Business & brands
Steve Ballmer
born 1956 · businessman, investor, NBA team owner
Microsoft's CEO from 2000 to 2014 was born in Detroit, the son of a Ford manager, grew up in Farmington Hills and graduated from Detroit Country Day School.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 70- Birth name
- Steven Anthony Ballmer
- Detroit years
- 1956–1973
- Field
- Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Steve Ballmer was born in Detroit in 1956. His father, Frederic Henry Ballmer, a Swiss immigrant, worked as a manager at the Ford Motor Company, and the family settled in suburban Farmington Hills. Ballmer attended Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, graduating as valedictorian with a perfect score on the math section of the SAT, then went on to Harvard, where he met Bill Gates. He joined Microsoft in 1980 as its first business manager, became president in 1998 and succeeded Gates as chief executive in 2000, staying until 2014. He bought the Los Angeles Clippers that year. His philanthropic Ballmer Group, founded with his wife Connie, keeps a presence in metro Detroit alongside Washington state and Los Angeles County.
Highlights
- Chief executive officer of Microsoft, 2000–2014
- Owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers since 2014
- Valedictorian of Detroit Country Day School
- Co-founder of the philanthropic Ballmer Group, active in metro Detroit
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1960s–1973
Detroit Country Day School
The private college-preparatory school where he graduated as valedictorian in 1973.