Mark Cuban’s sale of his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks caught many by surprise. The billionaire investor says he did it because a new way of making money has taken rise in the NBA — and it’s not one he’s well versed in.
The $3.5 billion deal between Cuban and the family of casino mogul Miriam Adelson made headlines in November 2023 before the NBA approved the sale in December. Cuban, who also owns pharmacy company Cost Plus Drugs, now has a 27% stake in the basketball team, and will continue to control basketball operations.
On Monday, Cuban, 65, delved deeper into the reasoning behind his big decision while holding an “ask me anything” session on X, formerly known as Twitter. A follower asked Cuban, “Why did you sell a portion of the Mavs?”
“To spend more time with my family and because I believe the next wave of revenue generation is around real estate and entertainment and those aren’t my strengths,” the billionaire responded.
Cuban has never been shy about pointing out where his strengths lie, saying in the past that he is “really, really, really good at sales.”
But the “next wave” he referred to revolves around the trend of NBA franchises seeking additional revenue streams off the court, including partnering with “tech giants, [and building] million-dollar condos and buzzy restaurants to offset the construction of new facilities,” according to ESPN.
Those pursuits make more sense for the Adelsons, who have a long history in the entertainment, casino and real estate space, Cuban said in a pre-game interview on Dec. 27th. Adelson and her family are the largest shareholders in Las Vegas Sands, the massive casino and resort chain that’s currently valued at more than $37 billion.
“If you look at the teams that spend the most money right now … it’s not because of their media deals. It’s because of their real estate empires that they’ve built,” Cuban said. “And I have no knowledge in that at all. It’s been hard enough learning the pharmacy and basketball…
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