Billionaire Mark Cuban amassed his fortune in several ways: a savvy bet on the early internet, cryptocurrencies, and even owning a professional sports team. Yet after all that, he hasn’t aspired to be king—until now.
That’s his role in Royal Runaway, his latest film set for release at the end of 2023. He plays Philippe, the top royal in the fictional European nation of Caminelle, where his son, Prince Alex, is in line for the throne. Instead, Alex, played by sports announcer Alex Day, flees to Long Island, applies for work at a winery, and falls in love with a woman who isn’t aware of his past.
«Mark Cuban is considered a bit of American royalty, so it’s really fun to have him playing King Philippe in my latest holiday film,” said the film’s writer and director, Candice Cain.
The entrepreneur, who has appeared in many films and television shows, often acting as himself, has an estimated net worth of $4.6 billion, according to Forbes. He accumulated his billions by investing in companies involved in industries ranging from healthcare and media to cryptocurrency. Read on to find out how he did it:
Key Takeaways
- Billionaire Mark Cuban will play a king in the film Royal Runaway.
- Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has an estimated net worth of $4.6 billion according to Forbes.
- Cuban sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.6 billion before the dotcom bubble burst.
- He also owns Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which sells generic prescription drugs at wholesale prices.
Cuban became a multimillionaire at 32 when he sold MicroSolutions, a computer consulting service, to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990.
Five years later, Cuban and his friend Todd Wagner joined Broadcast.com, originally called Audionet and founded in 1992 by Chris Jaeb, and turned it into a way to stream audio from sports games online. Cuban sold it to Yahoo for $5.6 billion in 1999, before the collapse of the dotcom bubble.
Dallas Mavericks
Cuban bought the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for an estimated $280 million, and his majority stake in the basketball team is among the primary sources of his wealth. As of October 2022, the Mavericks were valued at about $3.3 billion, according to Forbes. The team ranked eighth on Forbes’ annual list of most valuable NBA franchises in 2022.
Cost Plus Drug Co.
Cuban launched Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. last year, aiming to make prescription drugs more affordable by offering wholesale prices on generic medications. The company had a customer base of 1.5 million within a year of its launch, and Forbes says it’s on track to crack a profit in 2023.
Media & Startups
Cuban also has stakes in film and television companies Magnolia Pictures and AXS TV, and is invested in an array of startups, about 85 of them from being a judge on Shark Tank for 13 seasons. Cuban owns a 2% stake, worth $12 million, in Shark Tank alum Brightwheel, a preschool app, according to Forbes.
He’s also invested in socially driven startups such as Luminaid, which provides solar lanterns and phone chargers to families in disaster areas; Paladin, which connects lawyers with people and nonprofits who need pro bono help; and Mahmee, a healthcare platform focused on supporting those who are pregnant.
