Mark Cuban is worth $4.1 billion — and he says going 7 years without a vacation helped him get there

He's earned his fortune through a lifetime of business deals, including the $5.7 billion sale of Broadcast.com, his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, and investments made on ABC's "Shark Tank."
Cuban has spent millions on private airplanes, a yacht, and a luxurious Dallas home, not to mention $2 million in fines from the NBA.
Cuban said his rise to wealth didn't come easy while speaking during the Dallas Startup Week conference. The mogul said he lived in a "dumpy" apartment with numerous roommates, stole towels from the Holiday Inn, and didn't take a vacation in seven years.

Mark Cuban is one of the wealthiest people in America, with an estimated net worth of $4.1 billion, according to Forbes but getting there wasn't easy.

Cuban's journey to becoming a billionaire included living in a "dumpy" apartment, where he stayed up late eating chicken wings and teaching himself to code. The mogul told attendees at the Dallas Startup Week conference of the unglamorous life of an aspiring entrepreneur one that includes no vacation time for seven years and stealing towels from the Holiday Inn, according to a report from Dallas News.

The late nights ended up paying off: the businessman and investor earned his fortune with a series of shrewd business deals starting in the 1990s, most notably the sale of his streaming site Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in stocks.

He bought the NBA's Dallas Mavericks in 2000 and helped transform them into a championship team.

And he's added to his empire with investments like the ones he makes each week on ABC's "Shark Tank," where he's been a regular for eight years.

But $10 million isn't the fortune it sounds like to the billionaire. Over the years, he's spent his money on private planes, a 24,000-square-foot house, an $110,000 bar tab, and millions of dollars of fines from the NBA.

Read on to see how Cuban has earnedand spenthis fortune.

Mark Cuban is worth an estimated $4.1 billion, according to Forbes. That ranks him among the 500 richest people in America.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Reality Rocks

Source: Forbes

Cuban made his fortune over a lifetime of shrewd business deals. Hes the owner of the NBAs Dallas Mavericks

BusinessInsider USA Images

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Source: Forbes

hes the co-founder of 2929 Entertainment, which owns the production companies behind films like "Akeelah and the Bee" and "Good Night and Good Luck"

BusinessInsider USA Images

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Source: Biography

and hes also a regular on ABCs "Shark Tank," in which hopeful entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of celebrity investors.

BusinessInsider USA Images

ABC

Source: ABC

But Cuban made his fortune years before any of those ventures. He got his start in the early 1980s selling software for a company called Your Business Software.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Courtesy of Mark Cuban

Source: CNBC

In 1982, he started his own company, MicroSolutions, which he sold eight years later for $6 million. Cuban made $2 million off the deal.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Mark Cuban

Source: CNBC

But Cuban would really make his name with his next business venture: an Internet radio company called Audionet, which eventually became Broadcast.com.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Screenshot/Wayback Machine

Source: Biography

Cuban took control of the company in 1995. The site streamed broadcasts of sports games, political conventions, and other events.

BusinessInsider USA Images

YouTube/Avekta Productions

Source: Biography

In 1999, Yahoo acquired Broadcast.com for a whopping $5.7 billion in stock. Cuban netted $1 billion when he sold his shares.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Reuters

Source: CNN

Around that time, Cuban bought a Gulfstream V business jet for $40 million. To this day, it holds the Guinness world record for the biggest purchase ever conducted over the internet.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Wikimedia Commons

Source: Guinness World Records

Cuban called the plane one of the smartest purchases hes ever made. "Its obviously brutally expensive, but time is the one asset we simply dont own," he wrote for Mens Health. "It saves me hours and hours."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Source: Men's Health

Coming off the heels of his billion-dollar payday, Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285 million in 2000.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Associated Press

Source: Biography

He raised his profile by sitting courtside at Mavericks games and drew attention for his animated reactions and media outbursts.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Source: Orange County Register

His frequent criticisms of NBA refs have cost him a small fortune the NBA has fined him close to $2.6 million for his comments and antics over the years.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth

Source: The New York Times

Hes given to numerous charities over the years, including Autism Speaks, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Noam Galai/Getty Images for Project Sunshine

