It’s the tip of an era for billionaire and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban. The Mavericks owner announced he’ll leave ABC’s hit show after Season 16 next yr.
Appearing on the “All the Smoke” podcast hosted by former NBA stars Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Cuban revealed that he had another season left in him before he departs the show for good.
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“This is our fifteenth yr. Next yr, our sixteenth yr, is [going to] be my last yr, so I got another yr to go,” he said. “It’s time.”
Cuban discussed the longevity of the show and the real-life success stories which have helped entrepreneurs and their businesses flourish.
“I feel like in doing ‘Shark Tank’ all these years, we have trained a generation of entrepreneurs, multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if someone 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’ll encourage generations of youngsters,” he said. “That’s what happens, right? Now we have got people coming on [telling me] I watched you once I was 10 years old.”
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Cuban has been a staple on the show since 2011, though it initially premiered in August 2009. The billionaire has since invested no less than 85 firms which have pitched for investments.
ABC didn’t immediately reply to Entrepreneur’s request for comment.
Mark Cuban can also be the owner and CEO of healthcare company Cost Plus Drugs and has an estimated net price of $6.42 billion, per Bloomberg.
