Mark Cuban set up a ‘chain letter’ to pay college fees; he admits it was Ponzi scheme
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently admitted that he funded his junior year of college by running a pyramid-style 'chain letter' scheme. He acknowledged the venture was a scam but noted he ensured his friends were paid back.
Why it matters
Provides historical context on the early life of a prominent public figure, illustrating the blurred lines between 'hustle culture' and illegal financial schemes.
Mark Cuban relied on unconventional college hustles just to stay enrolled. Long before rising to fame as a celebrity investor on Shark Tank, owning the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and joining the ranks of the world’s wealthiest individuals, Cuban ran a ‘Ponzi’ scheme. Speaking on the San Francisco Standard podcast recently, the 68-year-old billionaire entrepreneur opened up about how he financed his junior year of college at Indiana University in the early 1980s: by launching a dorm room "chain letter" that he now candidly admits operated as a ‘scam’.“It was basically a scam. I made sure my friends all got their money back. And so I got up to the top of the list.
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