ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

'Shark Tank' star Mark Cuban turned 300 of his employees into millionaires with a single move

The entrepreneur shared that it was a habit of his to reward the people who worked hard for him.
PUBLISHED FEB 10, 2025
Screenshot showing Mark Cuban on the Club Shay Shay podcast (Cover image source: YouTube/Club Shay Shay)
Screenshot showing Mark Cuban on the Club Shay Shay podcast (Cover image source: YouTube/Club Shay Shay)

Mark Cuban gained celebrity status after appearing on "Shark Tank" for 16 years, but he was also known for his investment in sports. After quitting "Shark Tank" the billionaire sold much of his stake in the Dallas Mavericks and has been going around sharing his wisdom on podcasts and interviews. In a recent episode of the  “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Cuban revealed how much he values the people who work for him and shared how he gave out $35 million in bonuses after selling his part of the Mavericks.  

Screenshot showing Mark Cuban talking to
Screenshot showing Mark Cuban talking to Shannon Sharpe (Image source: YouTube/Club Shay Shay)

Cuban made waves across the sporting domain when he bought the Dallas Mavericks back in 2000 for $285 million. Over the years, the Shark Tank star worked relentlessly on the team to boost its value. By the time Cuban decided to sell his majority stake, the team's value had soared to approximately $3.5 billion, according to Forbes. All the speculation about the team's value was put to an end after Miriam Adelson bought and acquired the majority stake. However, Cuban wasn't the only one behind the team's success and he acknowledged the hard work of the workers behind the Mavericks by announcing bonuses worth $35 million, after the sale. “It ended up being a lot more actually, but I’m not there without them,” he told ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast.

Screenshot showing Mark Cuban on the podcast
Screenshot showing Mark Cuban on the podcast (Image source: YouTube/Club Shay Shay)

Cuban further shared that it was out of habit as he had done the same for the employees at other firms of his. “I did it with MicroSolutions, you know, we had 80 employees, they all got paid," he said. Cuban had started the practice of giving back after selling his first company, MicroSolutions, for $6 million to CompuServe in 1990. Talking to CNBC Make It he stated that he took 20% of the total sale price, and paid it out to the 80 employees. This amounted to $15,000 per staffer if distributed equally. Cuban had done something similar after selling his majority stakes in HDNet (now known as AXS TV), in 2019.



 

"I did it with Broadcast.com — out of 330 employees, 300 became millionaires. And I wanted to do the same thing with the Mavs," Cuban added in the podcast. Cuban wasted no time in announcing the bonuses in late 2023. Back in January 2024,  CNN Sport reported that Cuban had informed the employees of the bonus through an internal memo. “As a thank you for all your hard work making the Mavs an amazing organization, each of you will be receiving a bonus from myself, and the Adelson and Dumont families. In total, we will be paying out approximately $35 plus Million Dollars in bonuses to you all,” the memo read as per the report.

Cuban added in the memo that to calculate the bonuses, the leadership team used a framework that took the time for which an employee had worked for the team, into consideration. The details of the memo were confirmed by Mavericks spokesperson Alan Rakowski to CNN.



 

"You know, they were there for me the whole time … for those who were there 20 years or more it was life-changing money," Cuban told Sharpe, reflecting on the payout.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The seemingly tough puzzle cost contestant, Kelly Amodio a brand new Mini Cooper.
7 minutes ago
The contestant, Jodi Hope took home $75,000, using her puzzle solving skills.
1 hour ago
The guest had to promise on camera to share the profits with her friend who gifted the item.
19 hours ago
Harvey just couldn't seem to understand what Giuliana Rancic's mother was saying.
20 hours ago
Harvey had to take a moment to school the contestant on how the game is played.
22 hours ago
It seemed like Veronica forgot she was holding the host's hand after the win.
23 hours ago
The owner of the Jean-Michel Basquiat Oil Stick Painting made it clear that it wasn't going anywhere
1 day ago
The player, Jason Warren missed out on taking home more than $86,000.
1 day ago
The TikTok creator @thebiteo87 stirred a debate on social media by exposing the new tactic.
1 day ago
Harvey couldn't believe what the NFLPA stars would choose for their wives to wear
1 day ago
Harvey barely held on to the podium after hearing the answers that shook him.
2 days ago
The celebration was justified as Joseph won a brand new car on his birthday.
2 days ago
The player, Shaunica Amantine missed out on taking home over $82,000 over the seemingly tough puzzle
3 days ago
After nearly losing a brand new car, Dylan got a second chance to take it home.
3 days ago
The seller Robert, chose to keep to his one-of-a-kind Boba Fett prototype, expecting to get more.
3 days ago
The player, Cherie Noisette, missed on out taking home more than $61,000 in prizes.
3 days ago
The seller refused to accept a lowball bid for his signed, rookie Mickey Mantle card.
3 days ago
Harvey couldn't relate more with the contestant and demanded the response to be number 1.
4 days ago
The player also brought her husband along on the stage to support her.
4 days ago