Why Mark Cuban is leaving 'Shark Tank,' and his worst TV investment ever
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Mark Cuban introduces 'Shark Tank' summit
Entrepreneur Mark Cuban discusses Clover & Sony's partnership to champion small businesses with the inaugural Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Vegas.
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Mark Cuban is exiting the "Shark Tank."
After 14 years on the hit ABC reality show, Cuban, 66, appears in his final "Shark Tank" episode May 16 (8 EDT/PDT), which is also the Season 16 finale. As the former Dallas Mavericks majority owner said simply on a May 15 X social media post, "It was time to move on."
Cuban started as a guest shark in Season 2, and then officially joined the Emmy-winning show in Season 3 with Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O'Leary. Lori Greiner joined as a main shark in Season 4, and KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky joined full-time this season.
In Cuban's final episode, he battles fellow sharks one last time for unique entrepreneurial investment opportunities and a special farewell.
Cuban tells USA TODAY via email that he respects all his fellow sharks despite the occasional feeding frenzy. "They all worked their butts off to get where they are. They aren't there by accident," he says. But he gives special kudos to Corcoran, who has "an advanced understanding of people.
"I respect Barb's talents the most," says Cuban. "She is the best judge of character and commitment of entrepreneurs that I've ever seen."
Those "Shark Tank" disagreements between founder-friendly Cuban and the aggressive negotiator O'Leary (aka "Mr. Wonderful") were real. "We had our battles," says Cuban. "Kevin always looks for ways to use royalties. Which is rarely, if ever, good for the company."
Still, the two bid farewell respectfully in the finale, and Cuban offers kind parting words. "Kevin may be confused about business often, but he has a big heart and does care about his entrepreneurs," he says.
What was Mark Cuban's worst 'Shark Tank' investment?
Cuban has no problem revealing his worst investment on the show. In 2013, entrepreneur Charles Michael Yim pitched his Breathometer as the world's first smartphone breathalyzer. Yim even brought champagne to test it. Blame the bubbles, but the pitch worked, pulling all five sharks into a joint investment for the first time. Cuban, O'Leary, John, Greiner and Herjavec pooled a $1 million investment for a 30% company stake.
The party started to end in January 2017, when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against Yim and Breathometer, alleging the company misled customers about the product's ability to accurately measure blood alcohol content.
Breathometer settled with FTC over that complaint, but was compelled to fully refund every customer who had purchased the device (typically retailing for $49.99), according to an FTC statement.
"It was a lot of money, and I did a poor job of due diligence," says Cuban. "It really didn't turn out anywhere near what I expected."
Why is Cuban really leaving 'Shark Tank'?
Cuban cited family as his official reason for leaving the show. Cuban and wife Tiffany Stewart share three children: daughters Alexis and Alyssa and son Jake.
"My kids are teenagers, and I want to spend more time with them,' Cuban told People magazine in October. He pointed to the family-conflicting two-week shooting schedule in June and September as the deal-breaker. "When they were young, it was like, 'Okay, we're going to wait for Dad.' Now that they're teenagers, they aren't waiting for Dad at all, and in September, they've just gotten back to school. I want to be there for that."
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