Billionaire Mark Cuban denied speculation of a potential plan to run for president amid his reported sale of a majority stake of the Dallas Mavericks and his announced future plans to leave the popular television series 'Shark Tank.'
Cuban, 65, told TMZ Sports that the social media speculation was "galaxies off," claiming his "family would disown" him. The billionaire had denied any interest in running for office whenever asked publicly prior to his reported sale and 'Shark Tank' announcement.
On Tuesday (November 28), sources with knowledge of the situation told the Athletic's Shams Charania that Cuban was selling a majority stake of the Mavericks to casino tycoon Miriam Adelson and the Adelson family "for valuation in range of $3.5 billion."
Cuban will reportedly keep shares of the team, as well as full control of basketball operations, in what Charania described as "one of the most unique setups in NBA history."
Cuban, who has an estimated worth of $6.2 billion, according to Forbes, purchased a majority stake in the Mavericks for $285 million from H. Ross Perot Jr. in January 2000. The report of the potential sale comes one day after Cuban revealed his intention to leave the ABC series 'Shark Tank' following the conclusion of its 16th season.
"It's time," Cuban said during an appearance on the Showtime podcast 'All The Smoke' alongside hosts and former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
Cuban initially appeared as a guest on 'Shark Tank' during its second season before becoming a mainstay the following year.
“I love it because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well,” Cuban said. “I feel like in doing 'Shark Tank' all these years, we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it’s going to inspire generations of kids. That’s what happens, right? Now we’ve got people coming on saying I watched you when I was 10 years old. I’m like, 'f**k.' But we’re helping them right? I’ve invested in, I don’t know how many hundreds of companies. On a cash basis, I’m down a little bit, but on mark to market meeting, the companies are still in operation. I’m way up.”
Deadline.com said ABC wouldn't confirm Cuban's departure but acknowledged that the entrepreneur has mentioned leaving the show previously.