Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Mark Cuban

How Mark Cuban built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Mark Cuban is a highly successful American businessman, investor, and television personality. Best known as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team and a prominent investor on the reality TV show Shark Tank, Cuban has built a substantial net worth estimated at $5.7 billion. He also co-owns 2929 Entertainment. His diverse business ventures and media presence have made him a recognizable figure in both the business and entertainment worlds.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

July 7, 1982: Cuban moves to Dallas, Texas

On July 7, 1982, Mark Cuban moved to Dallas, Texas, where he initially worked as a bartender and then as a salesperson for Your Business Software, before being fired for pursuing new business opportunities.

1990: Sale of MicroSolutions to CompuServe

In 1990, Mark Cuban sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe for $6 million, earning approximately $2 million after taxes.

1995: Cuban co-founds Audionet

In 1995, Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner joined Audionet, combining their interest in college basketball and webcasting.

1998: Audionet becomes Broadcast.com

In 1998, Audionet transitioned to become Broadcast.com.

October 1999: Largest Single E-Commerce Transaction

In October 1999, Mark Cuban made the "largest single e-commerce transaction" by purchasing a Gulfstream V jet for $40 million over the internet.

1999: Broadcast.com acquired by Yahoo!

In 1999, Broadcast.com was acquired by Yahoo! for $5.7 billion in Yahoo! stock.

January 4, 2000: Purchase of Dallas Mavericks

On January 4, 2000, Mark Cuban purchased a majority stake in the NBA's Dallas Mavericks for $285 million from H. Ross Perot Jr.

September 24, 2003: Acquisition of Landmark Theatres

On September 24, 2003, Mark Cuban's firm acquired Landmark Theatres, a chain of 58 arthouse movie theaters.

2003: Cuban Founds Fallen Patriot Fund

In 2003, Mark Cuban founded the Fallen Patriot Fund to aid families of U.S. military personnel killed or injured during the Iraq War.

2003: Cuban at WWE's Survivor Series

In 2003, Mark Cuban was involved in a staged altercation with Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and Raw wrestler Randy Orton at WWE's Survivor Series.

2005: Interest in Buying Pittsburgh Penguins

In 2005, Mark Cuban expressed interest in buying the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.

2005: Cuban invests in Red Swoosh

In 2005, Mark Cuban invested $1.7 million in Red Swoosh, a file-sharing company co-founded by Travis Kalanick.

2005: Investments in Brondell and Goowy Media Inc.

In 2005, Mark Cuban invested in Brondell Inc., which makes the Swash high-tech toilet seat, and also invested in Goowy Media Inc., an Internet software startup.

April 2006: Announcement of Radio Maverick

In April 2006, Sirius Satellite Radio announced that Mark Cuban would host his own weekly radio talk show, Mark Cuban's Radio Maverick, though the show never materialized.

June 30, 2006: Dirk Nowitzki comments about Cuban

On June 30, 2006, Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki commented about Cuban.

July 2006: Financing of Sharesleuth.com

In July 2006, Mark Cuban financed Sharesleuth.com, a website aimed at uncovering fraud in publicly traded companies, and disclosed his intention to take positions in the shares of companies mentioned in advance of publication, raising some ethical concerns.

2006: Cuban Joins Investment Group for Penguins

In 2006, Mark Cuban joined an investment group with Dan Marino, Kevin Millevoi, Andy Murstein, and Walnut Capital principals Gregg Perelman and Todd Reidbord to attempt to acquire the Pittsburgh Penguins. The franchise ultimately rejected the group's bid when team owners Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle took the team off the market.

2006: Mavericks reach NBA Finals

In 2006, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks reached the NBA Finals, but lost to the Miami Heat.

2006: Magnolia Pictures finances Redacted

In 2006, Mark Cuban, through Magnolia Pictures, financed Redacted, a fictional dramatization based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah killings, written and directed by Brian De Palma.

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September 12, 2007: Cuban in Talks with WWE to Create MMA Company

On September 12, 2007, Mark Cuban said he was in talks with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to create a mixed martial arts company that would compete with UFC. He is now a bondholder of Zuffa, which was formerly UFC's parent company.

