Mark Cuban Recalls Passing on Investment That Would’ve Made Him Billions
Shark Tank star Mark Cuban may have made himself billions as a successful businessman, but that doesn't mean he hasn't made a few mistakes here and there.
While speaking with comedian Kevin Hart for an episode of his Hart to Heart podcast, Cuban admitted that he has some regrets regarding his investments–erm, rather, ones he's passed up on.
The Dallas Mavericks co-owner explained that he was offered the opportunity to invest in the "early stages" of the popular rideshare company Uber. However, he hesitated to back the business, ultimately losing out on his chance–and a couple billion more dollars, per Cuban.
"He [Travis Kalanick, Uber co-founder] comes to me like, first off, I got this thing, it's going to replace taxi cabs," Cuban, 65, recalled on the July 20 episode of the podcast. "It was called Uber Cab at the time."
"I'm like, 'I love it, I love it, I love it,'" Cuban went on, "but the valuation of like $10 million and I said I'll do it at $5 million valuation for Uber, and [he] never came back to me. He got somebody else."
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After the two share a laugh, Cuban let out a lighthearted "Whoops," before adding, "Just think had I given him $250,000 on a $5 million or $10 million valuation, it'd be [worth] billions [today]."
Elsewhere in the conversation, Hart, 44, admitted he also passed up on the offer to get involved with Uber early on. "I think Troy [Carter, a talent manager and investor] may have asked me for $50,000 to $75,000," which he noted would have paid off big time.
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