Overview: A tech billionaire now ranking among the 10 richest people in the world, Steve Ballmer has worked with his wife Connie on a handful of philanthropic issues. Relatively apolitical, the couple focuses most of their giving through the Ballmer Group, which is focused on gun safety and anti-poverty initiatives. Steve Ballmer also owns the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team and has been supportive of racial justice and gun safety issues.
Location: Bellevue, WA
Total Donated (2020 alone): $7,500,000
Top Recipients: Everytown for Gun Safety, Joe Biden
Key Issues: Gun Safety
Largest Donation to Date: $7,000,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety
Profile: Steve Ballmer’s story is the quintessential romantic tech narrative: He dropped out of Stanford’s business school to become the 30th employee at Microsoft in 1980. He stuck with the company through its ups and downs before becoming CEO in 2000, a position he held until 2014. Ballmer is now one of the richest people in the world—currently at No. 6 on Forbes’ World Billionaires list with a nice net worth of $69 billion.
He’s married to Connie Ballmer, who worked in journalism and public relations early in her career, and in 2015, the couple founded the Ballmer Group to support anti-poverty and equality initiatives. The Ballmers are not lifetime philanthropists or political donors in the way many of their big-money peers are. They tend to give large gifts sporadically, like Connie’s $7,000,000 donation supporting tighter gun laws in Washington, or their pledge of $25 million in COVID-19 relief this year.
Steve Ballmer’s most direct line to politics has been the NBA. He bought the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team in 2014 amid controversy with the team’s previous owner, who was caught on tape making racist comments about Black people. Since becoming a team owner, Ballmer has made a point of distinguishing himself from the team’s old ownership and outwardly supporting players who speak out on racial justice issues. He also agreed to open up the team’s stadium as a polling location as part of the NBA players’ push to improve voting rights this year. Still, Ballmer’s political giving history has been bipartisan, with donations to a handful of Republicans and Democrats over the last 30 years. A recent analysis found his wife’s seven-figure gift supporting gun laws in Washington puts the Ballmers to the left of many of his NBA peers, but other than Connie’s $500,000 to a Biden PAC this year, the couple have not committed much money to politics.
Ideological Vibe: Moderate. The Ballmers have not wielded their wealth politically much at all, but their campaign donations have gone to both Democrats and Republicans. Although the couple did commit significantly to a gun control measure, they are not reliable funders for liberal causes or PACs the way other billionaires are, and their recent gift to the Biden campaign seems consistent with their centrist bent.
Hits and Misses: The Ballmers have not made many large bets on candidates for office. They’ve backed multiple successful ballot initiatives on gun safety in Washington, but otherwise, the couple has made sparse political donations.
Looking Forward: It’s unlikely their donation supporting Biden’s campaign is a sign the Ballmers are looking to get deeper into politics. They’re more likely to continue their philanthropy through their foundation and dip into the occasional issue-based campaign, as they have for years.
Relationships: Los Angeles Clippers Owner—Steve Ballmer; Ballmer Group—Co-Founders—Steve and Connie Ballmer
Contact Information: N/A