Steve Ballmer

Net worth over time

Forbes estimates of Steve Ballmer's net worth each year, next to the Forbes value of the Los Angeles Clippers. From 2012 to now the net worth went from $15.7B to $164.2B, about 10 times as much.

Yearly points are from the Forbes billionaires lists, mostly the spring World's Billionaires list; the last point is the latest Forbes real-time figure, which can differ a lot from the spring list. Years without a published figure are skipped.

The businesses in detail

How the main business makes money. Ballmer runs no operating company outside sport. His fortune is a passive holding of Microsoft shares. Microsoft charges businesses and consumers for software and for cloud computing, which is rented computing power. He was paid partly in shares from 1980 and kept most of them. CNN estimated in December 2023 that dividends would pay him about $1B a year.

Biggest deals.

• 2003: sold 39.3M Microsoft shares for about $955M, leaving about 4%.
• As chief executive he bought aQuantive ($6.2B, 2007), Yammer ($1.2B, 2012) and Nokia's devices business ($7.2B, completed 2014).
• 2020: bought The Forum for $400M in cash, ending litigation that blocked his arena.
• 2024: opened Intuit Dome. It was announced at $1.2B and finished at about $2B, plus $66.2M for land.

Career path

1. 1977

   Graduates from Harvard; spends about two years at Procter & Gamble

2. 1980

   Joins Microsoft as employee number 30

3. 1998

   Becomes Microsoft president; chief executive from 2000

4. 2008

   Group pledges $150M toward a Seattle arena to keep the SuperSonics; it fails

5. 2013

   Bids with Chris Hansen for the Sacramento Kings; the NBA rejects the Seattle move

6. 2014

   Retires as chief executive; buys the Clippers

7. 2015

   Co-founds Ballmer Group

8. 2020-2024

   Buys The Forum, then opens Intuit Dome

9. 2026

   NBA suspends him for one year

Teams and sports assets

Owns now 4

• teamLos Angeles ClippersNBA · Basketball · USSince 2014 · 99% · $2B for 100%; Forbes 2026 $7.8B
• teamSan Diego ClippersNBA G League · Basketball · USthrough the Clippers
• arenaIntuit DomeBasketball · USSince 2024 · 100% · about $2B to build, plus $66.2M for land
• arenaThe Forum (Kia Forum)USSince 2020 · 100% · $400M in cash

Other investments and assets

• Companies and funds: Microsoft shares; he calls himself the largest individual shareholder. He told a judge he lost $60M on the company Aspiration.
• Property: Several Seattle-area homes and 10 properties near Coupeville, Washington (2024).
• Family in the business: Wife Connie co-founded and co-leads Ballmer Group. No team role is reported for their three sons.

Giving and politics

• He and Connie have given away more than $7.4B since 2014, Forbes says. Ballmer Group is their philanthropic company.
• $425M to the University of Oregon (2022) for a children's behavioural health institute.
• Up to $165M to Communities In Schools (2023); a $149M climate gift (2022).
• USAFacts, his non-profit publisher of government data, launched in 2017 with a reported $10M.

How they run their teams

• AP reported that on 2 September 2026 the NBA suspended Ballmer for one year. It fined the Clippers $30M and took their first-round picks for 2029 to 2033.
• The case concerned a $28M endorsement deal between player Kawhi Leonard and Aspiration. The NBA said Ballmer knowingly tried to help Leonard obtain off-court income. The New York Times reported on 10 September 2026 that Brooklyn federal prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation into the team's Leonard dealings. Field Level Media carried the report. Status: no charges had been reported by 28 October 2026.
• His response: on 13 September 2026 he apologised, said the fine was paid and said he would not litigate, AP reported. Status: penalties accepted.
• NBC Los Angeles reported that lawyer John S. Gibson became interim chief executive and governor on 21 September 2026. ESPN reported that Gibson was still standing in when the Clippers opened their season in October.
• AP also noted a $250,000 NBA fine in 2015 over the pursuit of free agent DeAndre Jordan.

What they have said

• He took responsibility as principal owner and apologised, while still disagreeing with parts of the league report.
• At Microsoft he sweated more; with the Clippers he worries about winning far more than revenue.
• He built his own arena to win a larger share of Los Angeles basketball and entertainment revenue.
• He explained why he simply kept his Microsoft shares, and admitted missing mobile and search.
• Intuit Dome was planned to remove hassle for fans and raise crowd noise, which he believes helps the team.

Little-known facts

• He owned 8% of Microsoft when it was incorporated in 1981.
• His fortune rose from roughly $20B to $130B after he stepped down, the Acquired podcast notes.
• Mark Walter also bid for the Clippers in 2014 and lost to him.
• Vivek Ranadivé led the group that beat his 2013 bid for the Kings.