Mark Cuban facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mark Cuban
Cuban in 2023
Born	(1958-07-31) July 31, 1958 (age 66) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	University of Pittsburgh Indiana University Bloomington (BS)
Occupation	Businessman investor television personality
Known for	Ownership of the Dallas Mavericks Investor on Shark Tank
Title	Minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks Founder of AXS TV & HDNet Co-founder of 2929 Entertainment Owner of Mustang, Texas Co-owner of Brondell
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Tiffany Stewart ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	3
Relatives	Brian Cuban (brother)
Awards	2011 NBA champion (as owner)

Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is a famous American businessman and TV star. He used to be the main owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Now, he's a minority owner. He also co-owns a company called 2929 Entertainment. Many people know him as one of the main investors, or "sharks," on the TV show Shark Tank. In December 2024, experts estimated his wealth to be about $5.7 billion.

Mark Cuban grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started doing small businesses when he was very young. He sold things like garbage bags and newspapers. He went to Indiana University and started many different businesses. He founded companies like MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com. He sold both of these for a lot of money. Mark Cuban invests in many areas, like technology, media, and sports. He is well-known in the NBA for being very involved with the Mavericks. His team even won the NBA Championship in 2011. Besides business, Mark Cuban also helps charities and appears on TV.

Early Life and School Days

Mark Cuban was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dad, Norton Cuban, fixed car seats. His mom, Shirley, often tried new jobs.

Mark grew up in a working-class Jewish family in Mount Lebanon. This is a town near Pittsburgh. His grandfather changed their family name to "Cuban" when they came from Russia. His other grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Romania.

Mark started his first business when he was 12. He sold garbage bags to earn money for new basketball shoes. A few years later, he made money by selling stamps and coins. When he was 16, he sold newspapers. He brought them from Cleveland to Pittsburgh during a newspaper strike.

Instead of finishing high school, he went to the University of Pittsburgh. He joined a club called Pi Lambda Phi. After one year, he moved to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in management. He picked Indiana because it was the cheapest top business school. In college, he had many small businesses. He ran a bar, taught disco lessons, and started a chain letter.

After college, Mark went back to Pittsburgh. He got a job at Mellon Bank. There, he learned a lot about computers and networks.

Business Adventures

In 1982, Mark Cuban moved to Dallas, Texas. He first worked as a bartender. Then, he sold computer software for a company called Your Business Software. He was fired less than a year later. This happened because he went to meet a new client instead of opening the store.

Mark then started his own company, MicroSolutions. He got help from his old customers. MicroSolutions helped set up computer systems and sold software. The company grew to make over $30 million in sales. In 1990, Mark sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe for $6 million. After taxes, he made about $2 million from the deal.

Audionet and Broadcast.com

In 1995, Mark Cuban and his college friend Todd Wagner started Audionet. They loved Indiana Hoosier college basketball. They also liked webcasting, which is like broadcasting over the internet. Audionet became Broadcast.com in 1998. By 1999, Broadcast.com had 330 employees. It made $13.5 million in just three months.

In 1999, during the internet boom, Yahoo! bought Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in Yahoo! stock. This was a huge amount of money. Mark Cuban has said he was very lucky to sell the company before the internet bubble burst. He also made sure to protect his money from the Yahoo! stock.

Mark still works with Todd Wagner in another company called 2929 Entertainment. This company makes and distributes movies and videos. In 2003, they bought Landmark Theatres, a chain of movie theaters. They also helped bring back the TV show Star Search on CBS.

Investing in New Companies

Mark Cuban has also invested in companies that focus on social media and shared networks. He owned IceRocket, a search engine for blogs.

In 2005, Mark invested $1.7 million in a file-sharing company called RedSwoosh. This money helped the company a lot. RedSwoosh was later bought by Akamai for $19 million.

Mark Cuban at the Web 2.0 Conference in 2005

In 2005, Mark also invested in Brondell Inc. This company makes a high-tech toilet seat called a Swash. He also put money into Goowy Media Inc., a software company. In 2006, Sirius Satellite Radio said Mark would host his own radio show. But the show never happened.

In 2006, Mark helped start Sharesleuth.com. This website looks for fraud in public companies. Mark said he would buy or sell shares in companies mentioned on the site before it published. He said this was legal because he told everyone about it.

In 2007, Mark wrote his first children's book, Let's Go, Mavs!. In 2011, he wrote an e-book called How to Win at the Sport of Business. He said it was meant to inspire people.

