Mark Cuban knows a thing or two about business and employees. Having owned the Dallas Mavericks among other ventures, he knows what it takes to have a team that can strive to win together. He was helped by those employees to establish the franchise as one of the most competitive. So, when he sold the NBA champion team, he did not forget about his employees who helped him build that success.
The billionaire was a guest on the show Club Shay Shay. Host Shannon Sharpe, among other questions, asked him why he gave his employees $35+ in bonuses after he sold the team. To this Cuban replied that it was out of a gesture of gratitude.
I’m not there without them. My first two companies I did it with MicroSolutions, we had 80 employees; they all got paid. I did it with Broadcast.com, out of 330 employees, 300 became millionaires. And I wanted to do the same thing with the Mavs. They were there for me the whole time. It was enough money that for those who were there 20 years or more, it was life changing money.
Mark Cuban said
Mark Cuban was explicit in suggesting that his employees helped him build his companies to be worth that much, which is why he ensured that they got a share of the sale proceeds.
He mentioned that the final amount of bonuses the Dallas Mavericks employees received exceeded the reported $35 million figure, as many employees were there for more than 20 years right alongside him as they established the team as one of the most competitive NBA franchises.
. @mcuban Turned 300 Employees Into Millionaires & Gave Mavs Employees Over $35M In Bonuses
“I’m not there without them…I did it with MicroSolutions—we had 80 employees; they all got paid. I did it with https://t.co/083mTEf58o—out of 300 employees, 300 became millionaires.” pic.twitter.com/itapBkTVuO
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) September 29, 2024
Cuban bought a majority stake in the team for $285 million in the year 2000. 23 years later, he sold a majority of that stake for nearly $3.5 billion. The bonuses were a substantial profit which he wanted to share with his employees.
Mark Cuban spent $40 million on a private jet online
Cuban was already a billionaire when he sold the Mavericks. So, it was likely that he has enjoyed all the luxuries in life. But back in the day, Cuban was just starting to live that life as he revealed in the same episode:
I bought a Jet online. I just got paid, I was like ‘I want a Jet’. Contacted Gulfstream, they set up a test flight. Told me the price was $40 million. I texted them ‘deal’. I did a wire transfer, did the whole thing online.
Mark Cuban said
Being an entrepreneur who grew up in the technology business, this purchase of the plane online was the highest purchase he ever did. This was after Yahoo.com purchased Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion.
Flush with that money, he wanted to purchase the Gulfstream V as he wanted to save time. That transaction, completely done online from start to finish, went into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest single e-commerce transaction ever.
Now from the sales proceeds from the Dallas Mavericks, it is unknown if he has purchased anything that substantial. But even if he does, it could be tough to surpass the record-breaking purchase of this private jet.
