Want to be ultra rich? Mark Cuban reveals 'the one thing you need to have' — and it isn't work ethic. Plus, his very surprising answer on paying taxes

“Entrepreneurs create jobs,” not billionaires, he says.

American businessman Mark Cuban tells wired the secret to becoming a billionaire.

WIRED / YouTube

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By Vishesh Raisinghani Nov. 22, 2023

Do billionaires create jobs? Billionaire Mark Cuban says no.

“Entrepreneurs create jobs,” the Shark Tank investor said on a recent episode of WIRED’s Mogul Support, a spin on the magazine’s show Tech Support.

Put simply, a wealthy person isn’t necessarily a job creator and a job-creating entrepreneur isn’t necessarily wealthy.

“The reality is, in order to become a billionaire, the one thing you have to have is luck.” Cuban said. “Any billionaire who tells you they can just do it again — no. You have to be lucky.”

That includes some who may have won the ultimate lottery.

“Maybe you have a rich parent,” he quipped.

'We should pay more'

Should billionaires pay more in taxes? Cuban certainly seems to think so.

“F— yeah we should pay more in taxes!” he exclaimed.

“I would not be in this position without this country, because nothing happens that’s great, whether it’s health care, teachers, roads, you name it, without people paying their fair share of taxes.”

Cuban isn’t the only billionaire to call for higher taxes on the wealthy. Legendary investor Warren Buffett and tech mogul Bill Gates have also previously stated they support higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

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Born to be a billionaire

How many billionaires inherited their wealth?

As of 2022, 317 billionaires around the world had inherited their wealth, according to Statista.

Now, as for who cranks the job-creation engine, it seems to be the little guy. About 70% of the global workforce is [self-employed or works for a company with less than 50 employees, according to a study of 99 countries by the International Labour Organization published in 2022. About 32% of the workforce is self-employed while 23.9% are employed in “micro-firms” with less than nine employees. A self-employed freelancer or the owner of a micro-firm is highly unlikely to be a billionaire but is certainly an entrepreneur.

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About the Author

Vishesh Raisinghani

Freelance Writer

Vishesh Raisinghani is a freelance contributor at MoneyWise. He has been writing about financial markets and economics since 2014 - having covered family offices, private equity, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and tech stocks over that period. His work has appeared in Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool Canada, Motley Fool UK, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Post, Financial Post, and Yahoo Canada.

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