Source: Look to the Stars

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Cuban lent his private plane to Mavericks point guard and Puerto Rico native J.J. Barea to fly food, water, and supplies to the island.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Matthew Stockman/Getty

Source: ESPN via Business Insider

In response to an NBA investigation prompted by a Sports Illustrated report that unearthed evidence of the Mavericks organization having been a discriminatory and toxic workplace for women, Cuban pledged $10 million to womens causes and domestic violence awareness.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Bob Levey/AP

Source: Sports Illustrated , Associated Press

Today, Forbes estimates the Mavericks are worth $2.3 billion $2 billion more than what Cuban paid for the team 18 years ago.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Ron Jenkins/AP

Source: Forbes

Cuban has done his fair share of spending. On top of the private airplane, in 1999 he paid $17.6 million for a 24,000-square-foot mansion in Dallas, where he and his family still live.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Wikimedia Commons

Source: D Magazine

The 7-acre property reportedly features 10 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a tennis court, a swimming pool, and a separate guest house in the back.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Wikimedia Commons

Source: Forbes

When the Mavericks won the NBA championship in 2011, Cuban reportedly spent $110,000 on his teams bar tab that night. "Worth every penny," he told The New York Post.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Brandon Wade/Getty Images

Source: The New York Post

The next year, Cuban chipped in $40,000 to save the local Greenville Avenue St. Patricks Day Parade when the group running the annual event ran out of funding. "You just cant let a Dallas tradition like that die," Cuban said.

BusinessInsider USA Images

YouTube/Coolest Stuff in Texas

Source: KXAS-TV

Cuban leveraged his fame into a short-lived 2004 reality series called "The Benefactor," in which contestants competed to win $1 million of Cubans money. However, the show was panned as a ripoff of "The Apprentice" and was cancelled after six episodes.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Source: IMDB

Another TV show hes on, "Shark Tank," has proven much more successful. Its now entering its 10th season.

BusinessInsider USA Images

screengrab from ABC

Source: ABC

Over the course of his eight-season stint on the show, Cuban has made close to 100 deals and has invested millions of dollars in startups and small businesses.

BusinessInsider USA Images

ABC

Source: Sharkalytics

The largest deal he ever offered on the show came in 2015, when he proposed to buy the dating-app company Coffee Meets Bagel outright for $30 million. The owners rejected the deal.

BusinessInsider USA Images

ABC

Source: Business Insider

Cuban said one of the best purchases he ever made was an unlimited first-class American Airlines ticket for $250,000 a promotion that the airline offered from 1981 to 1994. Cuban and 25 other ticket-holders continue to enjoy free airfare for life.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Source: The Hustle

Of course, considering he now owns two private jets and a yacht, first class might actually be a step down for Cuban.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Michael Hickey/Getty Images, stephrog/Flickr

Source: Dallas News

Despite his sometimes lavish spending, Cuban keeps a frugal mentality much of the time. For example, he insists on buying items in bulk, especially items he knows hell need such as razors and toothpaste.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Source: NPR

And he advocates for people to achieve financial independence by paying off debt and stashing six months worth of income in the bank.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Michael Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times

Source: Entrepreneur

Its a combination of relentless work ethic and financial smarts that have not only made Cuban one of the richest people in America, but kept him that way. As he once said, "Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Reuters/Mike Segar

Source: Inc.

Mark Cuban is worth $4.1 billion — and he says going 7 years without a vacation helped him get there

Mark Cuban is worth an estimated $4.1 billion, according to Forbes. That ranks him among the 500 richest people in America.

Cuban made his fortune over a lifetime of shrewd business deals. Hes the owner of the NBAs Dallas Mavericks

hes the co-founder of 2929 Entertainment, which owns the production companies behind films like "Akeelah and the Bee" and "Good Night and Good Luck"

and hes also a regular on ABCs "Shark Tank," in which hopeful entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of celebrity investors.

But Cuban made his fortune years before any of those ventures. He got his start in the early 1980s selling software for a company called Your Business Software.

