Mark Cuban didn't make billions by blindly trusting suits with glossy brochures and vague promises of long-term upside. He made it by questioning everything, reading obsessively, and refusing to take financial advice from people who earn commissions on his risk. So when the billionaire entrepreneur — who built and sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion — says brokers "don't have a clue," he's not being edgy. He's being consistent.
"If the broker had a clue, he/she wouldn't be a broker," Cuban wrote bluntly in a Young Money magazine interview back in 2007, "they'd be on a beach somewhere." Instead of entrusting his money to advisors with sales quotas, Cuban said the smarter move was much simpler: "Put it in the bank." That wasn't a fluke quote, either. Fifteen years later, in a 2022 interview with GoBankingRates, his advice stayed unchanged: "When you don't know what to do, do nothing."
This is the Cuban doctrine—one built not on fear, but on information. And that, he says, is exactly what most investors lack.
For someone who knows startups inside and out, Cuban's real gripe isn't with stocks or risk itself — it's with people taking risks they don't understand. He didn't back "Shark Tank" contestants out of some love for chaos. He did it because he could evaluate the businesses. He knew the questions to ask. But for everyday investors gambling on trending tickers or hot stock tips from a TV host, Cuban's message is clear: don't.
"If you won't put your money in the bank," he warned, "NEVER put your money in something where you don't have an information advantage."
That line's been echoed through multiple interviews across decades, including his 2010 blog post amid economic uncertainty. "Doing nothing is a valid and, in my opinion, preferable investment strategy," he wrote. His go-to move? "Put your money in the bank."
The consistent thread through all of it: don't mistake motion for progress. Don't mistake hype for homework. And never trust someone who makes a living off your choices unless you're absolutely sure they know more than you do — which, according to Cuban, they probably don't.
It's not that investing is off-limits. Cuban's built empires and invested in hundreds of companies. But his success has always come from knowing the terrain before stepping foot in it. That's the difference. And that's where he says too many go wrong — outsourcing their judgment to someone else, hoping for the best.
So what can people do instead?
Cuban's playbook isn't about sitting still forever. It's about waiting until you do know. That might mean saving cash until you understand real estate, starting small with a business you control, or investing only in areas where you have an edge. His own journey started with cheap champagne, polyester suits, and software manuals. He didn't have capital. He had curiosity.
If there's one takeaway from Cuban's decades of blunt, unwavering financial advice, it's this: confidence without knowledge is expensive. And in a world of noise, sometimes the smartest move isn't making one.
As he's said again and again — and still stands by — if you don't understand the investment, don't invest.
Put it in the bank.