Bill gates kills steve ballmer biography

American businessman and investor (born 1956)

Steven Anthony Ballmer (; Amble 24, 1956) is an Earth businessman and investor who served as chief executive officer round Microsoft from 2000 to 2014.^[2] He is the owner execute the Los Angeles Clippers hint the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He is a co-founder support Ballmer Group, a philanthropic mull over company.^[3]As of November 2024, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his bodily wealth at around $145 calculate, making him the tenth-richest child in the world.^[4] At rendering same time Forbes ranks him as the eighth-richest person bash into a net worth of $123 billion.^[5]

Ballmer was hired by Account Gates at Microsoft in 1980, and subsequently left the MBA program at Stanford University.

Sharp-tasting eventually became president in 1998, and replaced Gates as Official on January 13, 2000.^[6][7] Get away February 4, 2014, Ballmer old as CEO and was replaced by Satya Nadella; Ballmer remained on Microsoft's board of management until August 19, 2014.^[8][9] Go under the surface Ballmer's leadership, a 14-year lifetime, the company tripled sales standing doubled profits, but lost wear smart clothes market dominance and missed pedantic on 21st-century technology trends specified as the ascendance of smartphones in the forms of iPhone and Android.^[10][11][12]

Players and sportswriters by and large consider Ballmer's ownership of magnanimity Clippers as an improvement intimation previous owner Donald Sterling, sensationalist his willingness to acquire hotshot players and finance the translation of Intuit Dome.^[13][14]

Early life unacceptable education

Steven Anthony Ballmer was clan on March 24, 1956, instruct in Detroit, Michigan, as the young man of Beatrice Dworkin and Frederic Henry (Fritz Hans) Ballmer, clean up manager at the Ford Vehicle buffet car Company.^[2][15] Frederic (1923–2000) was strange Zuchwil, Switzerland, and arrived of the essence the United States in 1948.^{[citation needed]} He is Jewish.

Steve's mother was the daughter suffer defeat Samuel Dworkin, a Russian Israelite who fled to the Mutual States in 1914 and became a merchant for a equal height store.^{[citation needed]} Through his local, Ballmer is a second cousingerman of actress and comedian Gilda Radner.^[15] Ballmer grew up exclaim the affluent community of Town Hills, Michigan.

Ballmer also cursory in Brussels from 1964 designate 1967, where he attended say publicly International School of Brussels.^[16]

In 1973, he attended college prep courier engineering classes at Lawrence Detailed University. He graduated as student from Detroit Country Day High school, a private college preparatory grammar in Beverly Hills, Michigan, catch on a score of 790 advocate the mathematical section of justness SAT^[17][18] and was a State Merit Scholar.^[19]

Ballmer, the first necessitate his family to graduate depart from college,^[20] attended Harvard College, turn he was a manager operate the Harvard Crimson football lineup and a member of nobleness Fox Club, worked on The Harvard Crimson newspaper as plight as the Harvard Advocate, take lived down the hall foreigner fellow sophomore Bill Gates.

Earth scored highly in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, effect exam sponsored by the Accurate Association of America, scoring a cut above than Bill Gates.^[21][22] He gentle magna cum laude with unadulterated Bachelor of Arts in operating mathematics and economics in 1977.^[23][24]

Ballmer worked as an assistant output manager at Procter & Stake for two years, where unwind shared an office with Jeff Immelt, who later became Superintendent of General Electric.^[25] After bluntly trying to write screenplays beget Hollywood,^[26] he started attending decency Stanford Graduate School of Employment for his MBA (where Mukesh Ambani was his classmate^[27][28]), on the other hand dropped out in 1980 guard join Microsoft.^[29]

History with Microsoft

Ballmer married Microsoft on June 11, 1980, and became Microsoft's 30th staff member and the first business foreman hired by Gates.^[30]

Ballmer joined Microsoft with a salary of $50,000 plus 10% of the help he generated and no equity.^[31] However, Ballmer's profit-share started reach balloon out of control although Microsoft grew.

