There's a ripple in the water as TV personality Mark Cuban revealed that he intends to leave the ABC reality show Shark Tank after its upcoming 16th season.
The 65-year-old billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks appeared on the Showtime podcast All The Smoke with hosts and former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
While discussing his time on the show, he confessed: "This is our 15th year. Next year, 16th year, is going to be my last year." The show is currently in its 15th season, which began on September 29, with the follow-up set to premiere next year.
© Getty ImagesHe proudly said "it's time," while admitting that the reason he loved the show in the first place was "because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well."
Mark continued: "I feel like in doing Shark Tank all these years, we've trained a generation of entrepreneurs, multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it's going to inspire generations of kids.
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"That's what happens, right? Now we've got people coming on [saying] I watched you when I was 10 years old."
© Getty ImagesHe revealed that while he'd invested in hundreds of companies during his time on the show, "on a cash basis I'm down a little bit, but on a mark to market, meaning the companies are still in operation, I'm way up."
ABC has not yet commented on the news, however that would leave five main Sharks on the show, those being Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, and Lori Greiner.
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Daymond, Barbara, Robert, and Kevin have been with the show since its very first season back in 2009, while Lori joined as a guest Shark in season three and became a regular the following year.
© Getty ImagesThe show is formatted in a way that does not require every one of the main Sharks to be present at the same time, usually featuring a rotating panel of four Sharks plus one guest (or, sometimes, five of the six Sharks).
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While Mark had definitely become one of the most prominent members of the team, quickly achieving notoriety and fame for his bold yet comforting style, the other Sharks could capably step in, as could one of the previous guest Sharks.
© Getty ImagesOne of the most frequent guests in recent years is Daniel Lubetzky, a billionaire businessman who is the founder and executive chairman of the snack company Kind LLC.
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He has made appearances as a recurring guest Shark since season 11, and is slated to return for more episodes of the currently airing season 15 as well.
© Getty ImagesEmma Grede has also been a frequent guest since season 13, with the British entrepreneur working closely with the Kardashian family, acting as the CEO and co-founder of Khloe's Good American and a founding partner of Kim's Skims.
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