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Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list. He is the owner of the
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...
professional basketball team of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
(NBA) and the co-owner of
2929 Entertainment 2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. 2929 maintains companies and interests across several industries including entertainment devel ...
. He is also one of the main "shark" investors on the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
reality television series ''
Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' ...
''.


Early life and education

Cuban was born in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
. His father, Norton Cuban, was an automobile
upholsterer Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...
. Cuban described his mother, Shirley, as someone with "a different job or different career goal every other week." Cuban is Jewish, and grew up in
Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...
, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
working-class family. His paternal grandfather changed the surname from "Chabenisky" to "Cuban" after his family emigrated from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
through
Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 m ...
. His maternal grandparents were
Romanian Jewish The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
immigrants, according to Mark's brother Brian, though Mark has claimed their maternal grandmother was Lithuanian. Cuban first ventured into business at age 12. He sold garbage bags to pay for a pair of expensive basketball shoes. A few years later, he earned money by selling stamps and coins. At age 16, Cuban took advantage of a ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
'' strike by running newspapers from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. Instead of attending high school for his senior year, he enrolled as a full-time student at the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
, where he joined the
Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
. He is a fan of the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
. After one year at the University of Pittsburgh, Cuban transferred to
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...
in
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
, where he graduated from the
Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. , approximately 7,500 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are ...
in 1981 with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in
management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
. He chose Indiana's Kelley School of Business without even visiting the campus because it "had the least expensive tuition of all the business schools on the top 10 list". He had various business ventures during college, including a bar, disco lessons, and a
chain letter A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefinit ...
. After graduating, Cuban returned to Pittsburgh and took a job with
Mellon Bank Mellon Financial Corporation was an investment firm which was once one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth individual asset management, incl ...
. He immersed himself in the study of machines and networking.


Business career

On July 7, 1982, Cuban moved to
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, where he first found a job as a bartender for a Greenville Avenue bar called Elan and then as a salesperson for Your Business Software, one of the earliest PC software retailers in Dallas. He was fired less than a year later after meeting with a client to procure new business instead of opening the store. Cuban started his own company, MicroSolutions, with help from his previous customers from Your Business Software. MicroSolutions was initially a system integrator and software reseller. The company was an early proponent of technologies such as
Carbon Copy Before the development of photographic copiers, a carbon copy was the under-copy of a typed or written document placed over carbon paper and the under-copy sheet itself (not to be confused with the carbon print family of photographic reproduc ...
,
Lotus Notes HCL Notes (formerly IBM Notes and Lotus Notes; see Branding below) and HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino and Lotus Domino) are the client and server, respectively, of a collaborative client-server software platform formerly sold by IBM, now by HCL ...
, and
CompuServe CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...
. One of the company's largest clients was
Perot Systems Perot Systems was an information technology services provider founded in 1988 by a group of investors led by Ross Perot and based in Plano, Texas, United States. Perot Systems provided information technology services in the industries of health ...
. The company grew to more than $30 million in revenue, and in 1990, Cuban sold MicroSolutions to
CompuServe CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...
—then a subsidiary of
H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R Block operates approxima ...
—for $6 million. He made approximately $2 million after taxes on the deal.


Audionet and Broadcast.com

In 1995, Cuban and fellow
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...
alumnus
Todd Wagner Todd R. Wagner (born August 2, 1960) is an American entrepreneur, co-founder of Broadcast.com and founder and CEO of a company called Charity Network which organizes regular fund raisings. He also co-owns 2929 Entertainment with Mark Cuban, al ...
joined Audionet (founded in 1989 by Chris Jaeb, who retained 10% of the company), combining their mutual interest in Indiana Hoosier college basketball and
webcasting A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
. With a single server and an
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. Wor ...
line, Audionet became
Broadcast.com Broadcast.com was an Internet radio company founded as AudioNet in September 1995 by Cameron Christopher Jaeb. Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban later led the organization and eventually sold to Yahoo! on April 1, 1999, for $5.7 billion, making it the ...
in 1998. By 1999, Broadcast.com had grown to 330 employees and $13.5 million in revenue for the second quarter. In 1999, Broadcast.com helped launch the first live-streamed
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...
. That year, during the
dot com boom The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compos ...
, Broadcast.com was acquired by
Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
for $5.7 billion in Yahoo! stock. After the sale of Broadcast.com, Cuban hedged against the risk of a decline in the value of the Yahoo! shares he received in the deal. The ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' credits Cuban with the "largest single
e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain mana ...
transaction" after purchasing a
Gulfstream V The Gulfstream V (Model GV, pronounced "G-five") is a long-range, large business jet aircraft produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, derived from the previous Gulfstream IV. It flies up to , up to and has a range. It typically accommodates four cr ...
jet for $40 million over the internet in October 1999. Yahoo!'s costly purchase of Broadcast.com is now regarded as one of the worst internet acquisitions of all time. Broadcast.com and Yahoo!'s other broadcasting services were discontinued within a few years after the acquisition. Cuban has repeatedly described himself as very lucky to have sold the company before the dot-com bubble burst. However, he also emphasized that he hedged against the Yahoo! shares he received from the sale and would have lost most of his fortune if he had not done so. Cuban continues to work with Wagner in another venture,
2929 Entertainment 2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. 2929 maintains companies and interests across several industries including entertainment devel ...
, which provides
vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...
production and distribution of films and video. On September 24, 2003, the firm purchased
Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 theaters with 178 screens in 24 market ...
, a chain of 58
arthouse An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...
movie theaters. The company is also responsible for the updated version of the TV show ''
Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both version ...
'', which was broadcast on CBS. 2929 Entertainment released ''
Bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...
'', a movie directed by
Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direct ...
, in 2006. Cuban was featured on the cover of ''Best'' magazine's November 2003 premiere issue, announcing the arrival of
high-definition television High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the ...
. Cuban also was co-founder (with Philip Garvin) of
AXS TV AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat s ...
(formerly HDNet), the first high-definition
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
television network. In February 2004, Cuban announced that he would be working with
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
television to produce a
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series, '' The Benefactor''. The premise of the six-episode series involved 16 contestants trying to win $1 million by participating in various contests, with their performances being judged by Cuban. It premiered on September 13, 2004, but the series was canceled before the full season aired due to poor ratings. In 2018, Cuban was no. 190 on ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' list of "World's Richest People", with a net worth of $3.9 billion. Cuban financially supported
Grokster Grokster Ltd. was a privately owned software company based in Nevis, West Indies that created the Grokster peer-to-peer file-sharing client in 2001 that used the FastTrack protocol. Grokster Ltd. was rendered extinct in late 2005 by the United S ...
in the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
case ''
MGM v. Grokster ''MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.'', 545 U.S. 913 (2005), is a United States Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled unanimously that the defendants, peer-to-peer file sharing companies Grokster and Streamcast (maker of Morpheus), cou ...
''. He is also a partner in
Synergy Sports Technology Synergy Sports Technology is an American company that creates web-based, on-demand video-supported basketball analytics for scouting, development, and entertainment. Synergy partners with the NBA, WNBA, NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s pr ...
, a web-based basketball scouting and video delivery tool used by many NBA teams.


