PLAYING FOR KEEPS

THE RECORD-SETTING CAREER OF MARK CUBAN.

MONEYMAKER

As Cuban once said, “Money is a scoreboard.” On July 17, 1998, the first public shares of his online streaming service, Broadcast.com, reached record heights on the stockmarket. Offered at $18 apiece, they closed at $62 1/4. That’s a 249 percent leap—at the time, the best one-day gain in history.

BIG SPENDER

Soon after selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion, Cuban bought a $40 million Gulfstream V jet on his computer—earning a Guinness World Record for the largest online purchase ever.

MAVERICK

In 2000, Cuban paid a then-record $285 million to buy the Dallas Mavs from Ross Perot Jr. When Forbes valued the team at $765 million in January 2014, Cuban said the figure was “way too low.” He was right: Four months later, Steve Ballmer offered $2 billion for the Clippers.

TRASH-TALKER

In 2002, Cuban received an NBA- record $500,000 fine for criticizing the league’s director of officials. “Ed Rush might have been a great ref,” he said, “but I wouldn’t hire him to manage a Dairy Queen.” In April, Cuban lost the mark to Donald Sterling, who earned a $2.5 million fine for his boneheaded racist slurs. Not to worry: Cubes still owns the record for most fines received (20).

HUMANITARIAN

In 2012, Cuban offered to pay $1 million for a haircut. The catch? The haircut was for his outspoken nemesis Donald Trump, who had to shave his whole head. Cuban volunteered to donate the money to the charity of Trump’s choice. “Only 1 mill. dollars?” Trump tweeted. “Offer me real money and I’d consider it.”