Bruno Mars may want to be a billionaire, but entrepreneur Mark Cuban doesn’t feel the same way.
In a CBS “Sunday Morning” interview, Cuban easily denied the billions. When asked if he would be satisfied with 1% of his net worth, he cheerfully replied, “Yes. If I have the same family and everything, of course.
Giving away 99% of your wealth is easier if you are worth $4.6 billion like Cuba, who will still give you $46 million. A self-made billionaire, Cuban has founded 10 companies, invested millions into 231 startups, and owns a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks. He got his big billionaire break when he sold Broadcast.com, which he bought with business partner Todd Wagner in 1995, to Yahoo after the site had its best IPO to date (later considered the worst acquisition of all time).
But Cuba’s indifference to his billions is somewhat surprising because he has always enjoyed his wealth. The shark once spent his days jetting around the world on his own private jet, spending time between his $13 million Dallas mansion, an apartment near Central Park, and a waterfront home in Laguna Beach. “Obviously it’s expensive, but time is an asset we don’t have,” he once wrote in a column for Men’s Journal about buying the jet. “It saves hours and hours.”
As Forbes’ Jemima McEvoy said, Cuba partied “like a rock star.” He initially wanted to retire and did so only after selling MicroSolutions, his first company, when he was only 32.
“I got about $2 million after taxes,” Cuban told CBS about the deal. “I bought an age pass on American Airlines, and [I said] I’m not going to work, I’m just going to party like a rock star in many countries.”
Instead, he made a move on Broadcast.com. Cuba’s competitive nature and eagle eye have served him well in increasing his wealth. “Nobody should have a lot of wealth, but that’s the way it is,” he told McEvory. “You made the best of it, and I don’t feel guilty about it.”
Today, he’s using his time as a Shark Tank judge and hitching a ride to crypto. He still throws a bit like a character Schitt’s Creekbuy the quiet town of Mustang, Texas, back in 2021 (a gesture to a dying friend).
But perhaps Cuba has got the most high-roller days of the system if it can easily envision life as a millionaire instead of a billionaire.
“When I was in my 20s and 30s and early 40s, it was all about how much money I could make,” he told CBS. “But at this point in my life where the next dollar I give is not going to change my life, my children’s life, their children’s life, the capitalistic reward for having an impact.”
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