Investments in startups

Cuban has also assisted ventures in the
social software Social software, also known as social apps or social platform, include communications and interactive tools that are often based on the Internet. Communication tools typically handle the capturing, storing and presentation of communication, usua ...
and
distributed networking Distributed networking is a distributed computing network system where components of the program and data depend on multiple sources. Overview Distributed networking, used in distributed computing, is the network system over which computer program ...
industries. He was an owner of
IceRocket IceRocket was an Internet search engine which specialized in real-time search. Based in Dallas, Texas, it launched in 2004 hoping to market itself solely through word of mouth. IceRocket was backed by Mark Cuban and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. ...
, a search engine that scours the
blogosphere The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social networking service in which everyday authors can pu ...
for content. Cuban was a partner in RedSwoosh—a company that uses
peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...
technology to deliver
rich media Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, variou ...
, including video and software, to a user's PC—later acquired by Akamai. He was also an investor in
Weblogs, Inc. Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
, which was acquired by
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
. In 2005, Cuban invested in Brondell Inc., a San Francisco startup making a high-tech toilet seat called a Swash that works like a bidet but mounts on a standard toilet. "People tend to approach technology the same way, whether it's in front of them, or behind them", Cuban joked. He also invested in Goowy Media Inc., a San Diego Internet software startup. In April 2006,
Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...
announced that Cuban would host his own weekly radio talk show, ''Mark Cuban's Radio Maverick''. However, the show has not materialized. In July 2006, Cuban financed
Sharesleuth.com Sharesleuth is an investigative reporting website, created to investigate and report on instances of alleged securities fraud and corporate malfeasance. It was founded in July 2006 by American businessman Mark Cuban and business reporter Chris Care ...
, a website created by former ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, serving the Greater St. Louis, St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpass ...
'' investigative reporter Christopher Carey to uncover fraud and misinformation in publicly traded companies. Experimenting with a new business model for making online journalism financially viable, Cuban disclosed that he would take positions in the shares of companies mentioned in Sharesleuth.com in advance of publication. Business and legal analysts questioned the appropriateness of shorting a stock before making public pronouncements which are likely to result in losses in that stock's value. Cuban insisted that the practice is legal in view of full disclosure. In April 2007, Cuban partnered with
Mascot Books Mascot Books is a full-service, multi-genre, independent book publisher and distributor. It is a hybrid publishing company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. The company publishes a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, children ...
to publish his first children's book, ''Let's Go, Mavs!''. In November 2011, he wrote a 30,000-word
e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
, ''How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It'', which he described as "a way to get motivated". In October 2008, Cuban started Bailoutsleuth.com as a grassroots, online portal for oversight over the U.S. government's $700 billion "bailout" of financial institutions. In September 2010, Cuban provided an undisclosed amount of
venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
to store-front analytics company Motionloft. According to the company's CEO Jon Mills, he cold-emailed Cuban on a whim with the business proposition and claimed Cuban quickly responded that he would like to hear more. Mills credited that sentence for launching the company. In November 2013, several investors questioned Cuban about Mills' representation of a pending acquisition of Motionloft. Cuban denied an acquisition was in place. Mills was terminated as CEO of Motionloft by stockholders on December 1, 2013, and in February 2014 was arrested by the FBI and charged with wire fraud; it was alleged that Mills misrepresented to investors that Motionloft was going to be acquired by
Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...
. Cuban has gone on record to state that the technology, which at least in part is meant to serve the commercial real estate industry, is "game changing" for tenants. In 2019, Cuban,
Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a S ...
, Steve Watts and Watts' wife Angela, invested a 50% stake in
Veldskoen Veldskoene ("FELT-skoona") or colloquially Vellies ("FELL-ys"), are South African walking shoes made from vegetable-tanned leather or soft rawhide uppers attached to a leather footbed and rubber sole by a method known as Stitchdown construction a ...
shoes fledgling U.S. business. In 2021, Cuban,
Pantera Capital Pantera Capital is an American hedge fund that specializes in cryptocurrencies. It is the largest crypto hedge fund in the world by AUM. The firm was founded in 2003 by Dan Morehead (ex Tiger Management) and is co-managed by Co-CIO Joey Krug, ...
, BlockTower, Hashed, Cadenza Ventures (backed by 100x Group), CMS and QCP Capital backed a layer-2 decentralized exchange protocol, Injective Protocol and their CEO Eric Chen. Also in late 2021, Cuban purchased the entire town of
Mustang, Texas Mustang is a town in Navarro County, Texas, United States. The population was zero at the 2020 census. In December 2021, Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, purchased the 77-acre town for roughly $2 million. Geography Mus ...
, a 77-acre town in Navarro County. He told the ''Dallas Morning News'' that a buddy needed to sell it and, "I don't know what if anything I will do with it."


