Charlie Munger told Steve Ballmer that he is still holding Microsoft shares as he is not smart enough, former Microsoft CEO replied: No, I am that …
Microsoft’s ex-CEO Steve Ballmer recalled an exchange with the late investor Charlie Munger in an interview. It was about why he kept holding Microsoft shares even as some former colleagues and business associates sold theirs. During a panel discussion at a golf club in Los Angeles, Munger, Warren Buffett‘s former partner, asked Ballmer about his decision to retain the stock. Munger then asked him, “Why is it that when your partners and compatriots around there were selling their stock, you held onto yours? I know you’re not that smart.”Ballmer’s response was equally brief: “No, but I’m not loyal.” The exchange offered a glimpse into why Ballmer continued to hold a large Microsoft stake after leaving the company.
Charlie Munger asked Ballmer why he held Microsoft shares
Ballmer recounted the conversation while discussing his belief in Microsoft’s people and mission. He said his decision to remain invested was connected to his loyalty to the company.Ballmer said: “I believe, in the people, I believed in what we could do, I believed in the mission. I had a lot of loyalty, a little anecdote, I’ll tell you.”He then described joining a golf club in Los Angeles after retiring from Microsoft, where a panel featuring Ballmer was organised, and attendees could ask questions.Munger, in his 90s at the time and with limited mobility, attended the event and raised his hand to ask Ballmer about his Microsoft holdings.
Steve Ballmer still holds a large Microsoft stake
Ballmer stepped down as Microsoft’s CEO in 2014 after leading the company from 2000. He joined Microsoft in 1980 as employee No. 30 after leaving Stanford’s MBA programme and had previously met co-founder Bill Gates at Harvard.He owned about 4% of Microsoft when he retired and has retained most of his shares. His last disclosed holding in Microsoft’s 2014 proxy was 333 million shares. Estimates indicate he later sold around 14 million shares, partly to help fund his purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers.A 2024 Wall Street Journal report described Ballmer as Microsoft’s largest individual shareholder, with most of his portfolio still concentrated in the company. Ballmer told the publication: “The only stock I really study still is Microsoft, because that’s still overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly the No. 1 thing that I own.”
Microsoft remains the biggest part of Ballmer’s fortune
Ballmer’s fortune remains largely tied to his Microsoft holdings. The company remains his biggest reported asset, while his other major holding is the Los Angeles Clippers, which he purchased for $2 billion in 2014.He has also received more than $12 billion from Microsoft dividends and share sales, according to an analysis of Bloomberg data. Ballmer has increased his philanthropic activity since leaving Microsoft, with the Ballmer family having given away more than $7.4 billion.Ballmer still owns the Clippers, and recent estimates have valued the team at several billion dollars.
