The world’s sixth richest person, Steven Ballmer, will receive a dividend of around one billion dollars from the world’s leading IT company, Microsoft, in 2024. Microsoft has seen improvement in its financial performance, after which the company will pay a dividend of 75 cents per share for one quarter, which comes to $3 annually. Today, Ballmer has not contributed to Microsoft; his only contribution is having crores of Microsoft shares.
Former Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer owns $333.2 billion of Microsoft shares worth $1 billion, equivalent to a 4 per cent stake in the company. The last time Steven Ballmer disclosed his shares in the company was in 2014. Based on Steven Ballmer’s 4 per cent stake in Microsoft, he will get a billion-dollar dividend in the 2024 financial year. He will get this dividend only because he holds a 4 per cent stake.
Steven Ballmer will get this dividend only if Microsoft’s board of directors does not take any decision to cut the dividend. However, the chances of this happening are significantly less. Because since 2003, Microsoft’s dividend payment has seen a continuous increase. However, after receiving a billion-dollar dividend, they will have to pay a tax of $200 million at 20 per cent.
Steven Ballmer was Microsoft’s CEO from 2000 to 2014. Currently, he co-founded Ballmer Group, an investment company related to charity. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of November 2023, he is the sixth wealthiest person in the world with a personal wealth of $122 billion.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates hired Steven Ballmer in 1980. In January 2000, he became the CEO of Microsoft in place of Gates. After his retirement in February 2014, Satya Nadella became Microsoft’s CEO.
