MARK CUBAN WAS CONFIDENT HE wouldn't be recognized in Boston Common. This was early June, and it happened to be the day of the Boston Dyke March, billed as an "anti-capitalist intersectional gender liberation" event. On our walk over to the park, people had bum-rushed the billionaire, angling for an autograph or selfie. Basketball fans on the street lit up at the sight of himthe minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks. But as we strolled the 50-acre stretch of green, considered the oldest public park in the US, Cuban the capitalist assured me that this crowd couldn't be less interested in him.
"Mark Cubannnnn!" a young woman screeched just then. She hurried over. Her friends joined. They were infectiously joyful, wearing strips of rainbow fabric fashioned into skirts, and they wanted a selfie. Cuban obliged, beaming like a dad.
Cuban, now 66, is at a turning point. Late last year he announced that the upcoming season of ABC's Shark Tank, the reality show that catapulted him to fame, would be his last. He also sold off his controlling stake in the Mavs. Was the tech entrepreneur and investor... slowing down?
The suggestion is offensive to him. He simply has a new obsession. In 2018, Cuban received an email that, to him, smelled like blood. A 33-year-old radiologist named Alex Oshmyansky was cold-pitching a pharmaceutical startup. He wanted to sell generic drugs for about as much as they cost to make or buy. Cuban was intrigued. He invested $250,000.
Within two years Cuban had invested so much that he owned the company. In January 2022 they began selling products as Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs. The name references, well, Mark Cuban, but also simple algebra: the base price of the drug, plus a 15 percent markup, plus a $5 pharmacy service fee, plus $5 in shipping. The company ships around 2,500 drugs, including ones for epilepsy, diabetes, and birth control, to consumers and pharmacies across the US.
Denne historien er fra November - December 2024-utgaven av WIRED.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November - December 2024-utgaven av WIRED.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
MOVE SLOWLY AND BUILD THINGS
EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON MICROCHIPS-WHICH MEANS TOO MUCH DEPENDS ON TAIWAN. TO REBUILD CHIP MANUFACTURING AT HOME, THE U.S. IS BETTING BIG ON AN AGING TECH GIANT. BUT AS MONEY AND COLOSSAL INFRASTRUCTURE FLOW INTO OHIO, DOES TOO MUCH DEPEND ON INTEL?
FOLLOW THAT CAR
CHASING A ROBOTAXI FOR HOURS AND HOURS IS WEIRD AND REVELATORY, AND BORING, AND JEALOUSY-INDUCING. BUT THE DRIVERLESS WORLD IS COMING FOR ALL OF US. SO GET IN AND BUCKLE UP.
REVENGE OF THE SOFTIES
FOR YEARS, PEOPLE COUNTED MICROSOFT OUT. THEN SATYA NADELLA TOOK CONTROL. AS THE COMPANY TURNS 50, IT'S MORE RELEVANT-AND SCARIER-THAN EVER.
THE NEW COLD WARRIOR
CHINA IS RACING TO UNSEAT THE UNITED STATES AS THE WORLD'S TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERPOWER
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
KINDRED MOTORWORKS VW BUS - Despite being German, the VW T1 Microbus is as Californian as the Grateful Dead.
THE INSIDE SCOOP ON DESSERT TECH
A lab in Denmark works to make the perfect ice cream. Bring on the fava beans?
CONFESSIONS OF A HINGE POWER DATER
BY HIS OWN estimation, JB averages about three dates a week. \"It's gonna sound wild,\" he confesses, \"but I've probably been on close to 200 dates in the last year and a half.\"
THE WATCHFUL INTELLIGENCE OF TIM COOK
APPLE INTELLIGENCE IS NOT A PLAY ON \"AI,\" THE CEO INSISTS. BUT IT IS HIS PLAY FOR RELEVANCE IN ALL AREAS, FROM EMAIL AUTO-COMPLETES TO APPS THAT SAVE LIVES.
COPYCATS (AND DOGS)
Nine years ago, a pair of freshly weaned British longhair kittens boarded a private plane in Virginia and flew to their new home in Europe.
STAR POWER
The spirit of Silicon Valley lives onat this nuclear fusion facility's insane, top-secret opening ceremony.
