TEMPE, Ariz. — Businessman Mark Cuban stopped by Arizona State University to inspire bright young minds and recount a few stories, from his favorite moments in Hollywood to investing in the next big company on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” during a talk on Wednesday evening.
“To me, there’s deals where we got some real work with money. Then there’s deals where it’s like, ‘OK, maybe I’m not gonna make any money, but it sends a good message,‘” he said about being a part of the reality television show to a crowd of about 1,000 attendees.
Hosted by Jeff Flake, the former ambassador to Turkey, who represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, Cuban also touched on his candid views about politics, at times criticizing both parties — despite opposing President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
The now minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks has always been all about business, he revealed, adding that he was “anti-politics” until 2016, when Trump first came to power. Before that, Cuban, a registered independent, typically voted for the candidate who wasn’t the incumbent.
Amid the 2024 presidential race, Cuban told Bloomberg that if it came down to President Joe Biden versus Trump, and Biden “was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden.” He also campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris, when she took Biden’s place as the Democratic nominee.
Flake asked Cuban why he decided to congratulate Trump after he won the 2024 election; “What’s the obligation?”
“It’s not so much that I believe in the president. Look, I sat next to Joe Biden and he fell asleep. It wasn’t like I was so excited about that. I just wasn’t a fan of Donald Trump in terms of Republican policy,” Cuban responded.
He said that while some of Trump’s policies terrify him, Cuban isn’t entirely against the new White House, adding the administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reached out to him.
Although Cuban didn’t say why he was in talks with the federal government, it’s worth noting he owns a three-year-old online pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs, that sell generic drugs for fairly low prices.
“I had conversations with them almost every day this week. I’m gonna help him, because this is my country. This is the country I love,” he said. “The (presidency) is a job. Being an American is a lifestyle.”
The becoming of Mark Cuban
Cuban recalled one of the biggest business lessons he learned at the age of 12. When he asked his dad for a pair of basketball shoes, he was told to get a job and buy whatever he liked.
The younger Cuban protested and pointed out that he was too young to have a job, the “Shark Tank” star said. So, his dad told him he had a job for him and directed him to the boxes of garbage bags they had. The task was simple in theory — buy the bags for $3, go door-to-door and sell them for $6 — but much harder to execute in real life. But it helped him learn the basics of selling.
He went on to sell coins, stamps and baseball cards, and worked many odd jobs, including teaching disco dancing to sororities at Indiana University for $25 an hour. (His parents taught him how to dance while he was in his early teens to build confidence.)
Little did he know that what started as a series of side hustles would lead him to become a successful businessman. This came with many perks, like a wide-open door to Hollywood.
He did a stint on “Dancing with the Stars,” Season 5, in 2007. Outlasting professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton, Cuban made it through five episodes and tried new dancing styles like the foxtrot, the jive and the Viennese Waltz.
A year later, he landed on “The Simpsons.” In "The Burns and the Bees“ episode from 2008, Cuban voiced a cartoon version of himself.
“We’re literally in this sound booth for 25 minutes,” said Cuban. They were saying “louder, louder, louder, you gotta scream, ‘I’m out of my mind,‘” he said.
And this was all pre-“Shark Tank” fame, as Cuban had already made a name for himself. Back in 1999 during the dot-com boom, he and his business partner sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion. In hindsight, it wasn’t a good deal for Yahoo! and the site was discontinued a few years later. Meanwhile, Cuban, who considered himself lucky, dove into new ventures, like 2929 Entertainment, a film production and distribution company, and Landmark Theaters, a chain of art house movie theaters, among other ventures.
Mark Cuban reveals ‘Shark Tank’ secrets
At ASU, Cuban revealed a few behind-the-scene tidbits from “Shark Tank,” arguably his most popular work on television, which earned him a few Primetime Emmy awards.
Despite what people might think, Cuban said the investors, including him, aren’t told anything ahead of time about the businesses that pitch to them. The negotiations also typically last much longer than what’s shown on TV, stretching from anywhere between one and two hours. “The animosity between the sharks is real,” Cuban said. And so is Kevin O’Leary’s never-ending quest to strike a royalty deal.
Mark Cuban wants Democrats to ‘do something’
Despite some good — and a few terrible — deals, “Shark Tank,” which is in its 16th season, offers some predictability, Cuban said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is experiencing some turbulence. Cuban said he hopes for consistency and no big policy changes under the new administration.
“My attitude has always been, as long as everybody played by the same rules, it’s always when things change ... when you run into trouble,” Cuban said. “It’s only been 30 days, and there’s a lot of things that are scary in my mind, because we’re testing a lot of limits.”
He acknowledged the “recency bias” among Americans who forget their country withstood other tests of time, like the Civil War 162 years ago or the stain of the Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
“Our guardrails are strong enough,” said Cuban.
“I also think that kind of the chaos that’s going on is a gift to the Democratic Party,” he added. Cuban said the Trump White House is installing people who are loyal, while brushing aside competency. Can the White House live up to all their promises with Trump’s picks leading the charge?
“Donald Trump is, you know, one of the best sales people in the history of sales people. I think he’s a great marketer,” Cuban said.
But, he argued, selling isn’t the tough part, it’s the execution. And right now, Cuban said he senses a lot of chaos, including the massive rounds of layoffs in the federal government.
The layoffs will also affect people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and pregnant women, too, he said. Instead of supporting these federal workers and their families, Democrats are opting for politicking, said Cuban. He considers it a missed opportunity.
“Why are you not proposing legislation that says, protect pregnant women and ill federal government employees and have them guarantee severance?” he said. The legislation could also allow these terminated employees to retain their health care benefits until a certain time. The left, instead, prefers to go to rallies and town halls, Cuban quipped. “Why is nobody saying we see that this is a problem?” he asked. “Democrats should be standing up with legislation that makes sense. ... Rather than just yelling, do something.”
Should we be scared of AI? Mark Cuban says no
Cuban isn’t scared of artificial intelligence, and told attendees they shouldn’t be afraid either. He sold PCs back in the 1990s. These machines were “slower than the oldest BlackBerry that has ever been created” and cost $5,000, he said, before comparing buyer’s apprehensions to the fears people have surrounding AI language models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
“People were terrified. They’re like, ‘if I can do all this typing, why do I need a secretary?’” he said.
“That sounds insane today,” said Cuban. Critics of programs like ChatGPT also worry they will take away jobs in all types of fields from coding to design. But these tools are “a competitive advantage.”
He argued that Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and other tech giants, were seen “kissing the ring” on Trump’s Inauguration Day for a reason.
“They all have large language models that they see as multitrillion-dollar businesses,” Cuban noted, and that makes staying on the president’s good side imperative.
“There’s going to be two types of companies in this world: those who are great at AI, and everybody else that they put out of business,” he predicted. “It’s a different world with AI, but it’s a beautiful world.”