In 2010, Mark gave money to Motionloft, a company that analyzes store traffic. The CEO said he emailed Mark, who quickly wanted to know more. In 2013, the CEO was fired and later arrested for telling investors that a big company would buy Motionloft, which wasn't true. Mark said the technology was "game changing."

In 2019, Mark Cuban bought half of Veldskoen Shoes' business in the U.S. In 2021, he invested in a cryptocurrency project called Injective Protocol. Also in 2021, Mark bought the entire town of Mustang, Texas. He said a friend needed to sell it, and he wasn't sure what he would do with it.

=Shark Tank

Mark Cuban has been an investor on the TV show Shark Tank since 2011. He is one of the "sharks" who listen to people's business ideas.

Mark Cuban at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2014

By May 2015, he had invested in 85 deals on the show. He put in a total of $19.9 million. In 2022, Mark said that his Shark Tank investments had actually lost money overall.

Sometimes, deals made on the show don't happen later. This is because they check all the details after the show. For example, a company called Hy-Conn agreed to a deal with Mark but then didn't go through with it.

Mark's top three investments from the show, each over $1 million, are Ten Thirty One Productions, Rugged Maniac Obstacle Race, and BeatBox Beverages.

Since Mark joined Shark Tank, the show's popularity has grown. It has also won several awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards. As of 2023, Mark Cuban is the wealthiest investor on the show. In November 2023, he announced that the 16th season would be his last.

Magnolia Pictures

Mark Cuban owns a movie distribution company called Magnolia Pictures. Through Magnolia, he helped fund Redacted. This movie was based on real events from 2006.

In 2011, Mark thought about selling Magnolia Pictures and Landmark Theatres. But he said he was happy to keep them if he didn't get the price he wanted.

Cryptocurrency

Mark Cuban has invested in the digital currency Dogecoin. He also lets people use Dogecoin to buy things from the Dallas Mavericks team. He said Dogecoin is good for buying goods and services. He believes the Dogecoin community is very strong.

In 2022, a company called Voyager Digital went bankrupt. Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks were sued. The lawsuit said Voyager Digital was a Ponzi scheme because Mark promoted it. In 2023, Mark's digital wallet was hacked, and he lost about $870,000 worth of digital tokens.

Cost Plus Drug Company

In 2022, Mark Cuban started the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. His goal is to make common medicine cheaper for people in the U.S.

Sports Businesses

Dallas Mavericks

Mark Cuban as owner of the Dallas Mavericks in 2008

In 2000, Mark Cuban bought most of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks team. He paid $285 million.

Before Mark bought the team, the Mavericks won only 40% of their games. In the next 10 years with Mark, they won 69% of their regular season games. They also made it to the playoffs almost every year. In 2006, they reached the NBA Finals for the first time, but they lost. In 2011, they won the NBA Championship!

Most NBA team owners watch games from fancy private boxes. But Mark Cuban sits with the fans and wears team jerseys. He even flies his private plane to away games.

In 2018, Mark said the Mavericks would start accepting Bitcoin for tickets. In 2021, he announced they would also accept Dogecoin for merchandise and tickets.

In 2021, he briefly stopped playing the National Anthem at Mavericks games. He wanted to respect those who felt the anthem didn't represent them. The NBA then said all teams must play it. Mark agreed and started playing it again.

In November 2023, news came out that Mark was selling his share in the Dallas Mavericks. In December 2023, the NBA approved the sale of 73% of the team to other families.

Major League Baseball

Mark Cuban has often said he wants to own a Major League Baseball team. He has tried to buy at least three teams but was not successful. In 2008, he offered $1.3 billion for the Chicago Cubs. He was not chosen in the final bidding.

In 2010, Mark tried to buy the Texas Rangers. He offered almost $600 million, outbidding another group. But he still lost the deal. In 2012, he tried to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. He felt the price was too high because of the team's TV rights. The Dodgers eventually sold for $2.15 billion.

Mark also wanted to buy a small part of the New York Mets. He also wanted to buy his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the owner said no in 2005.

Other Sports Businesses

Mark Cuban at the 2012 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

In 2005, Mark was interested in buying the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. He joined a group to try and buy them in 2006. But the team owners decided not to sell.

In 2003, Mark was part of a fake fight at a WWE event. In 2009, he was a guest host on WWE Raw. He got revenge on a wrestler named Randy Orton. He made Orton lose a match. Later, another wrestler slammed Mark through a table.

