The day Mark Cuban became a millionaire, he took off his watch and threw it away—here’s why (2024)

Some people celebrate big career wins by splurging on a Rolex watch.

Not Mark Cuban. At age 32, he sold his first startup — a software company called MicroSolutions — for $6 million. That same day, he took off his watch and threw it away, he said at a SXSW panel earlier this month.

It was symbolic: After gaining that financial security, he didn't want to feel like anyone owned his time, he said.

"Time is the one asset you can never get back. You can never truly own [it]," said Cuban, 65. "I wanted to be ... in a position where I get to call my own shots [and] spend time the way I wanted to spend time. That was always my motivating factor."

Cuban inherited that mantra at age 14 from his dad, who worked 60 hours per week for a company that upholstered cars outside of Pittsburgh, he told CNBC Make It last month. Sometimes, his dad brought him to work to show him what it looked like to work for someone else.

"This time wasn't spent to learn about what my dad did, but to learn that his job didn't have a future," Cuban said. "His time was never his own ... he wanted me to create my own path."

When Cuban's next company, audio streaming service Broadcast.com, sold to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in stock in 1999, he took a much larger step toward protecting his time: buying a private plane for $40 million.

The transaction is still the largest single e-commerce transaction in the Guinness Book of World Records. "[Buying a private plane] was my all-time goal because the asset I value the most is time, and that bought me time," Cuban told told Money in 2017.

Today, Cuban wears an Apple Watch to track his health metrics, he said at SXSW — but it hasn't changed his stance on time. He spends most of it either with his family, helping run the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, appearing on ABC's "Shark Tank" or running his pharmaceutical company, Cost Plus Drugs.

"I wanted to make enough money so I didn't have to respond to anybody else," Cuban said ina recently released MasterClass course."I could make my own schedule and live my own life the way I wanted to do it."

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."

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The day Mark Cuban became a millionaire, he took off his watch and threw it away—here’s why (1)

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They turned their side hustle into a full-time snack business—it could bring in $500 million

The day Mark Cuban became a millionaire, he took off his watch and threw it away—here’s why (2024)

FAQs

The day Mark Cuban became a millionaire, he took off his watch and threw it away—here’s why? ›

It was symbolic: After gaining that financial security, he didn't want to feel like anyone owned his time, he said. “Time is the one asset you can never get back. You can never truly own [it],” said Cuban, 65.

At what age did Mark Cuban become a millionaire? ›

The hustle — coupled with the fact that he was selling software around the time home computers became popular — paid off when Cuban sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990. He was 32 years old.

What did Mark Cuban do to become a millionaire? ›

Cuban has amassed his wealth through a series of shrewd business deals and investments. He previously admitted to putting $1 billion into Amazon stocks alone, Business Insider reported. Cuban started his own company MicroSolutions in 1982 and sold it eight years later for $6 million, and made $2 million from the deal.

What is the Esso watch? ›

Before appearing on national television in February 2012, Naylor had spent the previous year selling thousands of his Esso Watches, which used negative ion technology that was made popular by NBA players and supposedly improved decision-making and balance.

What expensive things does Mark Cuban own? ›

With a net worth of over $5 billion, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and famous American businessman, owns a few possessions that aren't available to the average Joe. Among his collection are two jets and a lavish Dallas mansion. Here's how these three purchases contribute to Cuban's unique lifestyle.

Why did Mark Cuban sell garbage bags? ›

A friend of Cuban's father at the poker table said Cuban could sell his boxes of garbage bags. If Cuban was able to sell these garbage bags in the neighborhood, he could keep the money and use it to buy new sneakers. Cuban's father's buddy sold the boxes of garbage bags to Mark for $3.

Why is Mark Cuban not in Shark Tank? ›

' Here's how some of his investments on the show have done. Mark Cuban is jumping out of the Shark Tank. The entrepreneur is winding up his 13-year tenure on the reality show to spend more time with his family and running his online pharmacy at the end of this season.

What happened with the breathometer? ›

Breathometer was shut down due to significant inaccuracies in its breathalyzer readings, which led to regulatory interventions and legal actions.

Does Mark Cuban have any health issues? ›

A: Mark Cuban underwent a cardiac operation to address atrial fibrillation (AFib), a prevalent cardiac rhythm disorder. The surgery was a proactive measure aimed at managing his AFib and prioritizing his long-term health.

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