Is Mark Cuban the world’s most eccentric billionaire? 5 surprising moves from the Shark Tank tycoon, from offering US$1 million for Donald Trump to shave his head to buying a private jet online
Mark Cuban, the 64-year-old American businessman, investor, philanthropist and TV personality, has achieved, experimented with and enjoyed a lot of things.
One may call his humble parenting style a sham or his investments outlandish. (By May 2015, this shark invested in 85 deals across 111 Shark Tank episodes for a total of US$19.9 million.) But it doesn’t take a genius to guess that Cuban is simply a man who does as he pleases.
“There’s no one more competitive than me. Business is a sport,” the billionaire once said. But all work and no play is not the Cuban way. He worked hard to make his millions – and knows how to spend it too, often with results just as out-there as his business sense.
1. He offered US$1 million for Donald Trump to shave his head
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Cuban clapped back at the unreasonable request by announcing he’ll pay US$1 million toward a charity of his choice – if Trump shaves his head, per Forbes.
2. He has been fined millions for badmouthing refs
Sports is filled with adrenaline rushes, high-riding emotions – and flaring tempers. No wonder the Dallas Mavericks owner has accumulated millions in penalties for swearing.
Candid Cuban was fined a hefty US$600,000 by the NBA for making public comments deemed detrimental to the league in 2018, and on several other occasions before that.
3. He managed a Dairy Queen for a day
Motormouth Mark Cuban has his razor-sharp tongue to thank for landing him in trouble more times than he’d prefer. During the teething period of his Mavericks ownership, Cuban famously snapped that the NBA director of officials Ed Rush wasn’t fit to manage a Dairy Queen. As expected, controversy knocked on his door as the NBA fined him a record US$500,000 for repeated public criticism of NBA officiating.
But the master marketer got the last word – by managing a Dairy Queen for a day himself. Parrish Chapman, who owned the Coppell Dairy Queen, was thoroughly impressed: his store usually rang up 2,000 tickets daily, but with Cuban on the cash register, it was quickly estimated to be 6,000 by the end of the day, per The Dallas Morning News.
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4. He holds the record for the biggest single e-commerce transaction
It wasn’t his purchase that raised eyebrows, but his payment method. Cuban bought a Gulfstream V business jet for US$40 million – over the internet. This earned him a Guinness World Record for the largest single e-commerce transaction, and the record is still unbroken today.
5. He bought the US$250,000 American Airlines AAirpass after making his first million
- The NBA Dallas Mavericks owner may be one of the world’s most fearless billionaires, making news for his investments and antics alike – like when he offered US$1 million for Trump to shave his head
- He’s been fined millions for making controversial comments at the NBA, once worked a day at Dairy Queen, and splashed out US$250,000 for an American Airlines AAirpass