Steve Ballmer Once Said This About Being A Billionaire: 'Who...Ever Thinks They're Going To Have Enough Money To Own A Basketball Team?,' Admitted He Was 'Fundamentally Changed' By Wealth And Power

Ten years into his ownership of the LA Clippers, former Microsoft Corp. MSFT CEO Steve Ballmer reflected on how wealth and power have “fundamentally changed” him and his life.

What Happened: In a 2024 60 Minutes interview, Ballmer admitted the immense impact of financial success: "I am fundamentally changed. I know I am."

He went on to explain that the power that came with running Microsoft meant people catered to him. "Forget money—when you’re the lead job in a company, particularly when the company’s good, people cater to you."

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But arrogance was not a given, in his view. "Can I still have fun in old-style ways? Do I have to be a jerk to people? No, I don’t. I don’t need to do those things."

Asked whether owning a basketball team was always a dream of his, he laughed and said: "Of course not. Who the heck ever thinks they're going to get enough money to own a basketball team?"

Why It Matters: Over the years, Ballmer has revealed that over 80% of his wealth remains invested in Microsoft, with the rest in stock index funds.

He credited much of his financial success to the company's robust performance, particularly following the surge in interest around AI driven by Microsoft-backed OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in late 2022.

The same frank approach reflected in the 60 Minutes interview has been on display in Ballmer's other interviews as well. In a 2014 interview, Ballmer admitted that his biggest regret as Microsoft’s CEO was not pivoting to the smartphone market sooner: a mistake that gave Apple and Samsung the lead in a space where Microsoft was slow to rival them.

Last month, he cautioned that rising U.S. tariffs could ripple through the economy, leading to major hurdles for both consumers and investors.

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