''Shark Tank''

Cuban has been a "shark" investor on the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
reality program ''
Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' ...
'' since season two in 2011. As of May 2015, he has invested in 85 deals across 111 ''Shark Tank'' episodes, for a total of $19.9 million invested. The actual numbers vary because the investment happens after the handshake deal on live television, after the due diligence is performed to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the pitch room. For instance, Hy-Conn, a manufacturer of removable fire hoses, after agreeing to a deal of $1.25 million for 100% of the company with Cuban, did not go through with the deal. Cuban's top three deals, all with at least $1 million invested, are Ten Thirty One Productions,
Rugged Maniac Rugged Maniac is an annual obstacle course race, otherwise known as a mud run, which is hosted in multiple cities across the United States and Canada. Participants run a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) course with obstacles ranging from muddy water slides ...
Obstacle Race, and
BeatBox Beverages ''Shark Tank'' is an American reality television series produced by Mark Burnett.Adalian, Josef (February 13, 2008)"Sony, Burnett dive into 'Shark Tank'". ''Variety'', "a version of the Japanese reality format."Battaglio, Stephen (December 3, 2012 ...
. Since Cuban joined the show in 2011, the ratings for ''Shark Tank'' have increased, and also during his tenure, the show has won four
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for Outstanding Structured Reality Program (from 2014–2017). Before the category came into existence it won the award for
outstanding reality program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program is handed out annually at the Creative Arts Emmy Award ceremony. In 2014, Outstanding Reality Program was separated into two categories – Outstanding Unstructured Reality Prog ...
for two years in a row (2012 to 2013), all of these awards came after he joined. As of 2022, Cuban is the second richest of all Sharks to appear on the show after
Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...
.


Magnolia Pictures

Cuban owns film distributor
Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment 2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneur ...
. Through Magnolia, he financed '' Redacted'', a fictional
dramatization A dramatization is the creation of a dramatic performance of material depicting real or fictional events. Dramatization may occur in any media, and can play a role in education and the psychological development of children. The production of a d ...
based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah killings, written and directed by
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leadin ...
. In September 2007, Cuban, in his capacity as owner of Magnolia Pictures, removed disturbing photographs from the concluding moments of the ''Redacted'', citing copyrights/permissions issues. Also in 2007, Cuban was reportedly interested in distributing through Magnolia an edition of the film ''
Loose Change ''Loose Change'' is a series of films released between 2005 and 2009 that argue in favor of certain 9/11 conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories relating to the September 11 attacks. The films were written and directed by Dylan Avery and produc ...
'', which posits a 9/11 conspiracy theory, with
Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), '' The Th ...
narrating. Cuban told the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'', "We are having discussions about distributing the existing video with Charlie's involvement as a narrator, not in making a new feature. We are also looking for productions with an opposing viewpoint. We like controversial subjects, but we are agnostic to which side the controversy comes from." In April 2011, Cuban put Magnolia Pictures and
Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 theaters with 178 screens in 24 market ...
up for sale, but said, "If we don't get the price and premium we want, we are happy to continue to make money from the properties."


Cryptocurrency

Cuban has invested in the cryptocurrency
Dogecoin Dogecoin ( or , Abbreviation: DOGE; sign: Ð) is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a "joke", making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the ...
, as well as accepting the particular
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It ...
as a method of payment for Dallas Mavericks merchandise and tickets since at least early 2021. After being asked by
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...
for his thoughts on the payment method, Cuban responded, "It’s a medium that can be used for the acquisition of goods and services. The community for doge is the strongest when it comes to using it as a medium of exchange." After
Voyager Digital Voyager Digital was a cryptocurrency brokerage company. History In June 2022, Voyager Digital announced that Three Arrows Capital had not repaid loans totaling $666 Million. On July 1, the company suspended “trading, deposits, withdrawals a ...
, a cryptocurrency lender, filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
in July 2022, Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks were named in a
class-action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...
lawsuit that alleged that Voyager Digital was a
Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comi ...
the following month due to Cuban's promotion of Voyager and Voyager's sponsorship with the team. In February 2022, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a lawsuit against
Bitconnect Bitconnect (also spelled BitConnect and KimConnect; stylized ''bitconnect'', ticker code BCC) was an open-source cryptocurrency in 2016–2018 that was connected with a high-yield investment program, a type of Ponzi scheme. After the platform ...
that the
Securities Act of 1933 The Securities Act of 1933, also known as the 1933 Act, the Securities Act, the Truth in Securities Act, the Federal Securities Act, and the '33 Act, was enacted by the United States Congress on May 27, 1933, during the Great Depression and afte ...
extends to targeted solicitation using
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
.


Cost Plus Drug Company

In January 2022, Mark Cuban launched the
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC), doing business as Cost Plus Drugs, is a public benefit corporation (PBC) with its main headquarters located in Dallas, Texas. The company is focused on the pharmacy distribution of drugs with a stated ...
, with the aim of lowering
generic drug A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ...
prices for end consumers in the US.


