Early Life
Steven Anthony Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 24, 1956. His father was a manager at Ford Motor Company, and his mother is Jewish. Through his mother, he is a second cousin of the comedian Gilda Radner. He spent his childhood in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and also lived in Brussels for a few years. Ballmer excelled academically, graduating as valedictorian from Detroit Country Day School. He then attended Harvard University, where he lived down the hall from Bill Gates and graduated with a degree in applied mathematics and economics in 1977.
Rise to Success
After graduating from Harvard, Ballmer worked at Procter & Gamble for two years. He then briefly attended Stanford Graduate School of Business before leaving to join Microsoft in 1980 at the invitation of his friend, Bill Gates. Ballmer quickly rose through the ranks at Microsoft, taking on various leadership roles, including Executive Vice President for Sales and Support. He became President of Microsoft in 1998 and then succeeded Bill Gates as CEO in January 2000. Under his leadership, Microsoft tripled its sales and doubled its profits. Ballmer oversaw key acquisitions, including the purchase of Skype in 2011.
Key Business Strategies
During his time as CEO, Ballmer focused on expanding Microsoft's reach in enterprise software, devices, and cloud services. He led the company's development of the .NET Framework. He also made significant investments in areas like search and mobile, although Microsoft missed some of the early opportunities in the smartphone market. Ballmer also pushed the company into hardware with the Surface devices. In 2014, Ballmer retired as CEO, leaving a legacy of significant growth and transformation at Microsoft.
Philanthropy
After retiring from Microsoft, Ballmer, along with his wife Connie, co-founded the Ballmer Group in 2015, a philanthropic investment company focused on improving economic mobility for children and families. The Ballmer Group has made substantial investments in education, social services, and addressing systemic racism. In 2022, they donated $425 million to the University of Oregon to create the Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health. The Ballmers have given away over $5.7 billion.
