Mark Cuban believes his time is up Aquarium for sharks is coming to an end.
The 65-year-old billionaire revealed that he will not be returning to the ABC series after its 16th season.
“This is our 15th year, and next year, our 16th year, will be my last year,” he said on All the smoke podcast. “So I have one more year.”
He told hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that he felt it was “time” for him to leave the series after first appearing as a guest in season two and joining full-time in season three.
Although Cuban has insisted that season 16 will be his last, the network has yet to confirm his departure.
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The broadcaster said it was grateful for the show’s impact, explaining, “I love it because it sends the message that the American dream is alive and well.”
“I feel like I’m working Aquarium for sharks all these years we have trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if someone can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet Aquarium for sharks and show their business and make a deal, it will inspire generations of kids,” he continued. “It happens, doesn’t it? Now we have people saying I watched you when I was 10 years old. I’m like, f—. But we help them, don’t we? I’ve invested in, I don’t know how many hundreds of companies.”
Cuban also addressed his takeaways as the Shark in the long-running series, explaining, “The harder they try to sell, the worse the deal.”
“The longer the background story, the worse the job. What do you mean, the moment you start telling me how hard it was for you? It is difficult for every motherly entrepreneur,” he added. “I don’t need to hear your backstory. Tell me about your business, tell me why you will be successful. Tell me what’s different here. Tell me what makes you stand out.”
He concluded: “I’m looking for ideas [where I’m] like, ‘Damn, why didn’t I think of that?'”
The cast of ‘Shark Tank’ includes Daymond John, Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec.
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty
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This is not the first time that Cuban has talked about the possibility of leaving Aquarium for sharks.
“I’ve committed to coming back for season 15 next year,” he said Shark the investor told PEOPLE last year. “But after that, you know, I don’t know yet.”
“And it’s not because I don’t love the show. I absolutely love the show,” the Mavericks owner continued. “I love what it represents. I love that children watch it. And now entrepreneurs come who started watching when they were 12, 13, 14 years old.”
Cuban admitted that spending time with his family, including daughters Alyssa and Alexis and son Jake, comes before all other obligations.
“My daughter is in college now … when they were all in high school, their schedules all aligned. And so it was really easy to do the show,” he explained at the time. “But now, you know, family comes first, always. And so I wanted to try to make sure I spent as much time as possible with my daughter and my family.”
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Aquarium for sharks airs Fridays at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education