Mark Cuban's Surprising Purchase Of A Whole Town Near Dallas Was A Favor For A Friend – And He Wanted To Rename It To Dinosaur, Texas

What would you do if you had billions of dollars and a friend in need? For Mark Cuban, the answer was to buy an entire town from him. The billionaire and part-owner of the Dallas Mavericks purchased Mustang, Texas, in 2021, reportedly for about $2 million. But why would someone like Cuban buy a ghost town with zero residents? The answer lies in a heartfelt story of friendship.

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Cuban told Drew Barrymore on her show, "One of my buddies that I played pickup basketball with got cancer and was close to dying and his only real asset was this town." That friend, Marty Price, owned the tiny town of Mustang, which had fallen into disrepair. Price didn’t want to abandon his wife and kids to handle the challenging work of selling or maintaining the property. Cuban’s generosity made it possible for his friend’s family to concentrate on what mattered at a trying time.

Located about an hour south of Dallas, Mustang isn't exactly the bustling hub you'd expect a billionaire to invest in. In fact, it's a ghost town with a quirky history. Back in 1973, Mustang disannexed from its neighboring town of Angus to sell liquor, something Angus prohibited at the time. Mustang boasted a trailer park, a strip club and a fire station at its peak. Today, all that remains are a few unpaved roads and empty land.

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Cuban told Business Insider he hasn't visited Mustang despite his unexpected purchase and has "zero plans for it." However, he's toyed with a creative idea for the town's future. Speaking on The Drew Barrymore Show, Cuban revealed, "We haven't worked it through yet, but there's a chance we might change Mustang, Texas, to Dinosaur, Texas and have all these big, huge, ‘Jurassic Park'-like dinosaurs." This idea came from his investment in Dino Don, a company that makes animatronic dinosaurs for zoos and parks, which he backed on Shark Tank.

For now, Mustang remains an empty patch of land with an intriguing backstory. Cuban put a friend in charge of keeping it clean, calling him the "mayor" as a joke. He also let the nearby town of Angus park its new fire truck on the land, so it's at least being used for something.

While no immediate plans exist to turn Mustang into a tourist attraction or dinosaur-themed destination, Cuban's purchase shines a light on his generosity and willingness to help those close to him. He simply said, "I can help Marty and I could buy this town." And that's exactly what he did.

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