Mark Cuban‘s run on Shark Tank is coming to an end after 14 seasons. The billionaire investor’s final episode airs Friday, May 16.
After serving as a guest shark in Season 2, he officially joined the show during Season 3 alongside Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O’Leary. Season 4 saw the addition of Lori Greiner as a main shark, while Daniel Lubetzky was added in Season 16.
However, after years of making deals, Cuban revealed in November 2023 that his tenure on the show was coming to an end. So, what’s the reasoning behind his exit? Scroll down for more!
Why is Mark Cuban leaving Shark Tank?
Cuban is moving on from the show to spend more time with his three children. Simply put, for the Dallas Mavericks owner, “It was time to move on.” He shared the sentiment on X ahead of his final episode.
Cuban was promoting Season 15 on the All the Smoke podcast in November 2023 when he first revealed that “Next year, our 16th year, is gonna be my last year, so I got one more year to go.”
In October 2024, he expanded on his decision in an interview with People. “My kids are teenagers and I want to spend more time with them,” he explained. “We always shoot in June and September, and in June, right when they’re finishing school, I have to come here. When they were young it was like, ‘Okay, we’re going to wait for Dad.’ Now that they’re teenagers, they aren’t waiting for Dad at all, and in September they’ve just gotten back to school. I want to be there for that.”
Despite being at peace with his decision, Cuban said he’s going to miss the people he’s worked with for more than a decade. “The deals are always out there, but I’ll miss the people and I’ll miss having an impact just from the show itself because we send a message every day that the American dream is alive and well,” he shared.
Who are Mark Cuban’s kids?
Cuban has been married to wife Tiffany Stewart since 2002. They share three children together: Alexis, born in 2003, Alyssa, born in 2006, and Jake, born in 2010.
At the time of Cuban’s departure, Alexis and Alyssa are both adults, while Jake is a high school student.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Even before he made his official decision to leave Shark Tank, Cuban was already thinking about wanting more time with his kids. Ahead of Season 15, he told People he wasn’t sure he’d be coming back for the following season.
“My daughter’s in college now. When they were all in high school, all their schedules aligned,” he explained in 2022. “And so it was really easy to do the show. But now, you know, family first, always. And so I wanted to try to make sure I spent as much time with my daughter as I can, and my family as I can.”
Shark Tank, Season 16 finale, Friday, May 16, 8/7c, ABC