Mark Cuban and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk may not agree on everything these days, except, perhaps, the potential for a viable third political party. But one thing they do share is the number of people who admire them.
What Happened: Musk and Cuban are both examples of the entrepreneurial spirit that Americans can use to achieve great things through hard work and perseverance, such as creating businesses and becoming extremely wealthy.
While Musk and Cuban created companies in different sectors, they share several commonalities, such as rewarding loyal early employees and adopting a hands-on management style.
"Of the following, who would you be most likely to pick as your business mentor?" Benzinga asked.
The results were:
- Elon Musk: 36%
- Mark Cuban: 30%
- Jensen Huang: 23%
- Mark Zuckerberg: 8%
- Jeff Bezos: 3%
The poll found that Musk was the top choice for a potential business mentor — a result likely tied to his reputation as the world's richest person and his relentless work ethic, which often involves sacrificing sleep to focus on his ventures.
Ranking second was Cuban with 30% of the vote. Cuban has been someone that investors and entrepreneurs have looked up to for years thanks to his appearances on "Shark Tank" and being very public with his ownership and running of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.
Huang ranked third — a testament to the success he's achieved at Nvidia, the company he famously co-founded in a Denny's booth.
Zuckerberg and Bezos scored the lowest totals in the poll.
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Why It's Important: Musk winning the poll isn't likely a surprise given the huge fandom he has thanks to leadership roles at Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and other companies. Musk is the most followed person on the social media platform X.
These days, Musk is often viewed as one of the best entrepreneurs and visionaries of the last 100 years. While some people may disagree with Musk politically or over ideals, they often respect the work he has done to forever change sectors like electric vehicles, clean energy and space exploration.
Cuban's role on "Shark Tank," which began in season 2 and recently came to an end, has helped him gain millions of fans worldwide and also led to him being one of the most loved sharks on the show.
A recent Benzinga poll found Cuban to be the favorite shark with 40% of the vote. Ironically, he also tied at 32% of the vote with Kevin O'Leary for the least favorite shark.
Similar to Musk, Cuban could be a person that many either hate or love, with no middle ground. Many love Cuban's approach on "Shark Tank" of making quick deals and not giving other sharks time to propose deals. Others likely think it hurts the integrity of the show.
Cuban could be ruthless on "Shark Tank," but also showed a human side, often with deals made for products he didn't know but his daughters did, and making investments in entrepreneurs with good stories and a hard work ethic.
The study was conducted by Benzinga from July 1, 2025, through July 3, 2025. It included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older. Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from 102 adults.
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© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
