ENTREPRENEUR Mark Cuban may be one of the world's most famous billionaires, but his road to success wasn't always a smooth ride. The investor, businessman, and fan-favorite "shark" on ABC's Shark Tank credits his frugal spending habits – including cheap cars – for helping him become a member of the three comma club. Mark Cuban was born to a working-class family and raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania .
Cuban's drive for success began at an early age, when, instead of splurging on material items, he turned his attention to saving as much money as possible. "I did things like having five roommates and living off of macaroni and cheese, and I was very, very frugal," Cuban said during an interview with Money.com .
He credits Paul Terhorst's 1988 book, Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35, for giving him the "discipline of saving." Read More On Mark Cuban Cuban revealed that one of the easiest ways to cut expenses was by forgoing a fancy vehicle. "I had the worst possible car—those types of things," he continued.
Cuban shared that he drove a "Fiat X1/9 with a hole in the floorboard" and a "1966 Buick LeSabre" back in the day. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the average price of a brand-new Fiat X1/9 was between $6,800 and $16,200. Most read in Motors It also wasn't unheard of for used models to sell for under $3,000 or $4,000.
Similarly, a 1966 Buick LeSabre – in the late 1970s and early 1980s – would cost just a couple thousand com.