Billionaire Mark Cuban is just like us. Well, sort of.
In a candid podcast interview with TikTok creator Bobbi Althoff, the Shark Tank star revealed that he tries to lead an ordinary life despite the trappings of his fortune.
“I just try to be the same person as I was when I was poor and middle and rich,” he said. “I mean, when I was broke, I had a blast. I loved my life. I could wake up smiling, and back then, you just had to not answer the phone because it’d be a bill collector.”
Cuban appeared on The Really Good Podcast sitting on the floor of a parking garage. Althoff explained that she couldn’t afford a real studio and that Cuban did not want her filming in his home.
“His feet are dirty because there was oil all over the floors, and I did not have time to clean them all up,” Althoff told her audience before starting the interview.
The video of the podcast currently has 1.6 million views on YouTube.
Cuban doesn’t have billionaire friends
Althoff bombarded Cuban with personal questions about being rich in a deadpan comedic style reminiscent of Zach Galifianakis on “Between Two Ferns.”
“When did you stop being poor,” she asked.
“Probably when I was 28 or 29,” Cuban said. “But when I was 27, I…went to the ATM, and it showed me a big old zero. So that’s when I was 27. And then got past that, and then bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.”
Althoff asked Cuban if he hangs around with other billionaires.
“I know some others,” he said. “I’ve done events and stuff where there’s been others there, but most of my friends are like guys that I moved to Dallas with or were friends in Dallas or friends in Indiana where I went to school or friends from Pittsburgh. All my friends that have been my friends my entire life are still my friends.”
Related: ‘Please Feel Free To Correct Me’: Mark Cuban Slams Elon Musk Over ‘Free Speech’ On Twitter
He doesn’t have a butler and does his laundry
Talking about the assumptions people make when you’re a billionaire, Cuban said, “People think you gotta make new friends or you got butlers.”
Shocked, Althoff replied. “You don’t have a butler?”
“No,” Cuban said.
“Do you cook your own meals?”
“I have somebody who will, like, when I’m in Dallas and trying to eat healthy, I have a chef,” he conceded. “But that’s just for my stuff. My wife will cook for the family.”
When asked if he does his laundry, Cuban said, “I’m capable, yeah.”
“That’s wild. I don’t think I’d do my own laundry if I had that much money,” Althoff said.
“It takes two seconds. It’s just easier,” Cuban explained, admitting that he draws the line at doing laundry for his kids. “The kids are now supposed to do their own.”
He keeps cash in his car
Cuban said that he doesn’t carry cash anymore. Asked how he tipped people like valets who only accept cash, Cuban revealed that he keeps $20 in his car for such occasions. But this doesn’t always work out.
“The other day, someone stole my $20,” he said. “I was so pissed. I forget where I was, but like, I went in, and I went right in the console where I keep it in my car, and someone stole my $20.
“Oh, my goodness. I’m sure that really hurt you financially,” Althoff joked.
He doesn’t have a driver
When asked if he had a chauffeur, “No, I like to drive myself. I drove myself here,” Cuban said. “I’ve been around people who like have to hire somebody to do everything for them, and that’s just like, no privacy.”
His one indulgence
While Cuban dismissed the stereotype of billionaires owning to own a yacht, he did admit that he has a weakness for planes.
He has a 757 for the Mavs, a G5, and a Bombardier Global 6000.
“I love it. I’m not gonna lie. It’s my best toy.”
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
