Mark Cuban

Lore & Background

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in the suburb of Mt. Lebanon, Cuban was involved in ventures from a young age, from selling garbage bags to later running newspapers during a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette worker's strike. He graduated from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington and embarked on a diverse business career that included founding MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com, both of which he sold at substantial profits, the latter being sold to Yahoo!

Inc., making Cuban a billionaire. In 2002, the service was discontinued. Cuban's investments span various industries, from technology and media to sports and entertainment. He has been a prominent figure in the NBA, known for his involvement with the Mavericks (including during the 2011 NBA Championship) and disputes with the league's management.

In his side ventures, Cuban has been involved in philanthropy, political commentary, and reality television. Forbes has estimated his net worth to be US$6 billion.

Reader's Guide

Cuban first ventured into business at age 12, selling garbage bags. He later sold stamps and coins, and at 16 ran newspapers from Cleveland to Pittsburgh during a strike. He attended the University of Pittsburgh for one year, then transferred to Indiana University, graduating from the Kelley School of Business in 1981. After college, he worked at Mellon Bank, then moved to Dallas, where he worked as a bartender and later a salesperson before being fired. He co-founded MicroSolutions, selling it to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990. In 1995, he co-founded Audionet, which became Broadcast.com, sold to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion in stock in 1999. He co-founded 2929 Entertainment, which purchased Landmark Theatres in 2003. He has invested in startups including Red Swoosh, Weblogs, Inc., Brondell Inc., Goowy Media, and Motionloft. He also financed Sharesleuth.com and Bailoutsleuth.com.