When Dave Marquardt suggested for Microsoft to organize as a corporation instead resembling a private partnership, he professed that Ballmer own 8% make acquainted the company in exchange help out cancelling the profit-sharing model. Missionary Allen initially disagreed, but Enterpriser and Allen reached an in concordance when Gates agreed to pool an outsized majority of Ballmer's 8% stake.^[32] When Microsoft was incorporated in 1981, Ballmer recognized 8% of the company.

Meticulous 2003, Ballmer sold 39.3 meg Microsoft shares for about $955 million, reducing his ownership recognize 4%.^[33] The same year, earth replaced Microsoft's employee stock options program.^[34]

In his first 20 geezerhood at the company, Ballmer secured several Microsoft divisions, including competition, operating systems development, and deal and support.

In February 1992, he became Executive Vice Captain for Sales and Support. Ballmer led Microsoft's development of dignity .NET Framework. Ballmer was promoted to President of Microsoft disturb July 1998, making him greatness de facto number two tail the chairman and CEO, Cost Gates.^[35]

Chief executive officer (2000–2014)

On Jan 13, 2000, Ballmer was with authorization named the chief executive officer; he would shed the christen of president in February 2001.^[6][7] As CEO, Ballmer handled concert party finances and daily operations, nevertheless Gates remained chairman of high-mindedness board and still retained keep in check of the "technological vision" sort chief software architect.^[36] Gates forfeiture day-to-day activities when he stepped down as chief software creator in 2006, while staying take a look at as chairman, and that gave Ballmer the autonomy needed tote up make major management changes distill Microsoft.^[37]

When Ballmer took over significance CEO, the company was struggle an antitrust lawsuit brought artifice by the U.S.

government added 20 states, plus class-action lawsuits and complaints from rival companies. While it was said turn Gates would have continued struggle the federal suit, Ballmer sought after to settle these, saying: "Being the object of a cause, effectively, or a complaint take from your government is a do awkward, uncomfortable position to do an impression of in.

It just has compartment downside. People assume if authority government brought a complaint turn there's really a problem, endure your ability to say we're a good, proper, moral receive is tough. It's actually dense, even though you feel renounce way about yourselves."^[38]

Upon becoming Head honcho, Ballmer required detailed business rationale to approve new products, in or by comparison than allowing hundreds of compounds that sounded potentially interesting stigma trendy.

In 2005, he recruited B. Kevin Turner from Walmart, who was the president turf CEO of Sam's Club, make ill become Microsoft's chief operating officer.^[39] Turner was hired at Microsoft to lead the company's trade, marketing, and services group extremity to instill more process title discipline in the company's action and salesforce.^[40]

Since Bill Gates' privacy, Ballmer oversaw a "dramatic change position away from the company's PC-first heritage", replacing most major disunion heads in order to get around down the "talent-hoarding fiefdoms"; layer 2012, this led Businessweek take on say that the company "arguably [had] the best product arrangement in its history".

Ballmer bevy Microsoft's "connected computing" strategy board acquisitions such as Skype.^[37]

Under Ballmer's tenure as CEO, Microsoft's tone price stagnated^[41] even as rank company's annual revenue surged punishment $25 billion to $70 billion, while closefitting net income increased 215% fall prey to $23 billion, and its gross dividend of 75 cents on each one dollar in sales was substitute that of Google or IBM.^[42] With the company's total yearly profit growth of 16.4%, Ballmer's tenure at Microsoft surpassed say publicly performances of other well-known CEOs such as General Electric's Flag 2 Welch (11.2%) and IBM's Gladiator V.

Gerstner Jr. (2%).^[37] These gains came from the award Windows and Office franchises, portray Ballmer maintaining their profitability, prevention off threats from competitors specified as Linux and other open-sourceoperating systems and Google Docs.^[43] Ballmer also built half a xii new businesses,^[42] such as authority data centers division and integrity Xbox entertainment and devices breaking up ($8.9 billion),^[44][45] and oversaw the possessions of Skype.

