'Shark Tank' Poll Reveals Most Polarizing Star — Is It Mark Cuban?

"Shark Tank" recently completed its 16^th season, its last to feature longtime shark Mark Cuban who announced it would be his last season before it aired.

A Benzinga survey shows where Cuban ranks among the most popular and least popular main "Shark Tank" judges.

What Happened: Airing from Oct. 18 through March 7, the 16^th season of "Shark Tank" was the latest in the show's history. The show has included a fairly consistent panel of six different sharks along with some guest sharks.

More than 350 episodes have aired on ABC, which is a unit of Walt Disney Co DIS. Cuban has invested in many companies during his time on the show and will now exit the long-running business pitch show.

Episodes feature several companies looking for money from a panel of investors, offering equity in their company in exchange.

"Who is your favorite shark?" Benzinga asked readers.

Here are the results:

• Mark Cuban: 40%
• Kevin O'Leary: 19%
• Barbara Corcoran: 12%
• Lori Greiner: 12%
• Robert Herjavec: 10%
• Daymond John: 7%

The poll found that the departing Cuban is the favorite shark on the show, which could be bad news for ABC.

"Who is your least favorite shark?" Benzinga also asked readers.

Here are the results:

• Mark Cuban: 32%
• Kevin O'Leary: 32%
• Barbara Corcoran: 12%
• Lori Greiner: 10%
• Robert Herjavec: 10%
• Daymond John: 4%

The second poll found that while Cuban is the favorite shark, he was also tied with O'Leary as the least favorite shark on the show.

This means that people who watch "Shark Tank" likely love Cuban or hate him. O'Leary received a similar love/hate rating in the polls ranking as the second favorite shark and tied as the least favorite shark.

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Why It's Important: Fans of "Shark Tank" will likely miss Cuban's appearance on the series moving forward.

The outspoken billionaire often battled with other sharks for deals and tried to get answers from entrepreneurs quickly before they heard offers from the other sharks. On occasion, Cuban teamed up with other sharks for deals.

Separate Benzinga polls on "Shark Tank" found that the majority of readers have watched at least some episodes of the show during its 16-season run. The poll showed that the series might be nearing the end of peak viewership, with 22% saying they have not watched since the early seasons.

Another Benzinga poll asked readers what their favorite part of "Shark Tank" is.

“What’s your favorite part of Shark Tank?” Benzinga asked.

Here were the results:

• The pitch and hearing the entrepreneur’s backstory: 40%
• The battle between the sharks: 21%
• Seeing the product and watching the sharks test or taste it: 20%
• When multiple sharks join forces on a deal: 18%

The poll found that the pitch and hearing the backstory is viewers' favorite part when watching “Shark Tank” episodes. Many entrepreneurs who go on the show have inspirational stories of quitting their jobs, getting fired, launching a business for a personal reason or doing entrepreneurial good for their culture or heritage.

Ranking second was the battle between sharks at 21%. Sometimes sharks undercut each other on deals offering a higher investment amount or lower equity to close a deal over another shark who has already made a pitch. Sometimes sharks try to close deals quickly by putting a clock on their deal before dropping out.

Read Next:

• Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary Rejected Poppi On Shark Tank, Pepsi Just Paid $1.9 Billion To Acquire Company

The study was conducted by Benzinga from March 20, 2025, through March 25, 2025. It included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older. Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from 104 adults.

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