FORA.tv Speaker - Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban was born on July 31, 1958, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Indiana University in 1981 with a degree in Business.

After college, Cuban moved to Dallas, Texas and created a computer consulting business called "MicroSolutions" which transformed him into a millionaire when he sold the business to CompuServe in 1990. In 1995, Cuban and his business partner Todd Wagner began working on an idea (that later became known as Broadcast.com) in order to stream live events over the Internet.

Cuban and Wagner sold their company to Yahoo.com in 1999 for billions of dollars in Yahoo! stock. Cuban went on to purchase the NBA's Dallas Mavericks basketball franchise for $285 million on January 14, 2000. The Mavericks reached the NBA Finals in 2006 for the first time in franchise history.

Beyond that, Cuban launched the high-definition television network "HDNet" in September of 2001 with Philip Garvin. HDNet provides the highest level of digital broadcast quality available. Cuban and Todd Wagner established a media company named "2929" with holdings that cover many aspects of entertainment.

This includes film production companies HDNet Films and 2929 Productions, movie distributor Magnolia Pictures, home video distributor Magnolia Home Entertainment, the Landmark Theatres chain, and a stake in Lions Gate Entertainment.