Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer saw his estimated fortune rise by $15.3 billion on Thursday as Microsoft recorded the largest single-day increase in market value in stock market history.
Ballmer was the world’s biggest billionaire gainer during the session, according to Forbes’ real-time wealth tracker. His net worth climbed by approximately 12.2 per cent to $141.1 billion, placing him among the richest people in the world.
The dramatic increase came as Microsoft shares surged by more than 15 per cent following stronger-than-expected financial results and an optimistic forecast for its cloud computing business.
A record-breaking Microsoft rally
Microsoft added nearly $450 billion to its market capitalisation on Thursday, surpassing the previous record established by Nvidia in April 2025. The rally lifted Microsoft’s total market value to approximately $3.35 trillion. Reuters
Investors were encouraged by rapid growth at Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, as well as evidence that the company’s enormous investments in artificial intelligence are beginning to generate stronger commercial returns.
Microsoft expects Azure revenue to grow by 45 per cent during the current quarter on a constant-currency basis, comfortably exceeding analysts’ previous expectations. The forecast helped ease concerns that spending on data centres, advanced processors and artificial intelligence infrastructure could grow faster than the income generated from those investments.
Ballmer’s unusually concentrated fortune
Unlike Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who gradually sold or donated most of his original stake, Ballmer retained an exceptionally large holding after leaving the company.
His last public disclosure, made in 2014, showed that he owned approximately 333 million Microsoft shares, representing about 4.5 per cent of the company. Ballmer is no longer required to disclose the precise size of his holding because he is neither a Microsoft insider nor an owner of more than five per cent of its shares.
If Ballmer still owns all 333 million shares, the direct increase in the market value of that holding may have approached $20 billion during Thursday’s rally. However, Forbes estimated the increase in his overall fortune at $15.3 billion, reflecting the assumptions used by its wealth tracker and uncertainty surrounding his present ownership. Forbes
The gain remains unrealised. Ballmer did not receive $15.3 billion in cash; the figure represents the estimated increase in the value of assets he owns, principally Microsoft shares.
An employee who became richer than the founder
Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as its 30th employee and later served as chief executive from 2000 until 2014. He is also the owner of basketball team the Los Angeles Clippers.
His decision to retain his Microsoft shares has made him one of the rare employees in corporate history to build a fortune exceeding that of the company’s founder. Thursday’s historic rally widened that distinction further, demonstrating how closely Ballmer’s wealth remains connected to the company he once led.
Newshub Editorial in North America – 31 July 2026
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