Billionaire Mark Cuban amassed his fortune in several ways: a savvy bet on the early internet, cryptocurrencies, and even owning a professional sports team.
While much of Cuban's wealth has come from being the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Cuban is selling his majority stake in the NBA team to billionaire Miriam Adelson in a deal that values the team at $3.5 billion, according to several reports. Adelson is the majority shareholder in Las Vegas Sands, the largest casino company in the world. As part of the deal, Cuban will still retain full control of the team's basketball operations and some shares in the team. Cuban bought the Mavericks in 2000, for $280 million.
The billionaire also recently announced on a podcast that he would be leaving Shark Tank next year, after the show's 16th season. Cuban has been a judge on the ABC show for 15 seasons.
The entrepreneur, who has appeared in many films and television shows, often acting as himself, has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion as of November 2023, according to Forbes. He accumulated his billions by investing in companies involved in industries ranging from healthcare and media to cryptocurrency. Read on to find out how he did it:
Key Takeaways
- Mark Cuban is selling his majority stake in the Mavericks to billionaire Miriam Adelson in a deal that values the team at $3.5 billion.
- Cuban has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion as of November 2023, according to Forbes.
- Cuban sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.6 billion before the dotcom bubble burst.
- He also owns Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which sells generic prescription drugs at wholesale prices.
Cuban became a multimillionaire at 32 when he sold MicroSolutions, a computer consulting service, to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990.
Five years later, Cuban and his friend Todd Wagner joined Broadcast.com, originally called Audionet and founded in 1992 by Chris Jaeb, and turned it into a way to stream audio from sports games online. Cuban sold it to Yahoo for $5.6 billion in 1999, before the collapse of the dotcom bubble.
Dallas Mavericks
Cuban bought the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for an estimated $280 million, and his majority stake in the basketball team is among the primary sources of his wealth. As of October 2023, the Mavericks were valued at about $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. The team ranked seventh on Forbes’ annual list of most valuable NBA franchises in 2023.
Cost Plus Drug Co.
Cuban launched Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. last year, aiming to make prescription drugs more affordable by offering wholesale prices on generic medications. The company had a customer base of 1.5 million within a year of its launch, and Forbes says it's on track to crack a profit in 2023.
Media & Startups
Cuban also has stakes in film and television companies Magnolia Pictures and AXS TV, and is invested in an array of startups, about 85 of them from being a judge on Shark Tank for 15 seasons. Cuban owns a 2% stake, worth $12 million, in Shark Tank alum Brightwheel, a preschool app, according to Forbes.
He's also invested in socially driven startups such as Luminaid, which provides solar lanterns and phone chargers to families in disaster areas; Paladin, which connects lawyers with people and nonprofits who need pro bono help; and Mahmee, a healthcare platform focused on supporting those who are pregnant.