SEC insider trading allegation

On November 17, 2008, it was reported that the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(SEC) filed a civil suit against Cuban relating to alleged
insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...
in the shares of Mamma.com, now known as
Copernic Copernic Inc. is a company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, producer of Copernic Desktop Search and Copernic Server Search, desktop search software for home and business, running on Microsoft Windows. There is a free edition and paid editions ...
. A
stock dilution Stock dilution, also known as equity dilution, is the decrease in existing shareholders' ownership percentage of a company as a result of the company issuing new equity. New equity increases the total shares outstanding which has a dilutive eff ...
occurred shortly after a trade in June 2004, giving hints of inside knowledge at the time of the trade, and Cuban allegedly was saved from a loss of $750,000. The SEC claimed that Cuban ordered the sale of his holdings in Mamma.com after he had been confidentially approached by the company to participate in a transaction likely to dilute shares of current shareholders. Cuban disputed the charges, saying he had not agreed to keep the information secret. On his blog, Cuban contended the allegations were false and that the investigation was "a product of gross abuse of prosecutorial discretion". ''
DealBook Andrew Ross Sorkin (born February 19, 1977) is an American journalist and author. He is a financial columnist for ''The New York Times'' and a co-anchor of CNBC's ''Squawk Box.'' He is also the founder and editor of DealBook, a financial news s ...
'', a section of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', reported through an anonymous source that Cuban believed the investigation was motivated by an SEC employee having taken offense to his interest in possibly distributing the film ''
Loose Change ''Loose Change'' is a series of films released between 2005 and 2009 that argue in favor of certain 9/11 conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories relating to the September 11 attacks. The films were written and directed by Dylan Avery and produc ...
''. In July 2009, the U.S. District Court dismissed the charges against Cuban, and the SEC appealed. In September 2010, an appeals court said that the district court had erred and that further proceedings would be necessary to address the merits of the suit. A federal jury in Texas found in favor of Cuban on October 16, 2013. The nine-member jury issued the verdict after deliberating 3 hours and 35 minutes. In March 2014, Cuban was on air at
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...
criticizing
high-frequency trading High-frequency trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic financial trading characterized by high speeds, high turnover rates, and high order-to-trade ratios that leverages high-frequency financial data and electronic trading tools. While there is no ...
(HFT). Those against HFT, such as Cuban, believe the technology is equivalent to automated insider trading.


Sports businesses


Dallas Mavericks

On January 4, 2000, Cuban purchased a majority stake in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...
's
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...
for $285 million from
H. Ross Perot Jr. Henry Ross Perot Jr. (born November 7, 1958) is a real estate developer and American businessman who is best known for his development of Alliance, Texas, an inland port near Dallas–Fort Worth, and making the first circumnavigation of the worl ...
In the 20 years before Cuban bought the team, the
Mavericks Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...
won only 40% of their games and had a playoff record of 21–32. In the 10 years following, the team won 69 percent of their regular season games and reached the playoffs in each of those seasons except for one. The Mavericks' playoff record with Cuban is 49–57, including their first trip to the
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...
in 2006, where they lost to the
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...
. Historically, NBA team owners publicly play more passive roles and watch basketball games from skyboxes; Cuban sits alongside fans while donning team jerseys. Cuban travels in his private airplane—a
Gulfstream V The Gulfstream V (Model GV, pronounced "G-five") is a long-range, large business jet aircraft produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, derived from the previous Gulfstream IV. It flies up to , up to and has a range. It typically accommodates four cr ...
—to attend road games. In May 2010,
H. Ross Perot Jr. Henry Ross Perot Jr. (born November 7, 1958) is a real estate developer and American businessman who is best known for his development of Alliance, Texas, an inland port near Dallas–Fort Worth, and making the first circumnavigation of the worl ...
, who retained 5% ownership, filed a lawsuit against Cuban, alleging the franchise was insolvent or in imminent danger of insolvency. In June 2010, Cuban responded in a court filing maintaining Perot is wrongly seeking money to offset some $100 million in losses on the Victory Park real estate development. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2011, due in part to Cuban asserting proper management of the team due to its recent victory in the
2011 NBA Finals The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2010–11 season. The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in six games to win their ...
. In 2014, the 5th Circuit Court affirmed that decision on appeal. Following his initial defeat, Perot attempted to shut out Mavericks fans from use of the parking lots he controlled near the
American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association and the Dallas St ...
. In January 2018, Cuban announced the Mavericks would be accepting
Bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public di ...
as payment for tickets in the following season. On March 4, 2021, Cuban announced the Mavericks would begin accepting
Dogecoin Dogecoin ( or , Abbreviation: DOGE; sign: Ð) is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a "joke", making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the ...
as payment for both merchandise as well as tickets to games. In early 2021, he decided to stop playing the National Anthem at Dallas Mavericks games in order to "respect those whose believed the anthem did not represent them." He also supported the movement as far back as late 2020. The NBA responded by requiring every team to play it, citing it as their "long-standing policy". Cuban did not complain, and ended up playing the anthem.


