Jan 31, 2025
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Mark Cuban lives large in a way few of us can ever hope to attain. With his reported 5.7 billion fortune, including an $80 million real estate portfolio and part ownership stake in the Dallas Mavericks, he admits that while wealth opens a lot of doors, it’s not always easy to raise his children with a level head.
On a recent episode of The Steam Room podcast with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley, the hosts quizzed him on how he ensures that his kids learn to recognize their privilege, with Barkley asking, “How do you make sure they are grateful and great human beings?”
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Cuban replied, “I use your line: It’s my money, not yours.”
Elaborating on his approach, he said, “We’re not that type of family that’s just like, presents, presents, presents. You’re mad at me? Oh, let me buy you something. You’re sad? Let me buy you something. That’s just not how it works.”
Setting his children up to find their own success, not just benefit from his, is a key motivator in Cuban’s parenting style. Here’s how you can grow a fortune step by step, like Cuban.
Hire experienced financial professionals
Cuban is always an advocate of learning, and like Warren Buffett, reads financial advice regularly to boost his own ideas and expose him to new methods for growing wealth. He said, “I used to love to walk through bookstores. If there's something that caught my eye and I thought it could give me one idea, to spend 30 dollars… was a bargain. I'll read hours every day because all it takes is one little thing to propel you to the next level.”
Whether you have time for daily reading or not, Cuban has advised working with experienced financial professionals to level up your investing game and help you create and stick to a financial plan.
Advisor.com can help you find an experienced professional who is invested in your financial education.
This online platform connects you with vetted financial advisors in minutes. Just answer a few quick questions about yourself and your finances, and Advisor.com will match you with a vetted advisor who can provide you with a personalized plan to meet your financial goals.
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You can then book a free, no-obligation consultation** to confirm if your match is right for you.
Take small steps to build your wealth
In a Vanity Fair interview from 2017, Cuban outlined several of his best tips for adhering to a budget and growing your money. One practical tip he offered was to buy in bulk when items are on sale.
“When you see a sale, for instance… you're better off buying two years’ worth of toothpaste when it's on a 50 percent discount. That's an immediate return on your money. Any of your reusables or consumables, when they're on a huge sale… buy them. That's a real savings that you get to put in your pocket.”
While you’re making these purchases, don’t forget the power of your spare change to grow your wealth. With Acorns, an automated investing platform, you can set aside extra funds to invest in stocks without even thinking about it.
By signing up and linking your bank account, Acorns automatically rounds up the price of all of your purchases (including your toothpaste stockpile!) to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into a smart investment portfolio.
Plus, Acorns lets you customize how you save. With an Acorns Silver plan, you get access to Acorns Later, a retirement investment account with a 1% IRA match on new contributions. With Acorns Gold, you get a 3% IRA match on new contributions and the ability to customize your portfolio by selecting your own stocks.
Build an emergency fund
One of Cuban’s #1 rules for building wealth is to have a well-supplied emergency fund to protect against unexpected but inevitable expenses.
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In the same interview, he said, “Save up six months’ income. If you don't like your job, or you get fired, or you have to move, you're gonna need at least six months’ income.”
This is the standard rule for building an emergency fund, but it can seem daunting for an inexperienced saver. One of the best ways to help build up your fund is to put your money into safe investments. A certificate of deposit offers not only a guaranteed rate of return but also locks your money away for a set period so that the temptation to spend is removed.
With SavingsAccounts.com, you can easily compare different terms, interest rates, and features on certificates of deposit (CDs) to find the best options for you. SavingsAccounts.com aims to simplify the process of choosing the right CD by providing transparent and up-to-date information so you can make informed decisions.
Compare CDs from various banks and financial institutions in minutes, all in one place, and maximize your emergency fund savings to ensure your future financial security.
The bottom line
In his interview on The Steam Room, Cuban noted that keeping his kids’ expectations realistic is a balancing act. “It’s not easy. They’re getting on a private plane most of the time, so it’s not like we can hide it from them. But you just do your best.”
Cuban’s best piece of advice for building wealth, per his Vanity Fair interview, may also be his top lesson to his kids to keep them grounded, even when they’re flying private. He says, “Nice works. When you're nice to people around you, when you're caring, when you're empathetic, you're always gonna get more results.”
Gemma Lewis is a freelance contributor with her CFA UK Certificate in Investment Management. She has navigated the ever-evolving world of financial technology as both a product manager and investment analyst, having earned her Master’s of Business from the University of St Andrews, and Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University. Her writing and commentary has been featured across top-tier publications, including Forbes, the BBC, Financial Times, Telegraph, Yahoo!, Motley Fool, and Fortune. If she's not writing, she's either reading, or running around and exploring the great outdoors.