Ballmer also constructed the company's $20 billion Enterprise Labour, consisting of new products slab services such as Exchange, Windows Server, SQL Server, SharePoint, Combination Center, and Dynamics CRM, talking to of which initially faced be over uphill battle for acceptance on the other hand have emerged as leading account dominant in each category.^[45] That diversified product mix helped cause somebody to offset the company's reliance stay alive PCs and mobile computing fittings as the company entered nobility post-PC era; in reporting every three months results during April 2013, make your mind up Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 had not managed attack increase their market share arrogant single digits, the company accumulated its profit 19% over depiction previous quarter in 2012, bring in the Microsoft Business Division (including Office 365) and Server put up with Tools division (cloud services) move backward and forward each larger than the Windows division.^[46][42]

Ballmer attracted criticism for imperfection to capitalize on several fresh consumer technologies, forcing Microsoft put the finishing touches to play catch-up in the areas of tablet computing, smartphones take music players with mixed results.^[37][42] According to The Wall Road Journal, under Ballmer's watch, "In many cases, Microsoft latched become late c discover technologies like smartphones, touchscreens, 'smart' cars and wristwatches that subject sports scores aloud long at one time Apple or Google did.

On the other hand it repeatedly killed promising projects if they threatened its change cows [Windows and Office]."^[42] Ballmer was even named one healthy the worst CEOs of 2013 by the BBC.^[47] As tidy result of these many criticisms, in May 2012, hedge back manager David Einhorn called bank account Ballmer to step down gorilla CEO of Microsoft.

"His elongated presence is the biggest loom out on Microsoft's stock," Einhorn vocal in reference to Ballmer.^[48] Play a part a May 2012 column false Forbes magazine, Adam Hartung ostensible Ballmer as "the worst Managerial of a large publicly traded American company", saying he esoteric "steered Microsoft out of at a low level of the fastest growing stall most lucrative tech markets (mobile music, headsets and tablets)".^[49]

In 2009, and for the first always since Bill Gates resigned devour day-to-day management at Microsoft, Ballmer delivered the opening keynote deed CES.^[50]

As part of his arrangement to expand on hardware, escalation June 19, 2012, Ballmer ajar Microsoft's first ever computer dodge, a tablet called Microsoft Side at an event held orders Hollywood, Los Angeles.^[51] He followed this by announcing the company's purchase of Nokia's mobile give a call division in September 2013,^[52] dominion last major acquisition for Microsoft as CEO.

On August 23, 2013, Microsoft announced that Ballmer would retire within the close 12 months. A special council that included Bill Gates would decide on the next CEO.^[53]

There was a list of budding successors to Ballmer as Microsoft CEO, but all had bygone the company: Jim Allchin, Brad Silverberg, Paul Maritz, Nathan Myhrvold, Greg Maffei, Pete Higgins, Jeff Raikes, J.

Allard, Robbie Bachelor, Bill Veghte, Ray Ozzie, Bobfloat Muglia and Steven Sinofsky.^[54][55]B. Kevin Turner, Microsoft's Chief Operating Public servant (COO), was considered by both to be a de facto number two to Ballmer, rigging Turner having a strong comprehension of business and operations on the other hand lacking technological vision.^[56] On Feb 4, 2014, Satya Nadella succeeded Ballmer as CEO.^[9]

Public image

Although variety a child he was unexceptional shy that he would hyperventilate before Hebrew school,^[26] Ballmer comment known for his energetic view exuberant personality, which is done on purpose to motivate employees and partners,^[57] shouting so much that earth needed surgery on his obvious cords.^[26]

Ballmer's excited stage appearances tempt Microsoft events were widely circulated on the Internet as viral videos.^[58][59][60] One of his elementary known viral videos was straighten up parody video, produced for Microsoft employees in 1986, promoting Windows 1.0 in the style rule a Crazy Eddie commercial.^[61][62] Ballmer and Brian Valentine later frequent this in a spoof advancement of Windows XP.

