these hyperscalers get these facilities and the [Department of Defense] in the U.S. gets one, they'll lose to China," he said. "Thank goodness I'm here."

The Skills Gap Is Real

The edX survey exposed a massive disconnect between executives and their employees. While 49% of CEOs worry about AI automating their roles, only 20% of workers believe their own jobs are at risk. That blind spot could be costly.

Here's why: 82% of executives said employees with AI skills should earn more, and 74% believed they should be promoted more often. But companies are struggling to find that talent. The survey found 87% of executives can't find workers with AI skills, and 77% say AI is already disrupting their business strategy.

"Embrace AI or be left behind," said Andy Morgan, chief partnerships officer at 2U, the company behind edX. It's not subtle advice, but given the speed at which AI is reshaping business operations, subtlety might be overrated.

The bottom line? O'Leary's vision is pretty straightforward: AI won't eliminate the need for human decision-makers at the top. It'll just create a new economic tier where those who master the technology pull dramatically ahead of those who don't. The question isn't whether AI will change leadership roles. It's whether current leaders will adapt fast enough to benefit from it.