He is called the world's first self-made billionaire and one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs on the planet, with a financial fortune estimated at a record $117 million.
This legendary man is Steve BallmerShe is known as a talented businesswoman who achieved her status as a billionaire thanks to stock options received from her own employer, as well as an outstanding computer scientist and successful trader.
And Stephen Anthony Ballmer's greatest achievements are associated with the period from 2000 to 2014, when he was the head of Microsoft Corporation, serving as CEO of this conglomerate.
The life and career of this world-famous personality, as well as her significant contribution to the development of the multinational computer technology corporation with American roots, Microsoft Corporation, is described below.
Biography of Steve Ballmer
Stephen's date of birth is March 24, 1956. His small homeland is the city of Detroit in the USA.
After graduating from school, the future businessman continued his studies at Harvard University. While receiving his education, this young man was also fond of playing football, becoming the leader of the prestigious university team, and writing articles for two university literary magazines.
But Harvard gave Ballmer not only an education, confirmed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in applied mathematics and economics with honors and a bachelor's degree, and life experience. Within the walls of the university, he found many loyal friends who later influenced his dizzying career. Steve Ballmer's success.
One of the people this future "business shark" befriended at university was the now equally famous computer genius Bill Gates.
After graduating from Harvard, young specialist Steven Ballmer got a job at Procter & Gambel in a modest position as an assistant manager in the production and sales department.
However, such routine work did not suit the ambitious Steve. He explained his dismissal by the lack of team spirit in the company, the lack of desire among its management and staff to improve and develop this enterprise.
Ballmer wanted to gain new knowledge that would allow him to increase his chances in the job market, so he continued his studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It is known that even then Bill Gates offered him to join his team, but Steve did not immediately accept this offer, as he was determined to finish school.
But in 1980, after his first year, Stephen took advantage of a corresponding invitation from his old university friend, probably because it was impossible to find a better job option at that time, in times of crisis.
The development of Microsoft during the Ballmer era
By the time this specialist joined the team of the company headed by Gates, its staff consisted of only 23 employees.
Steve Ballmer started working at Microsoft in 1980 as an assistant to the president.
At that time, his annual salary was $50,000. In addition, Stephen became one of the shareholders of the young company.
This employee's job responsibilities included ensuring the functioning of the relevant structure - he worked with personnel, was involved in accounting, legal support, and other current affairs.
Since such work took up a lot of time, Ballmer was unable to combine it with further studies - he was forced to leave Stanford College.
As evidenced by history Microsoft, thanks to the fruitful work of the presidential assistant, during the 1980s it experienced rapid growth and development.
In 1989, Steve Ballmer managed to buy about a million shares of the company. Soon, the businessman's fortune reached one billion.
During this time, he was the head of several key departments at Microsoft and was involved in the careful selection of competent personnel. As he increased the company's budget, Stephen also increased his own budget.
A few years later, Microsoft faced tough times: trials, gossip, and division. This situation had a very negative impact on the economy and the morale of the team.
However, the company was saved thanks to the joint titanic efforts of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Its founder, with the help of his "right hand", did everything to prevent Microsoft from collapsing, but instead preserved its innovative atmosphere and the cohesion and dedication of its employees.
Ballmer – CEO Microsoft
Stephen Anthony Ballmer held this position as the head of the then world-famous corporation for over 6 years, from January 13, 2008 to February 2014.
However, even before his appointment, in 2007, the sum of the fortune of this then-hired employee was $15 billion. Such solid capital allowed Ballmer to take 31st place in the world ranking of the richest people on the planet.
At the same time, Stephen became the richest person in the world who was not a business owner or related to him. The relevant data were published by the American business magazine "Forbes" - one of the most authoritative economic publications of international scale.
Ballmer, when he succeeded Bill Gates, treated his subordinates not only with maximum attention. He made every effort to involve them in new promising projects, avert difficulties, and effectively solve all business problems.
And Steve, who headed Microsoft, managed to charge his team with powerful positive energy and optimism, which are important prerequisites for fruitful and successful work.
There is hardly another person on the planet who would have managed to make his own fortune solely on the salary of a manager or an employee. This indisputable fact is proven by the lightning-fast Steve Ballmer's career, which he was helped to achieve by high professionalism, commercial acumen and flair, hard work, dedication to the cause, and undoubted organizational talent.
As CEO of the Microsoft conglomerate, Ballmer saw his key responsibilities as the strategic development and leadership of the company. His life's purpose was to "help people and society worldwide realize their full potential."
At the same time, former subordinates speak of Stephen as an extremely demanding manager with a very hot-tempered disposition, who tried to advertise Microsoft products as energetically as possible and at the same time did not hide his own frank hostility towards Apple's competitors.
Steve Ballmer's Business has proven in practice his philosophy that the lifeblood of a business is research and development spending. According to the billionaire, the key to a company's successful development should be the constant creation of cutting-edge innovations that open up wider opportunities that did not exist before.
Stephen explained the secret of Microsoft's rapid rise by saying that his company preferred "bold bets", invested in the latest technologies, tried to make better inventions, provide better service, and, by actively interacting with consumers, lead them in new ways.
Ballmer's famous, world-famous quotes were his statements that good ideas require not slow but fast implementation, and great companies always start with great leaders.