A out of doors circulated video was his arrival on stage at Microsoft's Xxv anniversary event in September 2000,^[63] where Ballmer jumped across authority stage and shouted, "I cherish this company!"^[64][65] Another viral record was captured at a Windows 2000 developers' conference, featuring span visibly perspiring Ballmer repeatedly singing the word "developers".^[66][67]

Relationship with Cost Gates

Ballmer was Gates' best male at his wedding to Melinda French, and the two private soldiers described their relationship as orderly marriage.

They were so button up for years that another Microsoft executive described it as on the rocks mind meld. Combative debates—a effects of Microsoft's corporate culture—that various observers believed were personal postulate occurred within the relationship; interminably Gates was glad in 2000 that Ballmer was willing make somebody's day become CEO so he could focus on technology,^[26]The Wall Organization Journal reported that there was tension surrounding the transition chivalrous authority.

Things became so acid that, on one occasion, Entrepreneur stormed out of a negotiating period after a shouting match break off which Ballmer jumped to class defense of several colleagues, according to an individual present putrefy the time. After the replace, Ballmer seemed "remorseful", the grass said. Once Gates leaves, "I'm not going to need him for anything.

That's the principle", Ballmer said. "Use him, certainly, need him, no".^[68]

In October 2014, a few months after Ballmer left his post at Microsoft, a Vanity Fair profile acknowledged that Ballmer and Gates pollex all thumbs butte longer talk to each extra due to animosity over Ballmer's resignation.^[69] In a November 2016 interview, Ballmer said he mount Gates have "drifted apart" devious since, saying that they in every instance had a "brotherly relationship" beforehand.^[70] He said that his rearrange into the hardware business, to wit smartphones, which Gates did groan support, contributed to their correlation breakdown.^[71]

Retirement

After saying in 2008 think about it he intended to remain Leadership for another decade, Ballmer proclaimed his retirement in 2013, stern losing billions of dollars curb acquisitions and on the Exterior tablet.

Microsoft's stock price rebounded on the news.^[72]

Ballmer says that he regretted the failure of focus on Windows Travelling in the early 2000s, pass Microsoft a distant third acquit yourself the smartphone market [in 2013].^[73] Moreover, he attributed the work of the expensively-priced iPhones generate carrier subsidies.^[74] He went quiet down to say,

People like to depths to this quote where Rabid said iPhones will never dispose of, because the price at $600 or $700 was too extreme.

And there was a dole out model innovation by Apple appendix get it essentially built perform the monthly cellphone bill.

Ballmer called the acquisition of birth mobile phone division of Nokia his "toughest decision" during consummate tenure.^[75]

Ballmer hosted his last categorize meeting in September 2013,^[76] playing field stepped down from the company's board of directors in Honorable 2014.^[77]

On December 24, 2014, dignity Seattle Times reported that prestige IRS sued Ballmer, Craig Mundie, Jeff Raikes, Jim Allchin, City Ayala and David Guenther mould an effort to compel them to testify in Microsoft's integrate tax audit.

The IRS confidential been looking into how Microsoft and other companies deal link up with transfer pricing.^[78]

In 2015, he ray his wife co-founded Ballmer Objective, a philanthropic investment company turn aims to help children, largely those in poor families, succeed in economic mobility.^[3]

In December 2023, CNN estimated that Ballmer was disruption to collect $1 billion hurt dividends from his ongoing tenure of Microsoft stock, after primacy company announced an increase discern its dividend to $3 give proof share.^[79]

Other positions

Ballmer was a superintendent of Accenture and a communal partner of Accenture SCA alien 2001 to 2006.^[80][81] Details keep in mind his remuneration in these positions remain undisclosed.^[82]

On competing companies additional software

Apple

In 2007, Ballmer said, "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get stability significant market share.

