Billionaire Mark Cuban tried to share a relatable financial tip, gets called out for being 'out of touch'
Rich gurus on social media love to share advice on how to hustle. If crystallized, most of the advice comes down to working extremely hard and giving up on the smallest of luxuries. This is what billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban did in a viral video. But TikTok creator Lindsay (@socialistlyawkwardin) called him out for being grossly "out of touch".
Save every penny and hustle
In his original video, Cuban is facing the camera, showing off his sparkly white teeth. He opens with the word "SAVE!" and goes on to tell people that they don't need the "extra latter", or the "extra subscription. He says people don't even need other small pleasures such as fancy dinners.
Instead, he says everyone should put those funds in a money market account and earn "five maybe more percent" on it. "Watch that sucker grow," he says at the end. However, this advice didn't sit well with the host of City Cast Boise, who ripped it apart.
Cutting back small pleasures: is it worth it?
In a stitch, Lindsay calls out Cuban for being disconnected from reality. Calling him an "out-of-touch billionaire," she suggests that Cuban cultivated this persona of being, the people’s billionaire while making money from his prescription drug company.
"I guess when you’re that out of touch, it’s hard to be aware of it," she says.
She then rips into the advice shared by the 'Shark' questioning the logic behind it. She shares the example of a person who gets a fancy coffee once a week on Friday, as a reward for making it through the week.
She says that if the person follows Cuban's advice and gives up on the $6.15 fancy coffee, at best he or she will save $295 by the end of the year. She then says if they further put it into a money market account, they will earn 5% interest, which still doesn't make it a lot.
“All of that work, all of that denying yourself. And what do you have to show for it at the end of the year? Maybe you can buy Mark Cuban’s shirt," she says. She further points out that inflation alone would be higher than the interest earned on the money. She then says that even if the person does this for 10 years thinking that Cuban has a pulse on the working class, they will save $4,410 with interest. "A month's rent in 10 years," she says.
A flawed system
Lindsay goes on to claim that the problem isn't with the habits of the middle or working class. She says that she has seen a lot of people in their 30s and 40s who have been religiously grinding only to get nowhere. "Why is the issue always that the working class and the poor do something that costs $6 that brings them happiness every week, and not the fact that we have billionaires who are like modern-day dragons just hoarding all the wealth?” the creator asks.
She goes on to say that while Mark Cuban has three homes, an American making minimum wage can't even afford the rent of a one-bedroom apartment. Thus, she explains that such advice on continuous grinding doesn't really work because the capitalist system of the country is majorly flawed.
Viewers largely agreed with Lindsay's observation and called out the flaws of the system and advice of billionaires. "They love to make the poor feel like it’s their fault for living under a capitalist system that’s breaking their backs to make them richer." wrote @entertainme84.
"Getting us all obsessed with hustle culture is one of the smartest things the owner class has ever done," added @spicy..carlos. Meanwhile, others pointed out that it isn't as easy as billionaires think. "They forget that even if we saved that money, something in my home breaks and it wipes it clean, and now what? Let’s start over again and again," said @aokinnz.
For more such interesting videos, follow Lindsay (@socialistlyawkwardin) on TikTok.
