"Küçük" 5 milyon $: Bobbi Althoff, Mark Cuban'dan kendisine bir ev almasını istedi. Cevabı, ev sahipliğine neden ulaşılamadığını gösteriyor

A 'small' $5M: Bobbi Althoff asked Mark Cuban to buy her a house. His answer shows why homeownership is out of reach

Aditi Ganguly

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 1:45 PM GMT+3 9 min read

The Really Good Podcast

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Back in 2023, Mark Cuban found himself seated on a warehouse floor alongside viral sensation Bobbi Althoff as a guest on The Really Good Podcast (1).

During the 58-minute interview, Althoff used her awkward yet engaging tactics to get Cuban to open up about a range of topics, from the Dallas Mavericks to Shark Tank — and even asked him for $5 million to buy a home.

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"You could give me a billion dollars right now, and it probably wouldn't even affect you," Althoff quipped, negotiating with Cuban. "Fine, $5 million, we'll go small. I could buy a house in Southern California."

Despite finding common ground over their shared birthday and lactose intolerance, Cuban didn't give in. He cautioned Althoff that even with a multimillion-dollar handout, California living would remain beyond her means.

"I would have given you $5 million for nothing," the Shark Tank star replied.

Cuban then explained to her why owning a house that expensive wouldn't work out, even if he bought it for her.

Homeownership alternatives in Southern California and beyond

When the podcast initially aired in 2023, the median sale price of a California home was around $742,000, according to Redfin (2). As of June 2026, Redfin says that price has risen to $777,566. But if you ask the California Association of Realtors (CAR), prices are actually about 19% higher, with the median sale price hovering at $887,680 as of July 2026 (3).

No matter which numbers you believe, it's clear that house prices are going up in the state of California.

Cuban also emphasized the importance of considering the full financial picture when thinking about homeownership. While you may believe you can afford the initial down payment, there can be significant ongoing expenses associated with maintaining a property.

"You'd have to pay all those taxes," said Cuban, nodding to the high property tax rates in California.

According to CAR data from the second quarter of 2026, a minimum annual income of $228,400 is necessary to afford the costs associated with homeownership in that state (4).

Tap into rental homes, without the mortgage

There are still ways you can make money on the current real estate market that don't involve buying a home, paying property taxes or taking on the work of managing a rental property and tenants.

If your priority is increasing your net worth and generating passive income, a traditional 30-year mortgage isn't your only option.

For instance, Arrived lets you invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord. And you can get started with as little as $100.

Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived distributes any rental income generated by properties to investors monthly, allowing you to potentially set up a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.

To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation.

The best part? For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.

Invest in institutional-quality real estate

If you are looking to make a larger investment, you could also leverage privately held real estate opportunities. Although many of these investments are marketed to investors with capital on hand, not all are created equal.

For accredited investors looking to diversify beyond public equities, Bonaventure offers access to institutional-grade multifamily real estate investments in high-growth markets with a minimum investment of $25,000.

Bonaventure focuses on income-producing apartment communities, offering potential tax advantages through structures like 1031 exchanges and UPREITs, allowing you to build passive income and wealth while the company manages the properties.

Plus, Bonaventure has a fully loaded resource center that teaches you everything you need to evaluate multifamily investments.

Find consistency and capital

Another avenue is to dial into real-estate-backed cash yields while keeping your money earning against the sting of inflation. Unlike an IRR, which measures success over the lifetime of an investment, tapping into interest-based payouts can give you consistent passive income and a little bit more liquidity.

For instance, the Arrived Real Estate Income Fund is designed to generate regular dividend income while focusing on capital preservation.

The fund already manages more than $90.7 million in assets and has historically delivered an annualized cash yield of more than 8.4%. To put this in perspective, even the "aristocrats" of dividend stocks struggle to reach a high-water mark of 5.51%, according to Morningstar (5).

How it works is simple: Arrived offers short-term loans for professional real estate projects seeking to renovate, refinance or fund new construction. Each loan goes through a disciplined selection process and is backed by residential real estate, adding another layer of underwriting rigor and downside protection.

Even better, Arrived Real Estate Income Fund investors also have quarterly liquidity options beginning six months after their initial investment, offering more flexibility than many traditional income-focused investments.

How would you invest a large cash windfall?

In classic Althoff fashion, she not only asked Cuban for $5 million, but she also pitched him on investing in her podcast.

"I don't know that I'd invest in a podcast," Cuban responded.

Although Cuban was hesitant to jump into Althoff's investment offer, he's certainly not against diversifying his investments. According to his website, Cuban has invested in all sorts of goods and services — from NBA franchises to bakeries (6).

Asset diversification can be a great way to protect your wealth. Often, when investors diversify, they're looking for alternative assets that differ from the stock market.

That's especially the case these days, as fears over a potential AI bubble have some investors skittish about keeping the bulk of their money in the stock market.

On the Pioneers of AI podcast in late 2025, Cuban weighed in, saying: "I don't think it's a traditional stock market bubble." Although he also cautioned there may be smaller bubbles within the industry, saying that "to be a market leader, they may be overspending (7)."

At the moment, if you're mostly invested in the S&P 500, your portfolio could be vulnerable to those companies competing for the AI throne. In fact, just five major AI companies — Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta and Microsoft — account for a whopping 30% of the S&P 500, according to CNBC (8).

If any of those companies take a tumble, investors could see their portfolios suffer.

Invest in assets that don't behave like stocks

At the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in November 2025, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said, "It's likely there'll be a 10 to 20% drawdown in equity markets sometime in the next 12 to 24 months (9)."

With that kind of a warning sign, diversification isn't just smart — it's arguably essential. In a period of heightened market volatility, data suggests stocks and bonds alone may be less reliable for consistent long-term growth. As alternative investments become more accessible and attractive, more investors are seeking smarter ways to diversify.

One option could be gold, which has long been viewed as a hedge against inflation and market uncertainty.

Gold has earned that reputation over centuries because it isn't tied to any single company, currency or economy. Unlike paper money, it can't simply be created at will, and it has often held its value during periods of financial uncertainty.

That's one reason investors frequently turn to gold when markets become volatile or geopolitical tensions rise, pushing prices higher. Gold prices have more than doubled over the past five years, hitting multiple record highs along the way and outpacing the S&P 500 over the same period.

Over the past year alone, gold prices have surged by over 30%, outperforming the S&P 500's 24% gains (10).

Opening a gold IRA with the help of Goldco allows you to invest in gold and other precious metals in physical forms while also providing the significant tax advantages of an IRA.

With a minimum purchase of $10,000, Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver.

If you're curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today.

- With files from Victoria Vesovski.