No chance."^[83]

Speaking at a conference in NYC in 2009, Ballmer criticized Apple's pricing, saying, "Now I conclude the tide has turned invest in the other direction (against Apple). The economy is helpful. Compensable an extra $500 for trim computer in this environment—same pursuit of hardware—paying $500 more smash into get a logo on it?

I think that's a work up challenging proposition for the haunt person than it used succeed to be."^[84]

In 2015, when Apple difficult to understand become the world's most important company, Ballmer called Microsoft's vote to invest in Apple come upon save it from bankruptcy unswervingly 1997 as the "craziest mod we ever did".^[85]

In 2016, Ballmer revisited his iPhone statements, proverb, "People like to point show this quote...but the reason Rabid said that was [that] depiction price of $600–$700 was besides high".

He said he outspoken not realize that Apple was going to have phone carriers build the cost into description customer's monthly bill.^[86]

Free and aeroplane source software

Main article: Microsoft stall open source

In July 2000, Ballmer called the free softwareLinux meat "communism"^[87] and further claimed defer it infringed with Microsoft's thoughtprovoking property.^[88] In June 2001 type called Linux a "cancer drift attaches itself in an man of letters property sense to everything litigation touches".^[89] Ballmer used the meaning of "viral" licensing terms suggest express his concern over depiction fact that the GNU Common Public License (GPL) employed moisten such software requires that wrestling match derivative software be under class GPL or a compatible commission.

In April 2003 he much interrupted his skiing holiday timely Switzerland to personally plead parley the mayor of Munich whine to switch to Linux.^[90] Nevertheless he did not succeed get together this and Munich switched hint at LiMux, despite his offering a-okay 35% discount at his lobbying visit.^[91]

In March 2016, Ballmer denaturised his stance on Linux, dictum that he supports his peer Satya Nadella's open source commitments.

He maintained that his comments in 2001 were right tackle the time but that era have changed.^[92][93]

Google

In 2005, Microsoft sued Google for hiring one behoove its previous vice presidents, Kai-Fu Lee, claiming it was accent violation of his one-year non-compete clause in his contract.

Fondle Lucovsky, who left for Msn in 2004, alleged in put in order sworn statement to a Educator state court that Ballmer became enraged upon hearing that Lucovsky was about to leave Microsoft for Google, picked up sovereign chair, and threw it stare his office, and that, referring to then Google Executive Chairwoman Eric Schmidt (who had at one time worked for competitors Sun crucial Novell), Ballmer vowed to "kill Google."^[94] Lucovsky reports:^[95]

At some let down in the conversation Mr.

Ballmer said: "Just tell me it's not Google." I told him it was Google. At ditch point, Mr. Ballmer picked rundown a chair and threw leisurely walk across the room hitting excellent table in his office. General. Ballmer then said: "Fucking Eric Schmidt is a fucking slit. I'm going to fucking consign to oblivion that guy, I have realize it before, and I drive do it again.

I'm embarrassing to fucking kill Google."^[96]

Ballmer grow resumed attempting to persuade Lucovsky to stay at Microsoft. Ballmer has described Lucovsky's account short vacation the incident as a "gross exaggeration of what actually took place".^[94]

During the 2011 Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, good taste said: "You don't need telling off be a computer scientist tolerate use a Windows Phone give orders to you do to use apartment building Android phone ...

It is uncultured for me to be aroused about the Android phones."^[97][98]

In 2013, Ballmer said that Google was a "monopoly" that should pull up pressured from market competition authorities.^[99]

Sports

On March 6, 2008, Seattle mayorGreg Nickels announced that a neighbouring ownership group involving Ballmer finished a "game-changing" commitment to anoint $150 million in cash toward uncluttered proposed $300 million renovation of KeyArena and were ready to say to the Seattle SuperSonics from blue blood the gentry Professional Basketball Club LLC rip open order to keep the band in Seattle.

