Hiring Steve Ballmer Was One Of Bill Gates' Early Moves At Microsoft. Now, AI Has Helped Ballmer Surpass Gates On The Billionaire's Index

Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, was one of Bill Gates’ early hires, joining the company in 1980 as its 30th employee. After dropping out of Stanford Business School, he joined as an assistant to the president, serving more as a business manager than a PA to the owner and CEO, Bill Gates.

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In Microsoft’s early days, Ballmer led the sales and operations teams, and his share of the profits quickly grew as the company took off because he worked out a deal where he would earn a $50,000 base salary plus 10% of any profit growth he generated.

The profit-sharing deal quickly became too much for Microsoft, so Ballmer traded it for company shares. He negotiated an 8% stake for himself, while Bill Gates and Paul Allen kept 84%, and another 8% was set aside for other employees. Fortune reports that although Allen didn’t want to give Ballmer such a large share, Gates stepped in and agreed to reduce his own holdings to accommodate Ballmer’s 8%. When he became CEO in 2000, his Microsoft shares were worth nearly $2 billion.

Although he arguably wasn’t the one who was the most responsible for spearheading Microsoft into the powerhouse it is today, Ballmer’s energetic and sometimes unconventional leadership style left a lasting imprint on the company, contributing to its dynamic corporate culture and innovative drive.

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According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth has recently jumped to $158 billion, surpassing Bill Gates, who has $157 billion, and making Ballmer the sixth-richest person globally, surpassing industry titans like Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, and Sergey Brin. 

Most of Ballmer's wealth — over 90% — comes from his many Microsoft shares. When he left the company in 2014, he owned nearly 333 million shares, about 4% of the company. According to reports, he received $1 billion in dividends from Microsoft in 2024 alone. He also bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion.

Steve Ballmer’s wealth has increased significantly recently because of big advances in artificial intelligence that have boosted Microsoft’s stock price. Microsoft has been investing heavily in AI, especially with companies like OpenAI, and this has caused its stock to go up by about 36% since July 2023. In 2023 alone, Ballmer’s net worth increased by $30 billion because of these AI advancements.

Bill Gates, on the other hand, has diversified his investments. Now worth $157 billion, Gates has invested significantly in Cascade Investment, which he created using profits from selling Microsoft stock and dividends. Gates also has a $21 billion stake in Republic Services Inc., a waste-management company, through Cascade.

Steve Ballmer is one of the 26 billionaires in the U.S. who made their fortunes by climbing the corporate ladder. His journey shows how working up in big companies can yield huge financial rewards and how investing in company stocks and taking leadership roles can significantly boost one’s wealth.

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