https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-herjavec-5540.php
Herjavec was born in 1962 in Varaždin, Croatia formerly Yugoslavia, and grew up in Zbjeg. In 1970, when Herjavec was eight, the family left the country, which had previously incarcerated Herjavec's father, Vladimir, for speaking out against the regime. According to Herjavec, "He’d drink a little too much and then say bad things about Communism and got thrown into jail 22 times for being an anti-Communist.
Herjavec's family arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a single suitcase and only $20. The family eventually settled in Toronto, where they lived in the basement of a family friend's home for 18 months. For Herjavec, who spoke no English, the transition proved difficult. Having grown up on a farm and raised by his grandmother among neighbors with similar lifestyles, he now found himself in a much poorer economic class than his neighbors.
Herjavec's father got a job in a factory in Mississauga, making $76 a week. Herjavec cites his father, whom he describes as "a really, really tough guy", as a major influence in his life. Herjavec has described a seminal memory of his, when he came home one day to complain to his mother that his classmates were making fun of him. His father who used to walk to work to save money on bus fare, came home, and when he heard what his son described, instructed his son never to complain, which became a guiding principle in Herjavec's life, one which he says sparked his sense of courage. Another influential episode in his youth came when Herjavec's mother was persuaded by a traveling salesman to buy a vacuum cleaner for $500, which was seven weeks' salary. As a result, Herjavec swore his family would never be taken advantage of again.
In 1984, Herjavec graduated from New College at the University of Toronto, with a degree in English literature and political science. To make a living and help support his family, Herjavec took on a variety of minimum wage jobs in the 1990s, such as waiting tables, delivering newspapers, retail salesman, and debt collection.
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-herjavec-5540.php