Bill Gates Recalls How Steve Ballmer Ended Up Owning 4 Stake In Microsoft
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Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft shared an unbreakable bond of friendship with Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates. The American businessman recalled the days of his youth in his memoir “Source Code: My Beginnings”, in which he inked a string of accolades for how inspirational and unique Gates found Ballmer to be.
Gates wrote in his memoir described Ballmer as his close ally, trustworthy friend, study companion, and a vital business associate. Gates expressed this sentiment through this quote from his book where he says, “Steve Ballmer had it beyond anyone I had ever known.”
They met at Harvard in 1976 and admired his personality so much that he offered Ballmer a 4% stake in the company to persuade him to come on board at Microsoft. This stake is currently valued at more than $120 billion, making up the largest portion of Ballmer’s estimated net worth of $145 billion.
Gates recalls Ballmer having “excess energy,” and being “effortlessly social”. According to him, Ballmer had “an unusual combination of brains and physicality.”
Gates wrote in his book, “He joined in 1980 and became the 24-hour-a-day partner I needed,” stating that after deliberating with Microsoft’s co-founder Paul Allen, he allocated his extra 4% share to Ballmer to persuade him to leave business school for his now tech giant Microsoft.
Ballmer was that all-rounder friend for Gates who opened up doors to networking opportunities for him. He recalls how Ballmer helped him get an entry to the privileged Fox Club, known for its “black-tie parties, secret handshakes, and other archaic rules and rituals.”
Gates talked about how they had midnight discussions regarding their life’s aspirations, thinking of ways to give back to society. But it was not always so philosophical, like any other college-going student, they also connected by skipping economics classes and last-minute cramming for final exams.