In 2007, Mark said he was talking to WWE's owner about starting a mixed martial arts company. This company would compete with UFC. He later became an investor in Zuffa, which used to own UFC.

Mark then started "HDNet Fights". This is a mixed martial arts show that airs on his TV channel, HDNet. Since 2009, Mark has been a speaker at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. This conference is about using data in sports.

In 2010, Mark loaned $5 million to a new football league called the UFL. He didn't own a team. In 2011, he sued the UFL because they didn't pay back the loan.

In 2015, Mark invested in esports betting. In 2016, he bought a main ownership part in the Professional Futsal League.

Political Interests

Mark Cuban with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey in 2019

Mark Cuban speaking at the White House in 2024

Mark Cuban likes the author Ayn Rand. He said her book The Fountainhead taught him to think for himself and take risks. His political ideas are often like libertarianism. This means he believes in a lot of personal freedom. But he also said paying more taxes is patriotic.

In 1996, he gave money to a Republican Senator. In 2002, he gave money to a Democratic Congresswoman.

In 2008, Mark supported the idea of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg running for president. Mark later voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

In 2012, Donald Trump offered President Obama money for charity if he released some personal papers. Mark Cuban then offered Trump $1 million for charity if Trump shaved his head.

In 2012, Mark gave $250,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. This group works to protect digital rights. His donation helped create a special job to fight "stupid patents."

In 2016, Mark officially supported Hillary Clinton for president. In 2020, he supported Joe Biden for president.

In 2021, Mark joined a Reddit group called WallStreetBets. He answered questions about the GameStop stock event. He talked about how trading works and said that rules should better support everyday traders. He also thought blockchain trading could be more fair.

Before the 2024 election, Mark Cuban supported Kamala Harris for President. He said she was like a business founder. He also started a group called "Business Leaders for Harris." Mark even said he would like to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if Harris won. In October 2024, he joined Harris on her campaign. He spoke about Donald Trump's tax plans, saying they would make prices go up. He compared Trump to the Grinch, saying he wanted to "steal your Christmas."

Fallen Patriot Fund

In 2003, Mark Cuban started the Fallen Patriot Fund. This fund helps families of U.S. military members who were hurt or died in the Iraq War. Mark personally gave the first $1 million to this fund.

Talk of Running for President

In 2015, Mark said running for president was a "fun idea." He thought he could beat both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. But he later said he had no plans to run.

In 2016, he said he would consider being Hillary Clinton's running mate. He also said he would consider being Donald Trump's running mate. Later, he appeared on a TV show and made fun of Trump.

In 2016, Mark supported Hillary Clinton. He said Trump was not qualified to be president. He also criticized Trump for not paying more taxes back into the system.

In 2017, Mark said he would "definitely" run for president if he were single. He said he was "socially a centrist" but "fiscally conservative." In 2019, he said he was "strongly considering running" as an independent.

In 2020, Mark said he seriously thought about running for president as an independent. He even had a poll done. The poll showed he would only get 25% of the votes. He realized his run would take votes from both Trump and Biden.

Personal Life

Mark Cuban at an esports event in 2015

Mark Cuban has two brothers, Brian and Jeff.

In 2002, Mark married Tiffany Stewart in Barbados. They have two daughters, born in 2003 and 2006, and a son born in 2009. They live in a very large house in Dallas, Texas.

Mark Cuban is a vegetarian. He is also a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.

Helping Others

In 2003, Mark Cuban started the Fallen Patriot Fund. This fund helps families of U.S. military members who were hurt or died in the Iraq War.

In 2015, Mark gave $5 million to Indiana University Bloomington. This money helped create the "Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology." It was built inside the school's basketball arena.

Awards and Honors

Mark Cuban with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship parade

The Guinness Book of Records says Mark Cuban made the "largest single e-commerce transaction." This was when he bought a private jet for $40 million online in 1999.

In 2024, Mark Cuban was named one of the Time 100 Most Influential People.

Business Awards

• 1998 Kelley School of Business Alumni Award – Distinguished Entrepreneur
• 2011 D Magazine CEO of the Year

Media Awards

• 2011 Outstanding Team ESPY Award as owner of the Dallas Mavericks

NBA Awards

• 2011 NBA Champion as owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Movies and TV Shows

Movies

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Mark Cuban para niños

• List of celebrities by net worth