Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, is now praising one of Trump’s latest moves — securing 15% of Nvidia and AMD’s chip sales revenues in China. Cuban described the deal as a “billionaire’s sales tax” and criticized prominent progressives for not pushing similar measures themselves.
On X, Cuban singled out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-N.H. He said they “should be thanking the president” for “creating a sales tax on two of the biggest semi companies in the country,” which he called a “brilliant move they couldn’t ever pull off.”
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In another post, Cuban highlighted the revenue the federal government will receive from the chip sales to China — an estimated $3 billion. This would amount to about 0.06% of the total federal revenue the Congressional Budget Office expects the federal government to make in 2025.
“He took 15 [percent] of equity from a company. That is the ULTIMATE wealth tax,” Cuban wrote, calling it “a progressive dream.”
“Everyone knows how I feel about POTUS,” Cuban added, “but he doesn’t get everything wrong.”
Some political observers have speculated that Cuban might run for president, although he recently ruled out entering the race in 2028. He said that if he did run, it would be as a Republican.
New deal ties chip sales to export licenses
Trump announced Monday that Nvidia and AMD would give the U.S. government 15% of revenue from the sale of artificial intelligence chips in China. The agreement is linked to export licenses for two specific chips.
This policy shift followed the Trump administration’s initial ban on sales of certain AI chips to China over national security concerns. Restrictions have since eased to allow sales of less advanced chips. While Cuban calls it a “sales tax” or “billionaire’s tax,” the Trump administration does not frame it that way, as the Constitution bans export taxes.
