Billionaire Mark Cuban has big plans for the Texas ghost town he bought in December. The Dallas Mavericks owner said recently that he wants to turn Mustang, Texas, into a real-life Jurassic Park, according to My San Antonio.
“The idea came after he invested in Dino Don from ‘Shark Tank.’ Dino Don is a robotic, life-sized dinosaur business,” the article noted.
When sharing his dream with actress Drew Barrymore on her talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Cuban admitted that the odds were stacked against his plan. But he said it would be a great way to take advantage of Dino Don’s unique skills.
“We haven’t worked through it yet, but there’s a chance we might change Mustang, Texas, to Dinosaur, Texas,” he said.
Who is Mark Cuban?
Cuban earned his billions by using profits from a successful internet business to invest in promising startups. He now owns the NBA team in Dallas and serves as a “shark,” or host, on the show “Shark Tank,” which features small-business owners sharing their ideas with the sharks in hopes of securing investments.
Cuban is also an active philanthropist, and he recently launched an online pharmacy that sells common medications at a much lower cost than most pharmacies.
“The goal is to combat America’s skyrocketing drug prices by offering a service with no middle men or huge markups,” CBS News reported in June, noting that “The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company currently offers more than 800 generic drugs.”
Cuban’s current net worth is around $4.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Why does Mark Cuban own a ghost town?
Cuban purchased Mustang, Texas, in December to help out a friend, according to The Dallas Morning News. Located between Dallas and Waco, it has fewer than 30 residents.
“Mustang originally bucked onto the market in 2017 for $4 million, though the price was eventually dropped to $2 million. What Cuban eventually paid for it is unknown,” the Houston Chronicle reported.
Mustang was once famous for being the only place in its county where people could buy alcohol, said real estate agent Michael Turner to the New York Post in 2021.
“It was a boomtown in the alcohol business,” he said.