Billionaire investor Mark Cuban said he supports raising the federal minimum wage to $20, arguing it became personal after he learned workers at a company he invested in—one he did not run—needed government assistance. He tied the episode to a broader defense
Mark Cuban didn’t start his argument about pay with policy theory. He started it with a moment that landed like a gut check.
In a June post on X. the entrepreneur and investor said he pushed for higher wages after learning that people who worked for a company he invested in—but did not run—were relying on government assistance. “I’ve said before I think raising the federal minimum wage to $20 is smart,” he wrote. “When I heard people who worked for a company I invested in (but didn’t run) needed government assistance. I made sure they all got raises. It was embarrassing to me that we didn’t pay enough.”.
Cuban’s point arrives amid a wider national argument over wealth taxes. income inequality. and the “eat the rich” rhetoric that has increasingly targeted wealthy business owners. But he framed his position less as a moral slogan and more as a paycheck reality: when a worker needs help from the government to get by. someone—somewhere—failed to cover basic costs.
He also rejected what he called political soundbites. “But in reality, saying ‘Eat the rich’ will end up helping no one except maybe politicians trying to raise money,” he wrote. “And probably hurt those in need.”
His views on economic policy run just as direct. Cuban said he is not a believer in trickle-down economics, calling it “a joke.” Instead, he said he believes in “trickle up,” where higher wages and asset ownership help workers build financial security.
Cuban pointed to his own history as evidence of where his faith in that approach comes from. “I’ve made, or helped make, at least a thousand millionaires,” he wrote, adding, “And I’ll keep working to increase that number.”
The post widened into a defense of entrepreneurs—especially those who never cash out big. Cuban argued that discussions about wealth often overlook the people who risk everything to start businesses, fail, and try again. “What about all the entrepreneurs that risked everything and failed?” he wrote. “Or the ones that are grinding it out, trying to build a business?. You know, the ones that create more than 60 [percent] of the new jobs in this country.”.
He cited the U.S. Small Business Administration for the broader economic role of small businesses, saying small businesses account for roughly 44% of U.S. economic activity and have historically generated a significant share of net new jobs. Cuban used those numbers to make a narrower. personal claim: many founders never become wealthy at all. losing savings. taking on debt. and spending years trying to recover.
“ The more successful they are, the more you hate them?” Cuban asked. “Take their money so they can’t invest in other founders?”
Still, he acknowledged that not every business owner behaves like a builder. “While he acknowledged that some business owners put profits above everything else,” his post continued, he said most entrepreneurs genuinely want to help others—by hiring more, giving raises, and educating.
Cuban also described his role on “Shark Tank,” saying he spent 15 years on the show “for one reason: to show people they could start small, grow a business and improve their lives along with the lives of their employees and communities.”
For investors, he said, the appeal is often practical. “Not everyone wants to launch a company. Not everyone can risk their savings on a startup. But many investors want a chance to participate in the next wave of innovation.”
Private-market investing. he suggested. keeps pulling attention because investors look for founders and companies solving real-world problems before they become household names. He pointed to one example drawing attention: Immersed, an AI and spatial-computing startup. Immersed’s technology sits where artificial intelligence. productivity. and next-generation computing overlap. and the company has partnered with Meta. Samsung. and Qualcomm as it works toward what it believes could be the future of workplace computing.
Even there, Cuban said the larger issue isn’t taxes or politics. It’s remembering who creates businesses, jobs, and opportunities in the first place. “Demonizing those that have success is counterproductive to every benefit you want to help bring to people,” he wrote.
The thread tying his entire post together is a simple one: compensation isn’t abstract. For Cuban, the argument started when he heard that workers he supported through an investment were going to the government for help—and ended with the decision to make sure they got raises.
Mark Cuban minimum wage $20 minimum wage federal minimum wage income inequality wealth taxes X post government assistance entrepreneurs trickle up Shark Tank