In 1982, he started his own company, MicroSolutions, which he sold eight years later for $6 million. Cuban made $2 million off the deal.

But Cuban would really make his name with his next business venture: an Internet radio company called Audionet, which eventually became Broadcast.com.

Cuban took control of the company in 1995. The site streamed broadcasts of sports games, political conventions, and other events.

In 1999, Yahoo acquired Broadcast.com for a whopping $5.7 billion in stock. Cuban netted $1 billion when he sold his shares.

Around that time, Cuban bought a Gulfstream V business jet for $40 million. To this day, it holds the Guinness world record for the biggest purchase ever conducted over the internet.

Cuban called the plane one of the smartest purchases hes ever made. "Its obviously brutally expensive, but time is the one asset we simply dont own," he wrote for Mens Health. "It saves me hours and hours."

Coming off the heels of his billion-dollar payday, Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285 million in 2000.

He raised his profile by sitting courtside at Mavericks games and drew attention for his animated reactions and media outbursts.

His frequent criticisms of NBA refs have cost him a small fortune the NBA has fined him close to $2.6 million for his comments and antics over the years.

Hes given to numerous charities over the years, including Autism Speaks, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Cuban lent his private plane to Mavericks point guard and Puerto Rico native J.J. Barea to fly food, water, and supplies to the island.

In response to an NBA investigation prompted by a Sports Illustrated report that unearthed evidence of the Mavericks organization having been a discriminatory and toxic workplace for women, Cuban pledged $10 million to womens causes and domestic violence awareness.

Today, Forbes estimates the Mavericks are worth $2.3 billion $2 billion more than what Cuban paid for the team 18 years ago.

Cuban has done his fair share of spending. On top of the private airplane, in 1999 he paid $17.6 million for a 24,000-square-foot mansion in Dallas, where he and his family still live.

The 7-acre property reportedly features 10 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a tennis court, a swimming pool, and a separate guest house in the back.

When the Mavericks won the NBA championship in 2011, Cuban reportedly spent $110,000 on his teams bar tab that night. "Worth every penny," he told The New York Post.

The next year, Cuban chipped in $40,000 to save the local Greenville Avenue St. Patricks Day Parade when the group running the annual event ran out of funding. "You just cant let a Dallas tradition like that die," Cuban said.

Cuban leveraged his fame into a short-lived 2004 reality series called "The Benefactor," in which contestants competed to win $1 million of Cubans money. However, the show was panned as a ripoff of "The Apprentice" and was cancelled after six episodes.

Another TV show hes on, "Shark Tank," has proven much more successful. Its now entering its 10th season.

Over the course of his eight-season stint on the show, Cuban has made close to 100 deals and has invested millions of dollars in startups and small businesses.

The largest deal he ever offered on the show came in 2015, when he proposed to buy the dating-app company Coffee Meets Bagel outright for $30 million. The owners rejected the deal.

Cuban said one of the best purchases he ever made was an unlimited first-class American Airlines ticket for $250,000 a promotion that the airline offered from 1981 to 1994. Cuban and 25 other ticket-holders continue to enjoy free airfare for life.

Of course, considering he now owns two private jets and a yacht, first class might actually be a step down for Cuban.

Despite his sometimes lavish spending, Cuban keeps a frugal mentality much of the time. For example, he insists on buying items in bulk, especially items he knows hell need such as razors and toothpaste.

And he advocates for people to achieve financial independence by paying off debt and stashing six months worth of income in the bank.

Its a combination of relentless work ethic and financial smarts that have not only made Cuban one of the richest people in America, but kept him that way. As he once said, "Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you."

FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA

Recommended articles

Best live dealer casino: Top USA live casinos online

Best real money online casinos USA: Top 10 casino sites in 2024

OPEC excited about partnership with Namibia

The US loses to Russia and China in popularity across Africa

Top 10 most valuable South African brands in 2024

Africa's giants play tug of war for the top economic spot

Morocco is making giant strides to become Africa's aviation manufacturing hub

Hackers test their ransomwares in less protected regions like Africa before striking richer nations: Report

Top social media platforms used for agriculture in Kenya - Survey