Mark Cuban

When Mark Cuban announced last year that he sold off a controlling stake in the Dallas Mavericks and would leave Shark Tank after its 16th season, it could have set the stage for a real, mid-sixties retirement. Instead, the billionaire entrepreneur doubled down on efforts in two of society’s thorniest sectors: health care and politics. Cuban’s online pharmacy startup, Cost Plus Drugs, began manufacturing its own prescription medications in the first half of 2024—focusing initially on those in shorter supply. The company also sells more than 2,000 other  medications, mostly generic, direct to consumers online, with a small, transparent markup. And in the back half of the year, Cuban began to publicly stump as a surrogate for Kamala Harris, providing some pro-business bona fides to the vice president’s circle. And he did it without ever donating a single penny to her efforts. That’s a particular type of power.