NBA fines

Cuban's ownership has been the source of extensive media attention and controversy involving league policies. Cuban has been fined by the NBA, mostly for critical statements about the league and referees, at least $1.665 million for 13 incidents. In a June 30, 2006 interview, Mavericks player
Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the g ...
said about Cuban: In an interview with the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
, Cuban said that he matches NBA fines with charitable donations of equal amounts. In a nationally publicized incident in 2002, he criticized the league's manager of officials,
Ed T. Rush Ed T. Rush (born 1942) is a former professional basketball referee. He joined the NBA as a referee in 1966, at age 24, becoming the youngest referee in NBA history. In 1973, he left for the American Basketball Association but returned to the NBA ...
, saying that he "wouldn't be able to manage a
Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn ...
." Dairy Queen management took offense to Cuban's comments and invited him to manage a Dairy Queen restaurant for a day. Cuban accepted the company's invitation and worked for a day at a Dairy Queen in
Coppell, Texas Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in t ...
, where fans lined up in the street to get a Blizzard from the owner of the Mavericks. During the
2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dr ...
, Cuban started a booing campaign when former Mavericks player
Michael Finley Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the ...
returned to play against the Mavericks as a member of the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
. In a playoff series between the Mavericks and Spurs, Cuban cursed Spurs forward
Bruce Bowen Bruce Eric Bowen Jr. (born June 14, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. Bowen played small forward and graduated from Edison High School and Cal State Fullerton. He went on to play for the National Basketball Association' ...
and was fined $25,000 by the NBA for rushing onto the court and criticizing NBA officials. After the
2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in ...
, Cuban was fined $250,000 by the NBA for repeated misconduct following the Mavericks' loss to the Miami Heat in Game Five of the
2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in ...
. In February 2007, Cuban publicly criticized
NBA Finals MVP The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of e ...
Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA cham ...
and declared that he would get fined if he made any comments about what he thought really happened in the
2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in ...
. On January 16, 2009, the league fined Cuban $25,000 for yelling at
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
player
J. R. Smith Earl Joseph "J. R." Smith III (born September 9, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Smith played high school basketball at New Jers ...
at the end of the first half on a Mavericks-at-Nuggets game played on January 13. Cuban was apparently incensed that Smith had thrown an elbow that barely missed Mavericks forward Antoine Wright. Cuban offered to match the fine with a donation to a charity of Smith's choosing. Cuban stated that if he doesn't hear from Smith, then he will donate the money to the
NHL Players' Association NHLPA (french: AJLNH) is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United States and Canada. The association r ...
Goals and Dreams Fund in the names of Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore. In May 2009, Cuban made a reference to the Denver Nuggets being "thugs" after a loss to the Nuggets in game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The statement was geared towards the Nuggets and their fans. As he passed
Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los ...
's mother, who was seated near Cuban as he left the arena, he pointed at her and said, "that includes your son." This controversial comment revisited media attention on Cuban yet again. Cuban issued an apology the next day referencing the poor treatment of away fans in arenas around the league. The league issued a statement stating that they would not fine him. On May 22, 2010, Cuban was fined $100,000 for comments he made during a television interview about trying to sign
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...
. Despite his history, he was notably silent during the Mavericks' 2011 championship playoff run. Despite Cuban's history with
David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of ...
, he believed the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...
Commissioner would leave a lasting legacy "of a focus on growth and recognizing that the NBA is in the entertainment business and that it's a global product, not just a local product. Whatever platforms that took us to, he was ready to go. He wasn't protective at all. He was wide open. I think that was great." On January 18, 2014, Cuban was once again fined $100,000 for confronting referees and using inappropriate language toward them. As with previous fines, Cuban confirmed that he would match the fine with a donation to charity, however, with the condition that he reaches two million followers on his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account. Cuban also jokingly commented that he could not let Stern leave without a proper farewell. On February 21, 2018, Cuban was fined $600,000 by the NBA for stating that the Dallas Mavericks should "
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...
for the rest of the season." Commissioner
Adam Silver Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and sports executive who serves as the fifth and current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He joined the NBA in 1992 and has held various positions within the l ...
stated that the fine was "for public statements detrimental to the NBA." On March 6, 2020, Cuban was fined $500,000 by the NBA for "public criticism and detrimental conduct regarding NBA officiating", according to the league.


Major League Baseball

Cuban has repeatedly expressed interest in owning a
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
franchise and has unsuccessfully attempted to purchase at least three franchises. In 2008, he submitted an initial bid of $1.3 billion to buy the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
and was invited to participate in a second round of bidding along with several other potential ownership groups. Cuban was not selected to participate in the final bidding process in January 2009. In August 2010, Cuban actively bid to buy the Texas Rangers with Jeffrey L. Beck. Cuban stopped bids after 1 a.m., having placed bids totaling almost $600 million. He had outbid a competing ownership group led by ex-pitcher and Rangers executive
Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...
, but lost the deal before the Rangers played the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
in the
2010 World Series The 2010 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2010 season. The 106th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the N ...
. In January 2012, Cuban placed an initial bid for the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...
, but was eliminated before the second round of bidding. Cuban felt that the value of the Dodgers' TV rights deal drove the price of the franchise too high. He had previously said that he would not be interested in buying the franchise at $1 billion, telling the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' in November 2011 "I don't think the Dodgers franchise is worth twice what the Rangers are worth." However, as the bidding process drew near many speculated that the sale would surpass $1.5 billion, with
Jon Heyman Jon Heyman (born February 7, 1961) is a baseball columnist for the '' New York Post'', a baseball insider for MLB Network and WFAN Radio and co-host with Joel Sherman of the baseball podcast ''The Show''. Heyman has also appeared as a guest o ...
of
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS ...
reporting on Twitter that at least one bid in the $1–1.5 billion range was placed in the initial round of the bidding process. Ultimately, the Dodgers sold for $2.15 billion to
Guggenheim Baseball Management Guggenheim Baseball Management is the principal owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team. The consortium consisted of Guggenheim controlling partner Mark Walter, and also includes as investors former Los Angeles Laker Earvin ...
. Cuban also previously expressed interest in becoming a minority owner of the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...
after owner
Fred Wilpon Fred Wilpon (born November 22, 1936) is an American real estate developer and former baseball executive. He was principal owner of the New York Mets from 1987 to 2020. Early life and education Wilpon was raised in a Jewish family
announced in 2011 that he was planning to sell up to a 25% stake in the team. Cuban has wanted to purchase his hometown
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
, but was rebuffed by then owner
Kevin McClatchy Kevin S. McClatchy (born January 13, 1963) is the chairman of McClatchy and former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. He led a group of investors that purchased the team in 1996, and served as the team's CEO and lead owner until 2007 ...
in 2005.


