Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban isn't shy about how money changes people's lives, especially how it changes the way others treat you.
"It makes ugly people handsome and pretty," Cuban joked during an appearance on the “Your Mom’s House” podcast earlier this year.
Fame and Fortune Come With Strings Attached
Cuban, who rose from working-class roots in Pittsburgh to a net worth of over $9 billion according to Bloomberg, said people start acting differently once you hit a certain level of success. “When you're on these lists and everything, people know who you are,” he said. “People treat you differently.”
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He added that fame and wealth often go hand in hand, and both can come with uncomfortable attention. “There's a fame mist,” co-host Christina Pazsitzky said. “Once you become famous, people like you a lot more. Same with money.” Cuban agreed: “They go hand in hand.”
Despite the perks, he still values his privacy and sticks with the same friends he's had since high school, college, and his rugby days. “I'm not looking for new friends,” he said.
Cuban even admitted that his presence can be disruptive. Sometimes his kids ask him not to come to their basketball games because he attracts too much attention. “They know if I go, the other team will come up and take pictures,” he said. “So sometimes I'll just come in the back door.”
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Wealth Creates Expectations For His Kids
In a 2023 conversation on “The Really Good Podcast” with Bobbi Althoff, Cuban said his children feel the pressure of growing up in a wealthy household.
“Sometimes I think that’s the part they don’t like,” he said about him having money. “Not that they want to be poor, but it sets an expectation … it's how other people see them.”
Cuban, who has three children, pushes them to earn and spend their own money when it comes to non-essential purchases. His youngest has even started selling candy bars to classmates, learning about business costs and profit firsthand.
He said he wants his kids to build their own lives and careers, not ride on his reputation. “You don’t have to know what you’re going to be when you grow up,” he told one of his kids. “Just be curious. The more knowledge you have, the more capabilities and options are available to you,” he said on the “Your Mom’s House” podcast.
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Money Doesn’t Solve Everything
Cuban also pushed back on the idea that money guarantees happiness. “If you were happy when you were poor, you're going to be happy when you're rich. If you were miserable when you were poor, you're going to be miserable when you're rich,” he said.
He recalled that one of his first big purchases was a plane–not for flash, but to save time. “The time that you save is money in the bank,” he told podcast co-host Tom Segura. “The more time you have, the more money you'll make,” jokingly encouraging him to also purchase a plane.
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