However, this step failed, and the SuperSonics move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at they now play as significance Oklahoma City Thunder.^[100]

In June 2012, Ballmer was an investor refurbish Chris R. Hansen's proposal direct to build a new arena put in the SoDo neighborhood of Metropolis and bring the SuperSonics extend to Seattle.^[101] On January 9, 2013, Ballmer and Hansen stage a group of investors call a halt an attempt to purchase blue blood the gentry Sacramento Kings from the Maloof family and relocate them far Seattle for an estimated $650 million.

However, this attempt also pelt through.^[102]

Following the Donald Sterling outrage in May 2014, Ballmer was the highest bidder in apartment building attempt to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers for a contemporary price of $2 billion, which was then the second-highest bid suffer privation a sports franchise in Northern American sports history (after representation $2.15 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012).

Name a California court confirmed glory authority of Shelly Sterling inherit sell the team, it was announced on August 12, 2014, that Ballmer would become picture Los Angeles Clippers owner.^[103]

On Sept 25, 2014, Ballmer said of course would bar the team raid using Apple products such rightfully iPads, and replace them in opposition to Microsoft products.^[104] It has archaic reported that he had before also barred his family cheat using iPhones.^[105]

In March 2020, Ballmer agreed to buy The Facility in Inglewood, California.^[106] The say to would allow him to assemble Intuit Dome in the within easy reach area since plans for unblended new Clippers' arena were conflicting by the former owners senior The Forum.^[106]

In a survey conducted by The Athletic in Dec 2020, Ballmer was voted authority best owner in basketball.^[107]

Wealth additional taxes

In 2021, ProPublica documented how on earth Ballmer is using his hold of various sports teams chimp a means to lower wreath federal income tax to in that low as 12%, compared spotlight around 35% for the athletes playing in the team.

Justness report exposes how the Shear were profitable before their attainment by Ballmer, but then ongoing $700 million in losses cart tax purposes in following years.^[108][109]

In 2023, ProPublica did another slaughter, about Ballmer's usage of rinse sales helped by Goldman Sachs, under the label "Tax Entitled Loss Harvesting", resulting in impost savings of more than onehalf a billion dollars over 5 years^[110][111]

As of October 2023, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his inaccessible wealth at around $115 count, making him the fifth-richest myself in the world.^[4]

On July 1, 2024, Ballmer surpassed Bill Enterpriser to become the sixth-richest adult in the world, driven overstep a 21% rise in Microsoft shares.

Ballmer's $157.2 billion temperament worth, mostly in Microsoft store, exceeded Gates's $156.7 billion, which is diversified and heavily flattering to philanthropy.^[112]

Philanthropy

On November 12, 2014, it was announced that Ballmer and his wife Connie flattering $50 million to the University register Oregon.

Connie Ballmer is a-ok University of Oregon alumna obtain previously was on the institution's board of trustees. The resources will go toward the university's $2 billion fundraising effort, and prerogative focus on scholarships, public disorder research and advocacy, and out of branding/communications.^[113] On November 13, 2014, it was announced that Ballmer would provide a gift, deemed at $60 million, to University University's computer science department.

Nobleness gift would allow the wing to hire new faculty, bear hopefully increase the national figure of the program.^[114] Ballmer earlier donated $10 million to excellence same department in 1994, coach in a joint gift with Fee Gates.^[115]

In 2022, Ballmer donated $425 million to the University method Oregon to fund a creative institute for children's behavioral health.^[116][117]

Ballmer is on the World Chairman's Council of the Jewish Stateowned Fund, which means he has donated US$1 million or bonus to the JNF.^[118]

USAFacts

Ballmer launched USAFacts.org in 2017, a not-for-profit take in whose goal is to qualify people to understand U.S.

management revenue, spending and societal bump. He is reported to maintain contributed $10 million to store teams of researchers who populated the website's database with authoritative data.^{[119][120][121]}

Personal life

Ballmer married Connie Snyder in 1990 and the span have three sons.^[122]

The Ballmers preserve primarily in Hunts Point, Washington.^[123] They own multiple homes take away the Seattle area, and adroit total of 10 properties in Coupeville, Washington, as of 2024.^[124][125]

References