Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and investor on the TV show Shark Tank, recently spoke about how he turned 300 of his 330 employees into millionaires after he shared proceeds from the sale of his company with them.
Cuban shared on social media platform X that every employee who had been with him for more than a year at Broadcast.com became millionaires when Yahoo bought the audio streaming service for $5.7 billion in stock in 1999. Cuban stated, "In every business I've sold, I've paid out bonuses to every employee that was there more than a year."
In every business I've sold I've paid out bonuses to every employee that was there more than a year. https://t.co/02NdL9a41q, 300 out of 330 employees became millionaires. Microsolutions, I paid out 20 pct to our 80 employees. HDNet wasn't as big , but paid out about 20pct… https://t.co/hTvCZnVvUF
June 5, 2024Cuban has followed this practice in various businesses, including MicroSolutions and HDNet (now AXS TV). Notably, these sales did not result in layoffs, showing his commitment to employee well-being beyond financial rewards.
Cuban's entrepreneurial journey began with MicroSolutions, a software company he sold to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990. He distributed 20% of the proceeds among his 80 employees, giving each an approximate $15,000 bonus. Reflecting on a difficult time when the business almost went broke after his secretary stole $82,000, Cuban said on the 'Pardon My Take' podcast in 2020, "It was f**ed up... It made us get our s* together."
The business recovered, and Cuban became a millionaire. "You have to hustle the most when you think it's the darkest," he said.
Cuban invested in and took control of AudioNet in 1995, which later became Broadcast.com. Despite initial scepticism about Internet streaming, Cuban sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo and quickly cashed out his Yahoo stock, predicting a market downturn. His decision was wise as the dot-com bubble burst soon after. "It taught me a hell of a lesson: When you just chase dollars, it never works out well," Cuban said.
Last year, Cuban sold a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, a deal valuing the team at about $3.5 billion, but retained control of basketball operations. Cuban purchased the team in 2000 for $285 million without negotiating the price. "It was all about fun," he said on 'The Draymond Green Show' podcast. "That was like a dream... I didn't even negotiate, I was just like, 'Yes, whatever.'"
Cuban's net worth is currently $5.4 billion, according to Forbes.
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