Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recalls biggest mistake which ended up costing him over $94 billion

Modified Aug 02, 2023 10:07 GMT

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has an estimated net worth of $5.8 billion, but it could have been much higher. Cuban had the chance to invest in Uber when it was still starting in the early 2010s. However, he was unable to put some money into the company which is now worth over $94 billion.

In a recent appearance on Kevin Hart's Hart to Heart on Peacock, Cuban recalled his missed opportunity of investing in Uber. Hart also regretted not putting some money into the company despite being urged by talent manager Troy Carter.

"The guy who started (Uber), Travis (Kalanick), right?" Cuban said. "He had a company before that, Red Swoosh, peer-to-peer networking thing. I invested in it. I basically saved him. He was running out of money, and his investors came to me. We sold it. We made a little bit of money."

He added:

"He comes to me like, 'First off, I got this thing. It's gonna replace taxi cab.'

"It was called Uber Cab at the time. I still got the emails, right? I'm like, 'I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it.' But the valuation of $10 million, and I said, 'I'll do $5 million' for Uber, never came back to me."

If Mark Cuban had invested all the $10 million Travis Kalanick wanted at the time, he could have been worth more than his current valuation of $5.8 billion. However, that's part of business, as you win some, you lose some.

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How much did Mark Cuban pay for Dallas Mavericks?

Mark Cuban celebrating the Dallas Mavericks' championship in 2011.

Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr. for $285 million in 2000. Cuban turned the Mavericks into perennial playoff contenders, reaching the franchise's first NBA Finals in 2006 before falling short against the Miami Heat.

The Mavericks returned to the NBA Finals five years later in a rematch with the Heat. Dirk Nowitzki and company won't be denied this time, as Dallas won their first NBA championship. The franchise is now worth $3.3 billion.

However, the Mavericks have not returned to the promised land since then. They reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022 but failed to make the playoffs last season.

They have a talented duo in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who're expected to lead the team back to the postseason next year.

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