Mark Cuban is notoriously bold when it comes to trades. But even by his standards, spending millions of dollars on a mansion he’d never set foot in was a surprising move.
The billionaire entrepreneur and former Shark Tank Star revealed he bought a $25 million property at an eye-popping 50% discount, a deal he said embodies one of his core investing principles.
Cuban reflected on the purchase in a 2022 interview with GQ. While working at MicroSolutions (which he eventually sold in 1990 for $6 million), his partner Martin Woodall told him that an “amazing house” was about to be foreclosed on. Cuban said this is a house that the owners spent three years building and was a “dream home” for the original owner’s wife and family.
But unfortunately, the owner was forced to sell the house when the stock market crashed, and he lost everything. So Cuban, now worth about $9 billion, bought the 24,000-square-foot Dallas mansion without ever seeing it, calling it “why the fuck not?” He still lives there, and Zillow estimates the home is currently worth $22 million.
“I’d never seen that house. I’d seen some pictures. I’d never been there. I was like, Oh my God. I’m a billionaire,” Cuban said. Essentially, the idea is that buying a home at a discount doesn’t inherently change its value. So when Cuban finally sells the house one day, he’ll make a pretty penny — at least around $10 million, based on the current estimated value of the home (although it’s probably closer to $28 million, according to Zillow’s estimate range).
Cuban said buying at a deep discount is “the most guaranteed return on investment,” and he uses this approach on most of his purchases.
“Buying in bulk refillable items, from toothpaste to soup, or whatever I use regularly, saves 30 to 50 percent, which is the most guaranteed return on investment you can get anywhere,” Cuban said in a 2010 report. Forbes interview. The same principle applies to mansions, only on a much larger scale.
The former Dallas Mavericks owner also used the example of buying a home to warn people to never take wealth for granted. He also outlines a four-rule framework for becoming a millionaire, which includes mastering your skills, learning to sell, staying curious and learning, and then starting a company once you have these foundations in place.
“You have to know how to sell,” Cuban said. “You don’t want to be in a position where you’re dependent on someone else.”
Cuban’s purchase is a window into how the ultra-rich view real estate differently from the average American, who might think it’s crazy to buy a home they’ve never seen in person.