October 13, 2007: HDNet Fights Premiere

On October 13, 2007, "HDNet Fights", a mixed martial arts promotion organized by Mark Cuban, premiered on HDNet. The card was headlined by a fight between Erik Paulson and Jeff Ford, and also featured veterans Drew Fickett and Justin Eilers.

2007: Red Swoosh acquired by Akamai

In 2007, Red Swoosh, in which Mark Cuban had invested, was acquired by Akamai for $19 million.

October 2008: Launch of Bailoutsleuth.com

In October 2008, Mark Cuban started Bailoutsleuth.com, an online portal for oversight over the U.S. government's $700 billion bailout of financial institutions. The website no longer exists.

2008: Cuban Bids for Chicago Cubs

In 2008, Mark Cuban submitted an initial bid of $1.3 billion to buy the Chicago Cubs and was invited to participate in a second round of bidding along with several other potential ownership groups.

January 2009: Cuban Not Selected in Cubs Bidding

In January 2009, Mark Cuban was not selected to participate in the final bidding process for the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise.

December 7, 2009: Cuban Guest Hosts Raw

On December 7, 2009, Mark Cuban acted as the guest host of WWE's Raw, getting revenge on Randy Orton. He was the guest referee in Orton's match against Kofi Kingston, giving Kingston a fast count victory. Cuban announced that Orton would face Kingston at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. At the end of the show, Cuban was slammed through a table by Sheamus.

2009: Kalanick pitches Uber to Cuban

In 2009, Travis Kalanick approached Mark Cuban to invest in Uber at a $10 million valuation, but a deal was not reached.

2009: Panelist at MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Since 2009, Mark Cuban has been a panelist at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

April 2010: Cuban Loans to UFL

In April 2010, Mark Cuban loaned the newly formed United Football League (UFL) $5 million. He did not own a franchise, nor was he involved in the day-to-day operations of the league or any of its teams.

August 2010: Cuban Bids for Texas Rangers

In August 2010, Mark Cuban actively bid to buy the Texas Rangers with Jeffrey L. Beck, stopping bids after 1 a.m., having placed bids totaling almost $600 million. Despite outbidding a competing ownership group, he lost the deal before the Rangers played the San Francisco Giants in the 2010 World Series.

September 2010: Venture capital investment in Motionloft

In September 2010, Mark Cuban invested an undisclosed amount of venture capital in Motionloft, a store-front analytics company, after being cold-emailed by the CEO.

October 6, 2010: UFL Loan Deadline

The United Football League (UFL) failed to repay Mark Cuban's loan by the October 6, 2010, deadline.

January 2011: Cuban Sues UFL

In January 2011, Mark Cuban filed a federal lawsuit against the United Football League (UFL) for their failure to repay a $5 million loan by the October 6, 2010, deadline.

April 2011: Magnolia Pictures and Landmark Theatres for sale

In April 2011, Mark Cuban put Magnolia Pictures and Landmark Theatres up for sale, but indicated he would be content to continue profiting from them if the desired price wasn't met.

November 2011: Cuban on Dodgers Franchise Value

In November 2011, Mark Cuban felt that the value of the Dodgers' TV rights deal drove the price of the franchise too high. He said that he would not be interested in buying the franchise at $1 billion, telling the Los Angeles Times "I don't think the Dodgers franchise is worth twice what the Rangers are worth."

2011: Silent During Mavericks' Championship Run

Despite his history of vocal behavior, in 2011, Mark Cuban was notably silent during the Dallas Mavericks' championship playoff run.

2011: Cuban joins Shark Tank

In 2011, Mark Cuban became a "shark" investor on the ABC reality television program Shark Tank, starting with season two.

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2011: Interest in New York Mets Ownership

In 2011, Mark Cuban previously expressed interest in becoming a minority owner of the New York Mets after owner Fred Wilpon announced he was planning to sell up to a 25% stake in the team.

2011: Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Championship

In 2011, as owner, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Championship.

January 2012: Cuban Bids for Los Angeles Dodgers

In January 2012, Mark Cuban placed an initial bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was eliminated before the second round of bidding.

December 19, 2012: Cuban Donates to Electronic Frontier Foundation

On December 19, 2012, Mark Cuban donated $250,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation 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.

