Overview

• Ballmer rose through the ranks at Microsoft and is on the verge of surpassing his mentor, Bill Gates, in wealth due to a bet on OpenAI made by current CEO Satya Nadella.
• Steve Ballmer's wealth is now estimated at $117 billion, making him the only centibillionaire to have made his fortune as an employee.
• His wealth surged after Microsoft's investment in OpenAI and the increasing focus on AI, which significantly boosted Microsoft's stock price.
• Ballmer, the largest single individual shareholder at Microsoft, had disagreements with the board and stepped down in 2014, marking a shift in strategy for the company, leading to a revitalization of the company's stock price under successor Satya Nadella.
• Despite his increasing wealth, Ballmer's post-Microsoft endeavors, such as the purchase of the L.A. Clippers basketball team and his charitable group focused on social mobility for economically disadvantaged children, are not as well-known as Gates's philanthropic pursuits.