former microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer turns 68 today, and as the world's sixth richest person, he has a lot to celebrate.
According to , his net worth is approximately $148 billion. Bloomberg Billionaires IndexBallmer is now within striking distance of overtaking his former boss, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is worth $154 billion.
Looking back at Ballmer's illustrious career reveals the secret to his success, and it wasn't always glamorous. Mr. Ballmer dropped out of his business school at Stanford at the age of 24 and joined Gates, an alumnus of Microsoft and Harvard. Mr. Ballmer received a base salary as his 30th employee at the company. $50,000.
This small high-tech startup quickly became one of America's fastest-growing companies, outpacing established companies. apple And it dominated the growth of personal computers in the 1990s by developing Windows, an easy-to-use operating system. Mr. Ballmer succeeded Mr. Gates at a critical time in his 2000 transition period, weathering the aftermath of the high-profile incident. antitrust litigation It goes back to 1998, the aftermath of the dot-com bust, and the rise of ferocious attackers. competition From competitors old and new: Google And apple.
Ballmer tripled Microsoft's annual revenue to nearly $78 billion during his tenure, and profits ballooned to $22 billion in his final fiscal year as CEO, but the stock price did not reflect that dominance. . in retrospect, Ballmer sets the stage for a spectacular comeback. Several decades have passed since then. Microsoft currently ranks him 13th in the world rankings. fortune 500, Meanwhile, its market capitalization dwarfs any other company, making it the world's most valuable company, valued at $3.2 trillion.
Ballmer still holds estimates 4.5% of the stock His value rose further after he joined Microsoft and was succeeded by Satya Nadella. Bed With OpenAI. In 2021, Ballmer 9th person in the world With a reported net worth of over $100 billion, Ballmer is the only centillionaire to report a net worth. Build wealth as an employeenot as an entrepreneur.
After thanking the employees for giving me the best time of my life, An emotional farewell presentation In 2014, Ballmer turned his attention to other entrepreneurial ventures.In the same year, he bought Acquired NBA's Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion (as of Forbes) values Total franchise value is over $4.5 billion).
Since leaving Microsoft, Ballmer has turned heavily into philanthropy. He gave away about $2 billion. Donor Advised Goldman Sachs Charitable Fund In 2018, we focused on economic mobility. Most recently, he invested $400 million in: Support Black-Owned Businesses In 2022. $43 million In March of last year, he became an early childhood education worker in Washington state. And in September last year, he announced: $175 million investment Over the next seven years, it aims to support 4 million young people along the path to economic mobility, especially in communities of color who face systemic inequalities.
In one of his final interviews as Microsoft CEO in 2013, Ballmer said: I sat down with luck He shares some of his biggest tips for success.
- Let's look at the big picture
„If the CEO doesn't see the competitive playing field, no one else can,“ Ballmer said in a 2013 interview. luck. “The team may need to see it too, but the CEO needs to be able to see the entire competitive space.”
Microsoft's various products, such as cloud services and personal computing, are entering different markets, and competition seems to be lurking around every corner. During his tenure as CEO, he faced the following challenges: criticism This was due to our inability to quickly adapt to changing market trends. Competitors for mobile devices include: samsung and nokia, cloud computing services such as Google and Apple have emerged.Microsoft stock is stagnate In the years leading up to his retirement in 2014, Microsoft's revenues were still increasing. almost quadrupled under his watch.
- always look for talent
Ballmer hired some of Silicon Valley's biggest names during his time at Microsoft. Stephen Sinofuksi, head of Windows. J. Allard, who served as Xbox's chief technology officer.and Ray OzzieChief Software Architect at Microsoft.
in 2009 interview with wall street journal„To be dynamic,“ Ballmer said, companies should aim to promote internal employees „70 or 80 percent of the time,“ and that if companies want to hire external hires, they should be „open-minded.“ ” stated that the following should be asked: For your reference.
When interviewing potential new employees, the two biggest qualities he looks for are „visible“ passion and someone who can relate. One of his favorite questions is, „Tell me about something you're proud of.“
- Always think again – that's how you find the most successful business model
At Microsoft, the name of Ballmer's game was „rethink, rethink, rethink.“
„There was a day when we were told that all the money is in the software. Get out of the hardware,“ he said. luck Apple and Samsung, Microsoft's biggest rivals at the time, were also making profits from hardware. In 2013, Apple recorded Revenue was 170.9 billion.Google recorded 55.5 billion dollars. „Then someone will say, 'Oh, this is all about advertising,'“ rival Google was counting on.
“The playing field is always changing,” he says, and that sentiment applies to his current efforts on the basketball court.
Ten years after buying the Clippers, Ballmer is still thinking creatively about what to do next. revamp the franchise.He continues to sign and holdSuper star like Kawhi Leonard, paul georgeand russell westbrook Form a quartet of stars in preparation for intuition dome Grand Opening August, Forbes reportthe team's future home court and its settings 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend.
This month he launched a new brand, Halo Sports and Entertainmentthe new dome, the LA Clippers, their G league member teams They're called the Ontario Clippers. KIA ForumInglewood Music and Entertainment Arena, he Purchased in 2020.
- Make short and long term plans
„It's a long cycle of doing the important things right that generate all the profits,“ Ballmer said. luck In 2013, he emphasized that „it's a short cycle to actually do it the way you can.“
One of the long-term projects he has been working on is american facts, a database that collects and analyzes how federal, state, and local governments generate revenue and spend money. The database also includes reports that users can run to gather information on a variety of topics, from national tax rates to overdose and crime rates.
The site advertises itself as a „nonpartisan, non-profit, civic initiative“ and has no „political or commercial motives.“
- Know where you're lacking
„I obviously understand business better than I understand technology,“ Ballmer concluded in a 2013 interview, but added, „I grew up, and as you grow up, you realize, 'Wow, I understand business.' What didn't you understand?'' he added. I do not know. ”
One joke theory has come up related to his limitations. That's what Urban Dictionary calls it. balmer peak, Or, „The theory that computer programmers magically acquire superhuman coding abilities when their blood alcohol concentration is between 0.129% and 0.138%.“ This theory, loosely associated with Ballmer, influenced the San Francisco organization. originIn order to organize the Balmer Peek-A-Thon: open bar event There, people are given „five hours to find the elusive Balmer summit and build the best and worst business possible.“ The bar offers „a bunch of unregistered domain names“ to get the party started.