Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban

Celebrity Q&A
on July 2, 2011
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Does billionaire Mark Cuban’s appearances on TV shows like Shark Tank help or hurt him make business deals?
—Sally Quinn, Lubbock, Texas

Shark Tank is the ABC-TV realty series in which multi-millionaire business tycoons, such as Cuban, field proposals from entrepreneurs and decide whether or not to invest.

Cuban, 52, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh and owns the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association, says conducting business on television can be both a help and a hindrance. “It gives me access and opportunity because people know who I am and they kind of understand how I work. And that really shortens the cycle, or the process, to go from contact to conclusion,” he says.

But the flip side is that there are many times when people will try to raise the price on something because they think he’s wealthy enough to have money to burn.

“Where that’s particularly a problem isn’t so much investing in businesses, but it’s when I go to try to buy something at a store, or if I’m looking to potentially buy a house. Then the price goes up.” His secret to avoiding that is simple: “You’ll rarely see me bid on something normal using my name. I have my wife call under her maiden name,” he admits.

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