Mark Cuban thinks the world's first trillionaire will work in artificial intelligence

If you want to become the world's first person to have a net worth with 12 zeros -- or $1 trillion -- Mark Cuban says artificial intelligence is your industry. Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, spoke at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas this past weekend, claiming AI held untold wealth for anyone clever enough to tap its true potential. "I am telling you, the world's first trillionaires are going to come from somebody who masters AI and all its derivatives and applies it in ways we never thought of," Cuban said. The person closest to becoming a trillionaire, at least according to public financial records, is Bill Gates, although he is still about $915 billion short of the title. Some research suggests Gates will become the first trillionaire by the mid-2040s just by virtue of his accumulating wealth.