Steve Ballmer's wealth leapfrogged that of Gates, his former boss and Microsoft's cofounder. Bloomberg's Billionaires Index showed Ballmer's pulling ahead was short-lived, though: The men are now both worth $158 billion, as of late Friday, according to the index, which is sure to move again as the markets fluctuate.
Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as the company's first business manager and climbed the ranks to become CEO in 2000, succeeding Gates in the position. Ballmer remained CEO until 2014, when he passed the baton to Satya Nadella.
Here's a look at how Ballmer spends his vast fortune:
Ballmer owns the LA Clippers NBA team.Ballmer is one of the richest sports team owners in the world.
He bought the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team in 2014, the same year he stepped down as Microsoft's CEO. He paid $2 billion, a record for the sale of a professional basketball team at the time.
He's bankrolling the Clippers' new arena, the Intuit Dome.Ballmer is particularly focused on making sure there are enough toilets in the arena, which is still under construction.
Wally Skalij/Getty Images
Ballmer says he's footing the bill to build the most expensive arena in the NBA. The Intuit Dome, which is still under construction in Inglewood, California, just outside Los Angeles, is expected to cost $2 billion.
In Washington state, Ballmer has purchased several homes.Steve and Connie Ballmer have bought multiple Washington residences over the years.
AP/Evan Vucci
Over the years, Ballmer has snapped up multiple homes in Washington state, where Microsoft is headquartered.
In 2019, he and his wife, Connie Ballmer, with whom he shares three children, paid $9.8 million to buy the home adjacent to their existing home in Hunts Point.
He told The New York Times that year that he'd spent upward of $10 million on USA Facts in direct funding and grants, and that it could cost up to $5 million a year to sustain.
The Ballmers in 2015 founded the Ballmer Group as a family office to support their goals.Steve and Connie Ballmer founded the Ballmer Group in 2015.
Asa Mathat / Vox Media
The Ballmer family office funds organizations with the goal of "improving economic mobility and opportunity for children and families in the United States," according to its website.
Through the couple's philanthropic arm, for example, they've pledged $425 million to the University of Oregon for an institute for children's mental and behavioral health.