Other sports businesses

In 2005, Cuban expressed interest in buying the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have play ...
. In 2006, Cuban joined an investment group along with
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and b ...
, Kevin Millevoi, Andy Murstein, and Walnut Capital principals Gregg Perelman and Todd Reidbord to attempt to acquire
the Penguins ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
. The franchise ultimately rejected the group's bid when team owners
Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the ...
and
Ronald Burkle Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, food, ...
took the team off the market. At
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
's
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the s ...
in 2003, Cuban was involved in a
staged ''Staged'' is a British television comedy series, set during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and primarily filmed using video-conferencing technology. The first series premiered on 10 June 2020 on BBC One, and the second series pre ...
altercation with '' Raw'' General Manager
Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) an ...
and ''Raw'' wrestler
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...
. On December 7, 2009, Cuban acted as the
guest host {{Unreferenced, date=January 2009 A guest host (or guest presenter in the United Kingdom) is a host, usually of a talk show, that hosts the program in lieu of the regular host if they fall ill, have another project or commitment, or are unable to h ...
of '' Raw'', getting revenge on Orton when he was the guest referee in Orton's match against
Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one- ...
, giving Kingston a fast count victory. He then announced that Orton would face Kingston at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. At the end of the show, Cuban was slammed through a table by the number one contender for the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDo ...
,
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...
. On September 12, 2007, Cuban said that he was in talks with WWE Chairman
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
to create a
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
company that would compete with
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
. He is now a
bondholder In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of the bond at the maturity date as well as ...
of
Zuffa Zuffa, LLC () is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of th ...
, which was formerly UFC's parent company. Cuban followed up his intentions by organizing "
HDNet Fights HDNet Fights was a US based television outlet for various MMA and combat sports promotions. Its broadcast lineup included DREAM, Sengoku, K-1, Strikeforce, Adrenaline MMA, M-1 Global, Ring of Honor, Maximum Fighting Championship, Affliction Enter ...
", a
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
promotion which airs exclusively on HDNet and premiered on October 13, 2007, with a card headlined by a fight between
Erik Paulson Erik Paulson (born June 28, 1966) is an American mixed martial artist. He is the first American to win the World Light-Heavy Weight Shooto Title in Japan. Biography Erik started his career in martial arts starting with Judo at age of 8. However ...
and Jeff Ford as well as fights featuring veterans
Drew Fickett Andrew Robert Fickett (born December 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, Fickett has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM, Cage Rage, t ...
and
Justin Eilers Justin Mark Eilers (June 28, 1978 – December 25, 2008)Eilers Shot Dead
– Sherdog.com ...
. Since 2009, Cuban has been a panelist at the annual
MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC) is an annual event that provides a forum for industry professionals (executives and leading researchers) and students to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the sports industry. The conferen ...
. In April 2010, Cuban loaned the newly formed United Football League (UFL) $5 million. He did not own a franchise, and he was not involved in day-to-day operations of the league nor of any of its teams. In January 2011, he filed a federal lawsuit against the UFL for their failure to repay the loan by the October 6, 2010 deadline. In June 2015, Cuban invested in the esports betting platform
Unikrn Unikrn Inc. (styled as "Unikrn") is an esports betting and entertainment media company based in Seattle, Washington. In August 2021, international betting, gaming and interactive entertainment company Entain acquired Unikrn. Overview Founde ...
. In February 2016, Cuban purchased a principal ownership stake in the
Professional Futsal League The Professional Futsal League is a planned professional futsal league in the United States. The league was founded in 2016 and it was intended to begin play in 2018. History In February 2016, Mark Cuban purchased a principal ownership stake in ...
.


