Steve Ballmer's Net Worth Up $20 Billion on Microsoft's Success

"Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft Corp. ( NASDAQ: MSFT), has a net worth of $166 billion, up $20 billion this year. That makes him the eighth richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire list. The secret of the rise is simple. Ballmer kept a large portion of his shares in Microsoft when he left the company in 2014."

"Today, Ballmer owns 4% of Microsoft, which makes him the company's largest individual shareholder. Microsoft has a market value of $3.56 trillion. That makes it the fourth most valuable company in the world, just behind Alphabet and ahead of Amazon. The huge increase in Ballmer's net worth is due largely to Microsoft's stock being up 124% in the past five years. The S&P 500 is 88% higher in the same period."

"A much smaller portion of Ballmer's net worth is based on his ownership of the L.A. Clippers. He bought the team for $2 billion in 2014. According to Forbes, the team is worth $7.5 billion today. Finally, Ballmer gets $1 billion in dividends each year from Microsoft holdings. The forward yield is only 0.76%, but he owns 333 million shares."

Steve Ballmer's net worth is $166 billion, up $20 billion this year, ranking him eighth on the Bloomberg Billionaire list. Ballmer retained a large portion of his Microsoft holdings after 14 years as CEO and as one of Bill Gates' first hires. Ballmer owns 4% of Microsoft, making him the largest individual shareholder. Microsoft’s market value is $3.56 trillion, ranking fourth globally. Microsoft stock rose 124% over five years versus an 88% gain for the S&P 500. Ballmer also owns the L.A. Clippers, bought for $2 billion and now worth $7.5 billion, and receives about $1 billion annually in dividends from 333 million Microsoft shares at a 0.76% forward yield.

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