Mark Cuban's Investment Strategy

Mark Cuban's investment portfolio is a mashup of disruptive tech, crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), small businesses, and S&P 500 stocks. The outspoken owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks has amassed a fortune through his savvy investment deals -- some of which have been featured on Shark Tank, a hit show featuring Cuban.

Want to learn more about how Mark Cuban became a billionaire, and how he puts his billions to work? Read on.

Who is Mark Cuban?

Who is Mark Cuban?

Mark Cuban is best-known for his decade-plus run on the hit television show Shark Tank, where he has invested in dozens of start-ups. In addition, Cuban is a successful entrepreneur and founder, having made his fortune during the dot-com boom by founding one of the first streaming video companies in history. He is also the majority owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, a successful venture capital investor, and much more.

Mark Cuban’s personal stats

Mark Cuban’s personal stats

• Age: 64.
• Source of wealth: Technology startups.
• Marital status: Married.
• Residence: Dallas, Texas.
• Children: Three.
• Education: Indiana University, Bloomington (B.S.).

Mark Cuban’s investment approach

Mark Cuban’s investment approach

Mark Cuban has spoken about his investing style in numerous interviews, his blog, and of course, on the hit TV series Shark Tank. With that in mind, here are some components of his investment style that frequently come up:

1. Disruptive technology

1. Disruptive technology

Cuban loves disruption. It’s one of the reasons he has invested heavily in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry in recent years. And Cuban became a billionaire by getting in on the ground floor of the streaming media revolution. Today, streaming services are the standard, but in the late 1990s, streaming was a new idea.

2. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

2. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

Cuban admits he's made many investing and business mistakes. When talking about his failures, though, he also shares what he's learned as a result.

One of Cuban's early entrepreneurial missteps was a business selling powdered milk. He found out the hard way that people would rather pay more for the real stuff. Consequently, Cuban is more disciplined about carefully evaluating opportunities without letting assumptions color his view.

3. Avoid low barriers to entry

3. Avoid low barriers to entry

One theme that comes up on Shark Tank often and is apparent in Cuban’s portfolio of venture investments: He does not like businesses with low barriers to entry. If competitors can copy the business model fairly easily, he will likely decline the opportunity.

4. Avoid capital-heavy businesses

4. Avoid capital-heavy businesses

This is a favorite investment principal of many successful investors, including Warren Buffett. Cuban once said, “I have a fundamental aversion to companies that require raising hundreds of millions of dollars to do less in revenues.”

To be fair, this aversion has caused Cuban to miss out on some big wins. Most notably, Cuban had the opportunity to invest in smartphone-linked doorbell maker Doorbot in 2013, and he declined because he thought it would need too much capital to grow. The company later changed its name to Ring and was acquired by Amazon in 2018 for more than $1 billion.

5. It’s OK to not invest in anything at all

5. It’s OK to not invest in anything at all

Cuban passes on most investment opportunities presented on Shark Tank. In a 2010 blog post, Cuban wrote, "If you don't fully understand the risks of an investment you are contemplating, it's OK to do nothing." He repeated the "do nothing" comment in 2016 and again in 2020 during two separate market downturns.

Cuban's "do nothing" advice warns against reactivity in buying or selling. Instead of moving quickly, take time to understand your potential investments. Good companies have staying power, so you don't gain anything by rushing to buy or to sell.

Mark Cuban’s investments

Mark Cuban’s investments

Mark Cuban isn’t a hedge fund manager, so he doesn’t have to disclose the composition of his personal stock portfolio. But there are some stock investments Cuban has made that he has discussed in various interviews.

Amazon (AMZN -1.52%) has been a particularly successful investment for Cuban. In 2019, Cuban said that he owned almost $1 billion in Amazon stock, and that he paid a split-adjusted price of between $25 and $35 per share (Amazon trades for about $125 per share as of mid-2023).

Cuban has also publicly discussed owning Netflix (NFLX -4.34%). During the same 2019 interview, he said that it and Amazon were his two largest stock holdings. He said he liked both because of their artificial intelligence capabilities. In 2021 he bet that Netflix and Amazon would outperform the S&P 500 over the following 10-year period.

Cuban was also a shareholder in Twitter before it was taken private by Elon Musk. In an interview a few years ago, Cuban said that he owns just a handful of stocks.

Having said all of that, most of Mark Cuban’s investments (by asset value) are outside of the publicly traded markets, and here’s a rundown of some of them:

Dallas Mavericks: Cuban owns a majority stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. He paid $285 million in 2000 for a franchise with a current estimated value of $3.3 billion. The increase in value means that the Mavericks make up a very large share of Cuban’s net worth.

Shark Tank: Since joining the hit show in its second season in 2011, Cuban has invested in 85 deals. He has also invested in numerous venture capital deals outside of the show. According to CB Insights, Cuban has made more than 420 different investments.

Cryptocurrency: Mark Cuban has invested in several different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC -2.86%), Ethereum (ETH -1.72%), and Dogecoin (DOGE -4.82%).

Pharmaceuticals: Cuban launched the Cost Plus Drug Company in early 2022 with the mission of lowering the prices of generic drugs for U.S. consumers. The company sells more than 350 medications for cost plus a 15% markup and a small service and shipping fee.

More from Mark Cuban

More from Mark Cuban

• Cuban is very active on Twitter, where he uses the handle @mcuban.
• Cuban has appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank series since the show’s second season in 2011 and continues to be one of the main “sharks.”
• You can see many of Cuban’s owned and invested businesses on his website, MarkCubanCompanies.com.

Learn from Mark Cuban's strategies

Learn from Mark Cuban's strategies

Mark Cuban’s investment style is mostly focused on acquiring assets and stakes in companies that are not publicly traded, although he owns a portfolio of a few publicly traded companies. Cuban’s net worth is in the billions of dollars. With hundreds of venture investments and one of the most valuable NBA franchises in his portfolio, it could grow significantly in the years to come.