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Mark Cuban -- billionaire businessman and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
basketball team -- to the list of people who credit novelist Ayn Rand
with inspiring them to become American success stories.
Cuban read Rand's The Fountainhead "three complete times
and untold number of little snippets and segments," he said in
an interview on C-SPAN (March 26, 2006). He first read the book in high
school, and it taught him that "it doesn't matter what everybody
else thinks -- it's how you see yourself and what your own dreams are."
On Slate.com (November 15, 2005), Cuban said the book "was incredibly
motivating to me. It encouraged me to think as an individual, take risks
to reach my goals, and responsibility for my successes and failures.
I loved it."
Rand's freedom-loving philosophy apparently also encouraged Cuban to
become a libertarian. In the Austin American-Statesman (May
19, 2006), Cuban said his politics are "independent, leaning to
libertarian. I vote for the candidate who I think will do the least."
On his blog -- www.blogmaverick.com -- he described himself as "a
libertarian at heart" (March 8, 2006). On C-SPAN, Cuban said he
is a "less is more" kind of libertarian. "I think there's
room for government," he said. "I'm not an abolish-all-government
type guy. But I think, you know, less is more..."
On his blog, Cuban has expressed strongly libertarian-sounding opinions
about government and politicians. Some examples:
• "I don't have a favorite politician.
I don't donate money to politicians. I think any cause is better than
getting a politician re-elected." (December 31, 2004)
• "As a country, our politicians are spending
taxpayer money, OUR money, as if there is no limit to how big a deficit
they can run. Left to their own devices, politicos will do what they
always do, spend more money. That is the culture in our government
today." (January 8, 2005)
• "I hate politics. My experiences in that
world range from slimy to slimier." (September 4, 2004)
However, Cuban holds other views that are well outside the libertarian
mainstream. He opposes privatizing Social Security ("I personally
couldn't think of anything more threatening to our future..."),
supports foreign aid ("We have taken on the responsibility of helping...others
around the world... It's a good role."), and supports the invasion
of Iraq ("I think we're there for the right reasons.").
Such maverick views are typical of Cuban; he goes his own way and genuinely
doesn't care what other people think.
Cuban (born 1958) started early as an entrepreneur. As a child, he sold
garbage bags to neighbors, and he helped pay for his college education
by giving disco dancing lessons. After graduating from Indiana University,
he moved to Dallas, Texas and founded MicroSolutions, a computer consulting
firm. In 1990, he sold it to CompuServe, earning $6 million.
Not one to rest on his laurels, in 1995 Cuban co-founded Audionet, a
company that broadcast sporting events over the still-nascent Internet.
The company changed its name to Broadcast.com in 1998, and in 1999 Cuban
sold it to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion worth of stock. Even after the dot.com
bust, Cuban still made almost $2 billion from the sale.
In 2000, Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks, and vowed to turn around
the struggling NBA franchise. Watching every home game from his seat
in the stands alongside other fans, Cuban was a hands-on manager who
poured money into the team. An influx of high-priced players helped
the Mavericks earn a spot in the playoffs for six consecutive years.
In 2006, the team made it all the way to the NBA Finals for the first
time in their history (but lost to the Miami Heat). Cuban's passion
for the Mavericks has come at a high cost; the NBA has fined him more
than $1.6 million for criticizing referees and the league.
Cuban also stayed busy in other ways. In 2000, he co-founded a media
company, 2929 Entertainment. The company co-produced the Academy Award-nominated
movie Good Night and Good Luck (2005), and owns the Landmark
movie theater chain, HDNet (a high-definition satellite television network),
and the TV show Star Search.
In 2003, Cuban created the Fallen Patriot Fund, a charity that provides
assistance to the families of soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq. In
2004, he starred in the short-lived ABC Television realty show, The
Benefactor, in which he promised to give away $1 million to a needy
person.
All his success hasn't changed the famously free-spirited Cuban; he
still enjoys rap music, conducts most of his business dealings by e-mail,
and never wears a wristwatch. That lifestyle suits him just fine, he
told the Austin American-Statesman (May 19, 2006). "When
I die, I want to come back as me," he said.
--
Bill Winter
Quotable
On
his politics: "Independent, leaning to libertarian. I vote for
the candidate who I think will do the least." -- Mark Cuban
in the Austin American-Statesman (May 19, 2006)
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