Political activity

Cuban is an admirer of author and philosopher
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
. About Rand's novel ''
The Fountainhead ''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect, who battles against conventional standards and refuses to comp ...
'', he said, that it "was incredibly motivating to me. It encouraged me to think as an individual, take risks to reach my goals, and responsibility for my successes and failures. I loved it." His political views have leaned toward libertarianism. He held a position on the centrist
Unity08 Unity08 was an American political reform movement that sought to offer all voters an opportunity to directly engage in politics by ranking the most crucial issues facing the country, discussing them with the candidates and engaging in an online, ...
political organization's advisory council. Despite leaning towards libertarianism, Cuban posted an entry on his blog claiming paying more taxes to be the most patriotic thing someone can do. In 2012, Cuban donated $7,000 to political campaigns, with $6,000 going to
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. sena ...
of Utah and $1,000 to
Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
California
Congresswoman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
Zoe Lofgren Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren ( ; born December 21, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Lofgren is in her 13th term in Congress, having been first elected in 1 ...
. On February 8, 2008, Cuban voiced his support for the
draft Bloomberg movement The Draft Bloomberg movement is a political draft movement in the United States that launched in 2007 as an effort to convince New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for President of the United States as an independent candidate in the 20 ...
attempting to convince New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
to run in the U.S. presidential election of 2008 on his blog. Cuban concluded a post lamenting the current state of U.S. politics: "Are you listening, Mayor Bloomberg? For less than the cost of opening a tent pole movie, you can change the status quo." He eventually voted for
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
in the 2008 election. In November 2012, in response to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
offering President Obama $5 million to a charity of President Obama's choosing if he released passport applications and college transcripts to the public, Cuban offered Trump $1 million to a charity of Trump's choosing if Trump shaved his head. On December 19, 2012, Cuban donated $250,000 to the
Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ...
to support its work on patent reform. Part of his donation funded a new title for EFF's staff attorney Julie Samuels: The Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents. At the Code/Media conference in February 2015, Cuban said of
net neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of c ...
that "having he FCCoverseeing the Internet scares the shit out of me". Cuban formally endorsed
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
for president at a July 30, 2016 rally in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...
. During that campaign stop, Cuban said of Republican nominee Donald Trump, "You know what we call a person like that in Pittsburgh? A
jagoff ''Jagoff'' or ''jag-off'' is an American English derogatory slang term from Pittsburghese meaning a person who is a jerk, stupid or inept. It is most prominent in the Pittsburgh area and Pennsylvania in general, along with wide use in the City of C ...
... Is there any bigger jagoff in the world than Donald Trump?" On November 22, 2016, Cuban met with the then
President-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the U ...
Trump's key advisor
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during the ...
, according to reports. During an appearance on an episode of ''
Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repeat ...
'' in May 2020, Cuban voiced his support for former Vice President Joe Biden in the
2020 U.S. presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...
. On February 2, 2021, Cuban joined Reddit's
WallStreetBets r/wallstreetbets, also known as WallStreetBets or WSB, is a subreddit where participants discuss stock and option trading. It has become notable for its colorful and profane jargon, aggressive trading strategies, and for playing a major role in ...
" Ask Me Anything" forum with millions of community members and fielded user questions related to the widely publicized battle between retail traders and
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...
short sellers over
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
shares. In the previous days, GameStop shares experienced a meteoric rise to as much as $489 on January 28, 2021, up from $17.15 on January 4, 2021. The growth was mainly brought on by an organized group of Reddit users named "WallStreetBets" that noticed GameStop stock was heavily shorted by Wall Street hedge firms and launched an ensuing campaign to buy enough shares to raise share value and produce a
GameStop short squeeze In January 2021, a short squeeze of the stock of the American video game retailer GameStop () and other securities took place, causing major financial consequences for certain hedge funds and large losses for short sellers. Approximately 140 ...
. In the aftermath, the stock became heavily volatile as hedge firms repositioned themselves in the market. Firms like
Melvin Capital Melvin Capital Management LP is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded in 2014 by Gabriel Plotkin, who named the firm after his late grandfather. On May 18, 2022 Plotkin announced that the fund would close ...
required bailouts exceeding $2B and retail traders experienced excessive but temporary gains, whereas GameStop share value dropped to below $100 within a few days of closing at over $300. The consistent decline into February raised a lot of questions about next steps for retail traders and prompted Cuban to step in and provide advice to the Reddit community. Amid the volatility, Cuban had been an outspoken supporter of the WallStreetBets community alongside other wealthy financial figureheads like
Chamath Palihapitiya Chamath Palihapitiya (born 3 September 1976) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian and American venture capitalist, engineer, SPAC sponsor, founder and CEO of Social Capital. Palihapitiya was an early senior executive at Facebook, working at the compan ...
,
Cameron Winklevoss Cameron Howard Winklevoss (born August 21, 1981) is an American cryptocurrency investor and Olympic rower, who (with his brother) founded Winklevoss Capital Management and Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. He competed in the men's pair rowing ...
and
Tyler Winklevoss Tyler Howard Winklevoss (born August 21, 1981) is an American investor, founder of Winklevoss Capital Management and Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, and Olympic rower. Winklevoss co-founded HarvardConnection (later renamed ConnectU) along with ...
. In the AMA session, Cuban publicly called the trust of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission into question as well as the capabilities of zero commission
brokerage firms A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be con ...
, like Robinhood, that restricted retail traders from purchasing GameStop shares and other shorted stocks which he said crippled demand. Cuban's advice to Reddit users was to hold GameStop shares if they could afford it in anticipation of additional short sales by Wall Street firms, but ultimately acknowledged that the odds were stacked against them and to use it as a learning lesson. He offered insight into his trading technique suggesting that traders know why they are buying something and to "HODL"(hold on for dear life) until they learn that something has changed. Cuban noted a need for policy change to better support retail traders, credited the WallStreetBets community for leading the charge, and expressed optimism about
blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, ...
trading as a more efficient, transparent and trustworthy form of trading for retail traders in the future. In October 2021, Cuban said that he supports making the
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...
a
living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labo ...
.


Fallen Patriot Fund

Cuban started the Fallen Patriot Fund to help families of U.S. military personnel killed or injured during the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
, personally matching the first $1 million in contributions with funds from the Mark Cuban Foundation, which is run by his brother
Brian Cuban Brian Cuban (born January 11, 1961) is an American attorney, author, speaker, and activist. He is an authority on male eating disorders, drug addiction, drug rehabilitation, and alcoholism. He is a lawyer and activist in the areas of First Amend ...
.


Speculation of a presidential run

In September 2015, Cuban stated in an interview that running for president was "a fun idea to toss around", and that, if he were running in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he "could beat both
Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...
and
Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
". This was interpreted by many media outlets as indication that Cuban was considering running, but he clarified soon afterward that he had no intention to do so. In October 2015, Cuban posted on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, "Maybe I'll run for
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...
." At the time, there was no clear front-runner to replace the outgoing John Boehner; the Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress. Cuban told ''
Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ...
'' in May 2016 that he would be open to being Clinton's running mate in the election, though he would seek to alter some of her positions in order to do so. In the same interview, the self-described "fiercely independent" Cuban also said that he would consider running as Republican nominee Trump's running mate after having a meeting with Trump about understanding the issues, Trump's positions on them, and coming up with solutions. Cuban also described Trump as "that friend that you just shake your head at. He's that guy who'd get drunk and fall over all the time, or just says dumb shit all the time, but he's your friend." On July 21, 2016, Cuban appeared on a live segment on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ite ...
'' entitled "Gloves Off: Mark Cuban Edition" in which he mocked Trump, including referencing the Trump companies' multiple bankruptcies and the failed
Trump University Trump University (also known as the Trump Wealth Institute and Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC) was an American company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 until 2010. It was owned and operated by The Trump Organization. A se ...
program, and questioning the size of Trump's actual net worth. In a September 2016 interview with NPR's Scott Simon, Cuban effectively positioned himself to support Clinton. He posited that the best strategy to beat Trump was to attack his insecurities, especially that of his intellect. He also added that Trump is the least qualified to be president and is not informed about policies. Later in September 2016, during a post-presidential debate interview, Cuban criticized Trump's characterization that paying the minimum required taxes 'is smart' and criticized Trump for not paying back into the system that allowed him to amass such wealth. In October 2017, Cuban said that he would "definitely" run for president if he were single. Later that month, Cuban claimed that if he ran for president in 2020, it would be as a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...
, and described himself as "socially a centrist ... but very fiscally conservative". It had also been speculated that he could have challenged president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
in 2020 as a Democrat. However, in a March 2019 interview with the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Ta ...
'', Cuban stated that he was "strongly considering running" for president as an independent candidate. In May 2019, Cuban said: "It would take the perfect storm for me to do it. There's some things that could open the door, but I'm not projecting or predicting it right now." In a June 2020 interview with CNN and former Obama advisor David Axelrod, Cuban revealed that he had seriously considered running for president that year as an independent candidate. He went so far as to commission a national poll, which, according to Cuban, showed he would only receive 25 percent of the vote in a hypothetical matchup with President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Cuban also said that the poll showed his candidacy would have pulled votes from both Trump and Biden.


