Steve Ballmer Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft.
Personal
Birth date: March 24, 1956
Birth place: Detroit, Michigan
Birth name: Steven Anthony Ballmer
Father: Fred Ballmer, manager for Ford Motor Co.
Mother: Bea (Dworkin) Ballmer
Marriage: Connie Snyder (1990-present)
Children: three sons
Education: Harvard University, B.A., 1977, double major in Mathematics and Economics; Attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business, 1979-1980
Other Facts
Became friends with Bill Gates while at Harvard University.
Worked for Procter & Gamble as assistant product manager before Microsoft.
Met his wife, Connie Snyder, while both were working at Microsoft.
Timeline
1980 – Begins his Microsoft career as a business manager and is the company’s 24th employee.
July 1998-February 2001 – President of Microsoft.
January 13, 2000 – Is named chief executive officer when Gates steps down to concentrate on philanthropy.
February 4, 2014 – Steps down as Microsoft CEO.
May 29, 2014 – Ballmer signs a binding agreement to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion from the Sterling family trust.
August 12, 2014 – Ballmer becomes the official owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, according to Ballmer’s attorney, Adam Streisand. The negotiated $2 billion sale price is a record at the time for an NBA team.
August 19, 2014 – Steps down from the Microsoft board of directors in order to concentrate on the Clippers.
October 16, 2015 – Announces he has bought a 4% stake in Twitter during the past few months, becoming one of its largest shareholders.
2015 – The Ballmers found the Ballmer Group, a philanthropic organization focusing on civic activism and economic mobility.
June 4, 2016 – Along with Brandt Vaughan, founds USAFacts Institute. Ballmer later describes the work of the institute as creating a “10-K for the government,” according to a Bloomberg interview.
March 1, 2022 – The University of Oregon launches The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. The institute is founded through a $425 million donation from the Ballmers.
October 19, 2022 – The Ballmers announce they will invest $400 million with organizations focused on Black-owned businesses. The organizations are Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, GCM Grosvenor and Ariel Alternatives’ Project Black.
March 7, 2024 – Announces the formation of an umbrella brand called Halo Sports and Entertainment that includes the LA Clippers, their G-League affiliate team, Intuit Dome and KIA Forum.
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