Bill Gates Drops $51B in Wealth After Philanthropy Pledge—Steve Ballmer Now Richer
Bill Gates, once the richest man in the world for 18 years, still boasts an impressive $124 billion net worth, thanks to his co-founding of Microsoft. But now, his former right-hand man, Steve Ballmer, has overtaken him on the billionaire rankings—largely due to Gates’ major charitable donations.
As of July 3, Gates was fifth on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index with $175 billion. But just days later, he dropped to 12th place after Bloomberg revised his net worth down by $51 billion to account for his accelerated giving plans. Gates announced he would donate nearly all his wealth over the next 20 years to the Gates Foundation, which will close by 2045. “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates wrote.
His charitable commitment has enabled Ballmer to rise to fifth place with $172 billion.
Who is Steve Ballmer?
Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as its 30th employee, leaving Stanford’s MBA program for a $50,000 salary and 10% of the profit growth he generated. As the company grew rapidly, he renegotiated for an 8% equity stake—something Gates personally funded despite co-founder Paul Allen’s objections.
Ballmer eventually became Microsoft’s CEO from 2000 to 2014. When he left, he owned 333 million shares, worth $22.5 billion at the time. Much of his current wealth remains tied to Microsoft stock. “If anyone claims their success is solely due to genius, I’d suggest they take a look at luck,” Ballmer told the Wall Street Journal.
Beyond tech, Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion in 2014; the team is now valued at $5.5 billion. He has also donated over $4 billion and founded the Ballmer Group to support economic mobility in the U.S.