From college dropout to tech titan: Steve Ballmer's billionaire journey

When Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft, he didn't receive a single share of the company. But today, his rapidly growing stakes in Microsoft have made him wealthier than the company's founder, writes Fortune.com.

68-year-old Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, surpassed his former boss Bill Gates and on Monday became the sixth richest person in the world. Fortune estimates his net worth at $157 billion.

"He is now wealthier than many well-known tech entrepreneurs, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell," it reads.

Fortune.com adds that this is the first time Ballmer's net worth has exceeded Bill Gates', and "one of the few instances in history where an employee has become richer than the company's founder." Ballmer is the only person with a net worth of $100 billion or more who made his money as an employee rather than a founder.

This is thanks to the rising value of Microsoft stock, which reached a record level at the close on Tuesday. Its valuation has risen by 22% since January.

The company's stocks constitute about 90% of Ballmer's net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and Microsoft was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom driving the markets, thanks to a $10 billion investment in OpenAI, it reads.

Ballmer stopped being Microsoft's CEO in 2014, holding about 4% of the company's shares valued at $22.5 billion, as estimated by Forbes. He announced that he intended to keep them for a longer time. "I would like to hold Microsoft shares until I give something to charity or die," declared Ballmer.

American Forbes recalls that Ballmer joined Microsoft as the thirtieth employee in 1980 and "didn't receive a single share." After dropping out of Stanford Business School, he became Bill Gates's quasi-personal assistant.

"However, since Microsoft wanted to grow rapidly at the time, Gates and the company's co-founder, Paul Allen, agreed to give Ballmer 10% of the profit growth he generated, in addition to his annual salary of $50,000. This agreement proved crucial to Ballmer's future wealth," it reads.

Microsoft's growth was so rapid that a 10% share in the profit growth ceased to be profitable. As part of a corporate reorganization, Ballmer negotiated 8% of the shares for himself at the cost of giving up his share in the profits. "Although Allen opposed granting Ballmer such a large share, Gates stepped in and said that the 8% for Ballmer could be financed by withdrawing his shares," it is written.

Gates laid out his own money for Ballmer, but their business paths diverged.