Personal life

Cuban has two brothers,
Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...
and Jeff. In September 2002, Cuban married Tiffany Stewart in a private ceremony in
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...
. They have two daughters, born in 2003 and 2006, and a son born in 2009. They live in a mansion in the
Preston Hollow Preston Hollow is a neighborhood in north Dallas, Texas, USA. It is bordered on the south by the city of University Park, Texas. History Beginning in the 1850s, the first settlers began receiving land grants for Preston Hollow’s land. Amon ...
area of
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas. In April 2019, after missing a taping of '' The View'', Cuban revealed he had a procedure performed to treat his atrial fibrillation. His diagnosis was first revealed in 2017 on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Cuban is a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat ( red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetaria ...
.


Philanthropy

In 2003, Cuban founded the Fallen Patriot Fund to help families of U.S. military personnel killed or injured during the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
. In June 2015, Cuban made a $5 million donation to Indiana University at Bloomington for the "Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology", which was built inside
Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...
, the school's basketball arena. In March 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, Cuban posted an offer on
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job s ...
to small business owners who had questions about what to do in order to survive the economic downturn being caused by the pandemic. He said people could ask him anything, but that his preference was "going to be helping small biz trying to avoid layoffs and hourly reductions." There were more than 10,000 comments in response to his offer. In 2020, Cuban picked up homeless former NBA player
Delonte West Delonte Maurice West (born July 26, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks. He also ...
from a gas station in Dallas. He paid for a hotel room for West along with his treatment at a drug rehabilitation center. In 2022, the
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC), doing business as Cost Plus Drugs, is a public benefit corporation (PBC) with its main headquarters located in Dallas, Texas. The company is focused on the pharmacy distribution of drugs with a stated ...
was set up with a goal to dramatically reduce the cost of prescription drugs in the US and to introduce transparency to the pricing of drugs.


Sexual assault complaint

In a March 6, 2018 article, ''
Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Will ...
'' reported on an alleged April 2011 incident between Cuban and a female patron of a Portland, Oregon bar called the Barrel Room. The woman told Portland police that Cuban sexually groped her while she posed for pictures with him. She submitted seven photographs, two of which Portland Police Detective Brendan McGuire referred to as "significant". Cuban denied the allegations, and his attorney provided the results of a
polygraph test A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked a ...
taken by Cuban and written statements from two medical doctors stating that the actions described were anatomically improbable. The Portland District Attorney's office declined to prosecute, citing a lack of concrete evidence to support the claim and the woman's preference not to proceed with charges, and concluding that "no crime can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt". The NBA announced on March 8, 2018, that it was reviewing the matter.


Awards and honors

NBA * 2011
NBA Champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...
(as owner of the
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...
) Business * 1998
Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. , approximately 7,500 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are ...
Alumni Award – Distinguished Entrepreneur: 1998 * 2011 ''D Magazine'' CEO of the Year Media * 2011
Outstanding Team ESPY Award The Outstanding Team ESPY Award, known alternatively as the Best Team ESPY Award, has been presented annually since 1993 to the professional, collegiate, or national team, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in ...
(as owner of the Dallas Mavericks)


Filmography


Film


Television


Bibliography

* ''How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It''. Diversion Publishing. 2011. * ''Let's Go, Mavs!.''
Mascot Books Mascot Books is a full-service, multi-genre, independent book publisher and distributor. It is a hybrid publishing company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. The company publishes a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, children ...
. 2007.


References


External links


Blog
* * *
Mark Cuban
collected news and commentary at ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban, Mark 1958 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 2929 Entertainment holdings American bartenders American billionaires American bloggers American book publishers (people) American business writers American chairpersons of corporations American children's writers American computer businesspeople American corporate directors American financiers American film producers American investors American libertarians American male bloggers American male non-fiction writers American male television actors American mass media owners American people of Lithuanian descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American reality television producers American retail chief executives American salespeople American technology chief executives American technology company founders American technology writers American television company founders American television executives American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Indiana Businesspeople from Pittsburgh Businesspeople from Texas Businesspeople in information technology Businesspeople in software Copyright activists Dallas Mavericks owners Esports businesspeople Film producers from Indiana Film producers from Pennsylvania Film producers from Texas Jewish activists Jewish American writers Kelley School of Business alumni Male actors from Pittsburgh Participants in American reality television series People associated with cryptocurrency People from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania People from Navarro County, Texas Television personalities from Pittsburgh Television producers from Indiana Television producers from Pennsylvania Television producers from Texas Texas Independents University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Dallas Writers from Indiana Writers from Pittsburgh