money Mark Cuban: I bought Democracy.com 'so it wouldn't be used by someone with a political agenda'
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban likely will not challenge President Donald Trump with a 2020 presidential bid, but Cuban still wants in on democracy — literally. He recently bought the domain name Democracy.com “so it wouldn't be used by someone with a political agenda,” he tells Yahoo Finance.
Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, also told Yahoo Finance that he does not have plans to sell the domain name.
“You can see all the domains I own,” says Cuban, in response to a question about the future of Democracy.com. “I rarely sell any.”
On Friday, the New York Times reported that Cuban had purchased Democracy.com after receiving an email from entrepreneur Talmage Cooley, who had used the domain to form a social network that connected everyday people with politicians and advocacy groups. Cooley sought to sell the domain after his social network ran out of funds in February, The New York Times reported.
Asked via email if he would consider using the Democracy.com domain name for a website affiliated with a future presidential bid, Cuban told Yahoo Finance, “Go to thepresident.com :).”
That web address redirects users to markcubancompanies.com, a site that features Cuban’s companies, biography, and blog.
He declined to say how much he spent to acquire Democracy.com.
Cuban, who for months mulled a 2020 presidential bid as an independent, supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, saying ahead of the election that Trump had gone “crazy.” Despite his public criticism of Trump, Cuban told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in May that the two of them “get along.”
“Like any president, I agree with some things and disagree with other things,” said Cuban, a co-host on the television show “Shark Tank.” “It's not personal.”
Cuban made his first billions with an online streaming company called AudioNet that he co-founded in 1995. The company, which later became broadcast.com, sold to Yahoo in 1999 for stock valued at $5.7 billion.
Soon after, in 2000, Cuban purchased the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks for $285 million; the team is now valued at $2.3 billion, according to Forbes. He also co-founded 2929 Entertainment, a film production and distribution company.
Cuban has invested in hundreds of start-ups in his capacity on “Shark Tank,” which he joined in 2012.
Asked if he had any people or groups in mind when he sought to protect Democracy.com from a buyer with a political agenda, Cuban said, “no.”
Max Zahn is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Find him on twitter @MaxZahn_.
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