Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has never been one to shy away from providing lessons he learned in his early years or advice for people today on how to overcome obstacles and accumulate wealth.
In a 2017 interview, Cuban suggested invested a small portion of money into Bitcoin BTC/USD. Here's a look at how that investment would have turned out.
What Happened: Cuban was a hustler from a young age, selling trash bags door to door before founding his first companies, which were later acquired and helped him buy the Dallas Mavericks.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Cuban shared his advice on "getting rich," providing nine tips for saving money, getting a better return on investments and building wealth.
"Rich is all relative," Cuban said in the video on Oct. 18, 2017.
Along with advice like living like a student, not using credit cards, saving six month worth of income and investing savings into a mutual fund, Cuban said that people could invest 10% into cryptocurrency.
"If you're a true adventurer and you want to throw the Hail Mary, you might take 10% and put it into Bitcoin or Ethereum."
Cuban cautioned that investors who go this route should treat the investment like collecting art, baseball cards and shoes as items that are only "worth what somebody else will pay for it."
"If you do that you've got to pretend you've already lost your money."
While Cuban said the investment advice at the time was "a flyer," anyone following the thought on that day likely knows they are sitting on a highly-valuable investment.
Someone who invested $1,000 in Bitcoin at its high price of $5,603.82 on Oct. 18, 2017, could have bought 0.1784 BTC. Today, that investment would be worth $11,838.45, up 1,083.8% from the time of Cuban's comments.
The same $1,000 invested in Ethereum ETH/USD, the other cryptocurrency mentioned by Cuban, could have bought 3.1815 ETH based on a price of $314.32 at the time. The $1,000 investment would be worth $8,232.67 today, up 723.3%.
An investor who split the $1,000 equally between the two cryptocurrencies could have bought 0.0892 BTC and 1.5907 ETH. The investments would be worth $5,919.22 and $4,116.21, respectively, for a total of $10,035.43, up 903.5%.
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Why It's Important: While Cuban's comments weren't complete investment advice and just an idea of how people could get rich by changing spending and investment habits, the results are worth monitoring.
Cuban suggested saving money and putting it into a mutual fund, which might track the S&P 500.
The same $1,000 invested in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the S&P 500, could have bought 3.91 SPY shares. The investment would be worth $2,276.32 today, up 127.6% over the same time period.
Investing in cryptocurrency when Cuban made the comments outperformed the broader U.S. stock market.
The commentary shows that putting a small amount of money in an investment portfolio into cryptocurrency could produce strong returns over time, despite the sector’s occasional volatility.
Cuban shared in an Ask Me Anything on X earlier this year that he holds positions in several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The billionaire entrepreneur, who publicly supports Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, has been one of several individuals the vice president has looked to for advice on the cryptocurrency sector.
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