207,380 profiles ranked

Steve Ballmer

American businessman, former chief executive officer of Microsoft · United States · Founders · Born 1956 · age 70

Steve Ballmer is read about 2,343 times a day, in 62 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?
Compare Claim

He steered Microsoft through its most profitable years and its deepest irrelevance, then spent a fortune to prove he could own a basketball team better than the last guy.

ExecutivesExecutiveEntrepreneurshipUnited StatesAmericas20th Century

A life in dates

202618×
The 2026-27 NBA season, 1 September 2026.1 September 2026,

Also read moreKawhi Leonard

18 times the usual readers on 3 September 2026

AFP via Daily Tribune, ESPN

See the moment2001“Linux is not in the public domain. Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches. That's the way that the license works.”In their words1 June 2001"Microsoft CEO takes launch break with the Sun-Times" (1 June 2001) Chicago Sun Times

2000“Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Come on! Get up, get up! Come on! Come on, give it up for me! Whoo! Whoo! Come on! Who said 'sit down'? I have four words for you. I. Love. This. Company. Yes!”In their words5 September 200025th Anniversary Event of Microsoft at Seattle (5 September 2000).

1996“When we tell the story about what's happening today with browsers ten years from now, I want the thing that replaces Windows to be Windows.”In their wordsMay 1996Interview by CNET (May 1996)

1986“Now how much do you think Microsoft Windows is worth? Don't answer!”In their wordsSteve Ballmer introduces Windows 1.0 (1986)

1956Born24 March 1956

Also in Deutsch

Photos 4

Ballmer at the Mobile World Congress 2010Ballmer at the Mobile World Congress 2010Ballmer at MIX in 2008Ballmer at MIX in 2008

In their own words 10

,
Steve Ballmer
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Linux is not in the public domain. Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches. That's the way that the license works.

    Jun 1, 2001, "Microsoft CEO takes launch break with the Sun-Times" (1 June 2001) Chicago Sun Times, Own words

  2. Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Come on! Get up, get up! Come on! Come on, give it up for me! Whoo! Whoo! Come on! Who said 'sit down'? I have four words for you. I. Love. This. Company. Yes!

    Sep 5, 2000, 25th Anniversary Event of Microsoft at Seattle (5 September 2000)., Own words

  3. When we tell the story about what's happening today with browsers ten years from now, I want the thing that replaces Windows to be Windows.

    May 1996, Interview by CNET (May 1996), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Knight of the Legion of Honour

About this person

Born March 24, 1956, Steven Anthony Ballmer dropped out of Stanford's MBA program in 1980 when Bill Gates hired him at Microsoft. He climbed to president in 1998 and took over as CEO on January 13, 2000. Over the next fourteen years he tripled sales and doubled profits while the company lost its grip on the future - missing the smartphone revolution that iPhone and Android owned. He retired February 4, 2014, replaced by Satya Nadella, and left the board that August. He bought the Los Angeles Clippers and co-founded the Ballmer Group, a philanthropic investment firm. His willingness to pay for superstars and finance Intuit Dome has earned him better reviews than his predecessor Donald Sterling. As of February 2026 his net worth sat around $130 billion to $145 billion, landing him in the world's top fifteen.

Country
United States
Category
Founders
Type
Founder
Status
living
Dates
Born 1956 · age 70

In common with Steve

Kawhi LeonardAround the same time: 2026-27 NBA season

Founders from the United States 5

Russell Simmons64.4Daniela Amodei64.3Wendi Murdoch65.0Palmer Luckey64.2Marcus Lemonis65.3

Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.