Money can buy many good things in life, and Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and Shark Tank judge, knows this very well.
Growing up in a Jewish working-class family, Mark ventured into his first business at the tender age of 12, where he sold garbage bags. Years later, he was selling stamps and coins, and after that, he ran newspapers. Much later, he ran numerous tech companies, which eventually led to his growing assets and net worth.
And just like most billionaires in the world, Cuban spends his fortune to buy things as he pleased.
But what differs him from all others is that, he acquired a private jet by shopping for it online.
Cuban bought a Gulfstream V jet online for $40 million without even setting foot on the aircraft.
According to Guinness World Record, the purchase was the largest single e-commerce transaction.
With his billionaire status, Mark Cuban has made a number of smart and fruitful business choices that helped propel his wealth.
The first big boost to his wealth came after he sold his software company in the 1980s, MicroSolutions.
That deal earned him a nice $6 million.
Then later, Cuban sold his internet radio company, Broadcast.com (formerly, Audionet) to Yahoo!. Cuban sold it for $5.7 billion, which he earned a hefty $1 billion when he sold the company's shares.
Since then, Cuban also invested in real estates and sports team, as well as a number of startups, some through Shark Tank.
Cuban also invested in cryptocurrencies.
Lots have earned him a hefty potential return on his initial investment.
And buying the Gulfstream is just part of his lavish spending.
According to reports, Cuban fell in love with Gulfstream jets after he flew on a Gulfstream II in 1998.
Since that time, he was hooked to the product.
After taking several advices from several pilots on what they thought would be the best private, business jet, Cuban concluded that Gulfstream is really the jet he needs.
After he bought the Gulfstream G550 in 1999, Cuban continued to build his airplane collection.
His following purchases include a customized Boeing 757-200, which can be used to transport his entire Dallas Mavericks, the NBA team he owns. The 757 has been made to equip weight room, meeting areas, and spaces for medical treatments.
Cuban then bought a Boeing 767-200 after that.
It's worth noting that Cuban afforded the Gulfstream V, and even thought of buying it online, only after he earned the cash after selling Broadcast.com, and selling his shares.
But in turn, Broadcast.com is later considered Yahoo!'s costly purchase, and is also regarded as one of the worst internet acquisitions of all time. Broadcast.com and Yahoo!'s other broadcasting services were discontinued within a few years after the acquisition.
Cuban has repeatedly described himself as lucky to have sold the company before the dot-com bubble burst. However, he also emphasized that he hedged against the risk of a decline in the value of the Yahoo! shares he received in the deal.
If not done so, Cuban would have lost most of his fortune.
Further reading: A $168 Million Gigayacht Sold On EBay