Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates' former assistant and Microsoft's ex-CEO, has surpassed Gates' net worth to become the 6th richest person globally with a fortune of around $157.2 billion.
Ballmer owns a 4% equity stake in Microsoft. A partnership with OpenAI drove Microsoft's stock up by 21% this year.
Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder, has a net worth of around $156.7 billion, with a significant portion diversified through Cascade Investment, including investments in companies like Republic Services Inc.
Gates has gradually reduced his wealth through philanthropy, having donated nearly $60 billion to the Gates Foundation, which he co-founded with his ex-wife Melinda and Warren Buffett. He also co-founded the "Giving Pledge" to encourage other ultra-wealthy individuals to donate.
He became CEO after Gates and left in 2014.
Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen and hired Ballmer as the company's first business manager in 1980.
In 2014, Ballmer purchased the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion from Shelly Sterling, following her husband's racial slur controversy.
The richest individuals ahead of Ballmer and Gates include Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Page.
Sources: Business Insider, Bloomberg, Fox Business, New York Post, O Globo, Telegraaf, Benzinga, Times of India, Economic Times, cnbeta, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, BFMTV, Nau, Die Presse, Manager Magazin, HWUpgrade, The Cinemaholic, Sözcü, Liputan6.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
