Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban spends most of his waking hours combing through email, saying he would rather whittle his inbox toward zero than sit through "long, boring meetings."
What Happened: "I receive around 700 emails a day and use three phones (two Android and one iPhone) to manage everything," he wrote to Business Insider. "I'd rather get 700 to 1,000 emails than sit in long, boring meetings."
Cuban said his day begins with decaf coffee, a cookie and a first pass at overnight mail before driving his daughter to school and heading to the gym.
"I read and respond to emails. I work out. I read and respond to emails. I do a couple Zooms. Then I read and respond to emails. Then I eat dinner. Then I read and respond to emails," he explained. He calls the routine "boring" but insists "it's faster to just get it out of the way."
The former Shark Tank star refuses to delegate the chore. An assistant would only "slow things down," he told the outlet. Cuban uses Gmail's suggested replies for roughly "10 to 20%" of messages, adding, "I'm typically going to add some flavor somewhere."
Cuban maintains searchable archives of his inbox dating back to the 1980s CompuServe era because "everyone has email … It's fast, particularly now, with Google's auto replies."
The 66‑year‑old Dallas Mavericks owner aims to leave fewer than 20 items unread, occasionally under 10, using folders as a living to‑do list. He breaks from the screen only for "extraordinary" family events; otherwise, inbox maintenance continues through meals, workouts and travel. "I have a hard time disconnecting," he acknowledged.
Why It Matters: Cuban's email obsession aligns with advice he gave at an interview in 2023, calling meetings the primary workplace practice that negatively impacts productivity. He also told Business Insider last year that he has invested "over $100 million" in startups pitched solely by email, proof, he says, that the medium gets business done on his schedule.
The billionaire’s self‑styled workflow shows that even in an age of Slack and video calls, the billionaire still trusts a decades‑old tool to run his empire.
Photo Courtesy: Kathy Hutchins on Shutterstock.com
Read Next:
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
