Mark Cuban on how he protected his wealth after becoming a millionaire: 'I lived like a student'

Mark Cuban became a billionaire in 1999 after selling his second tech company, an audio streaming service called Broadcast.com, to Yahoo for $5.7 billion.

When Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban became a millionaire, he had one goal: Not to spend all his newfound riches at once. And that's also a tip he offers to young entrepreneurs. During a recent interview, the serial investor said that after selling his software company MicroSolutions for $6 million in 1990, he took home about $2 million and approached a broker to invest the money

“I want you to invest for me like a 60-year-old. I don’t want you to invest like I’m young, because I want to live off this for a long time,” Cuban, now 66, told the broker.

Moreover, since Cuban did not have generational wealth -- his father was an automobile upholsterer near Pittsburgh -- he knew money could be fleeting and decided to be frugal with his spending. He practically lived like a student, living with five roommates and even sleeping on the floor.

“By the time I sold [MicroSolutions], I had just bought the worst house in the best neighborhood, but I wasn’t big into that. I wasn’t big into cars. I wanted to live like a student and just have fun,” Cuban said. But this strategy took a break in 1999, when he sold his second tech company, an audio streaming service called Broadcast.com, to Yahoo for $5.7 billion.

The "Shark" said that becoming a billionaire helped him feel like, “OK, I’m set,” he said, allowing him breathing room to take on more risky investments. As a judge on ABC’s Shark Tank, Cuban also commented that taking smart risks is essential to becoming wealthy.