May 2015: Shark Tank investment statistics

As of May 2015, Mark Cuban had invested in 85 deals across 111 Shark Tank episodes, totaling $19.9 million.

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June 2015: Cuban Donates to Indiana University

In June 2015, Mark Cuban donated $5 million to Indiana University Bloomington for the "Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology", located inside Assembly Hall.

June 2015: Cuban Invests in Unikrn

In June 2015, Mark Cuban invested in the esports betting platform Unikrn.

February 2016: Cuban Buys Stake in Professional Futsal League

In February 2016, Mark Cuban purchased a principal ownership stake in the Professional Futsal League.

October 2017: Cuban Considers Presidential Run

In October 2017, Mark Cuban stated he would "definitely" run for president if he were single, also claiming that if he ran for president in 2020, it would be as a Republican, describing himself as "socially a centrist ... but very fiscally conservative".

January 2018: Mavericks to Accept Bitcoin

In January 2018, Mark Cuban announced that the Dallas Mavericks would begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for tickets in the following season.

March 2019: Cuban "Strongly Considering" Independent Presidential Run

In a March 2019 interview with the New York Daily News, Mark Cuban stated that he was "strongly considering running" for president as an independent candidate.

May 2019: Cuban on Potential Presidential Run

In May 2019, Mark Cuban said that it would take "the perfect storm" for him to run for president, indicating some conditions could open the door, but he wasn't predicting it.

2019: Stake in Veldskoen Shoes

In 2019, Mark Cuban acquired a 50% stake in Veldskoen Shoes' United States business with Ashton Kutcher, Steve Watts, and Angela Watts.

June 2020: Cuban Considered Running for President

In June 2020, Mark Cuban revealed he seriously considered running for president that year as an independent, commissioning a national poll that showed he would receive 25% of the vote against Donald Trump and Joe Biden, pulling votes from both.

2020: Cuban Helps Delonte West

In 2020, Mark Cuban assisted former NBA player Delonte West by picking him up from a gas station in Dallas, providing a hotel room and paying for his treatment at a drug rehabilitation center.

2020: Presidential Run Speculation

In 2020, it was speculated that Mark Cuban could have challenged president Donald Trump as a Democrat.

February 2, 2021: Cuban Joins WallStreetBets AMA

On February 2, 2021, Mark Cuban joined Reddit's WallStreetBets "Ask Me Anything" forum. During the session, Cuban questioned the trust of the SEC and capabilities of zero-commission brokerage firms like Robinhood, that restricted retail traders from purchasing GameStop shares and other shorted stocks. He also offered trading advice and expressed optimism about blockchain trading for retail traders in the future.

March 4, 2021: Mavericks to Accept Dogecoin

On March 4, 2021, Mark Cuban announced that the Dallas Mavericks would begin accepting Dogecoin as payment for team merchandise and tickets to games.

2021: Investment in Injective Protocol and purchase of Mustang, Texas

In 2021, Mark Cuban backed Injective Protocol, and also purchased the entire town of Mustang, Texas, a 77-acre town in Navarro County.

2021: Mavericks Stop Playing National Anthem

In early 2021, Mark Cuban decided to stop playing the National Anthem at Dallas Mavericks games to respect those who felt it didn't represent them. However, 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.

2021: Acceptance of Dogecoin for Mavericks merchandise and tickets

Since at least early 2021, Mark Cuban has invested in Dogecoin and has accepted the cryptocurrency as payment for Dallas Mavericks merchandise and tickets.

January 2022: Launch of Cost Plus Drugs

In January 2022, Mark Cuban launched Cost Plus Drugs with the aim of lowering generic drug prices for end consumers in the U.S.

November 2023: Cuban announces last season on Shark Tank

In November 2023, Mark Cuban announced that the show's 16th season will be his last on Shark Tank.

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November 28, 2023: Cuban in Process of Selling Mavericks Share

On November 28, 2023, The Dallas Morning News reported that Mark Cuban was in the process of selling his share in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson.

December 27, 2023: NBA Approves Sale of Mavericks Stake

On December 27, 2023, the NBA approved the sale of a controlling interest of 73% in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, Sivian, and Patrick Dumont. Mark Cuban reportedly earned an estimated $3.5 billion from the sale.