Steve Ballmer has gained entry into the exclusive $100 billion club. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the former chief executive officer of Microsoft has a net worth of above $100 billion and has become the ninth member of the club. Ending Wednesday, there was a slight miss on adding a tenth member to the elite club as Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle Corp’s fortune was at $98.6 billion.
The 65-year-old Ballmer left the post of CEO of Microsoft in 2014, after a 14-year stint. In January 2018, he was called the world’s best 21st century businessman. He saw a huge rise in wealth during the pandemic as there was a rally in tech shares. He saw a $20.1 billion increase in wealth. He recently bought the NBA club – Los Angeles Clippers. Larry Ellison who has just missed reaching the $100 billion mark saw a $18.9 billion increase in his fortune.
The rise in value of tech shares has led to an increase in the number in the exclusive club. Seven of its members have earned their fortune through tech companies. Together with Ellison, the nine members of the club have added $245 billion to their already massive wealth since the beginning of this year. The sum total of their wealth is $1.36 trillion.
Bernard Arnault is the only non-American member of the club. The French luxury goods maker also saw a surge in his fortune during the pandemic as new millionaires mainly from China and other Asian countries developed a taste for luxury goods.
The rest of the members of the billion-dollar club are American and are mostly from a tech background.
The $100 Billion Club as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
- Jeff Bezos – 212.1
- Elon Musk – 177.2
- Bernard Arnault – 169.4
- Bill Gates – 148.3
- Mark Zuckerberg –130.4
- Larry Page – 115.4
- Sergei Brin – 111.5
- Warren Buffet – 101.5
- Steve Ballmer – 100.5
Photo MicrosoftPDC
