Bill Gates He has proven to be a visionary in business, but one of his riskiest decisions marked Microsoft’s fate and the fortune of his friend Steve Ballmer. In 1980, Gates offered Ballmer 8.75% of the company to convince him to join the company. Four decades later, his exsocio has managed to overcome his wealth, consolidating himself as one of the world’s greatest fortunes.
The relationship between the two began in Harvard’s halls in 1976, where they forged a friendship that would change the future of technology. Gates was impressed with Ballmer’s energy and leadership skills, who in his university stage already stood out as an organizer of sporting events and student media manager. Years later, those same qualities would make him a key piece in Microsoft.
In his book “Source Code: My Beginnings”, Gates remembers how in 1980 he needed a strategic partner to handle Microsoft’s commercial growth. The solution was to recruit Ballmer, who skillfully negotiated a higher percentage of participation in the company. “Giving Steve those actions was one of the best decisions I have made,” Gates reflected in his memoirs.
Ballmer’s impact on Microsoft was immediate. His commercial approach complemented Gates’ technical vision and helped consolidate the company as leader of the technology industry. His outgoing and energetic style contrasted with Gates’s most reserved personality, but together they formed a pair that led Microsoft to dominate the software market.
Although Ballmer’s leadership at the head of Microsoft between 2000 and 2014 had ups and downs, with the company losing key opportunities in the mobile sector, its fortune continued to grow exponentially thanks to the valuation of its actions.
After leaving the world of technology and with 8.75% of the actions of a Microsoft catapulting to financial success by Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer has been able to devote himself body and soul to his passion: basketball.
He bought the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers and that has led him to become the thirteenth fortune in the world according to the list of Millionaires of Forbes. Steve Ballmer treasures a heritage of 121.3 billion dollars, surpassing his friend and mentor Bill Gates in wealth.