14 DAY TRIAL // Steve Ballmer has recently stepped down as Microsoft CEO, but the man who has been at the helm of the software giant for the past 13 years has every reason to be happy.
According to new reports, Steve Ballmer is now the number one Microsoft shareholder, as co-founder Bill Gates has recently sold some of the stock he owns.
GeekWire is reporting that the United States Security and Exchange Commission recorded Bill Gates' sale of 4.6 million shares on May 2, so the company's technical advisory, who now works with CEO Satya Nadella on new products, only owns 330.1 million shares in the firm.
That's not enough to remain the number one shareholder, so Steve Ballmer officially replaced Bill Gates at the top of this unofficial chart.
Bill Gates' decision to sell Microsoft stock isn't new, as he has been doing the same thing for the past few years, as he continued to invest time and money into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Of course, that doesn't meant that Bill Gates is now a poor person, as he remains the world's richest man with a net worth of $76 billion (54.7 billion Euro) as of March, according to Forbes statistics.
Steve Ballmer currently holds 333 million Microsoft shares, which represents 4 percent of the company, and according to his own statements, he has no intention to sell stock in the coming years.
In his goodbye letter sent to employees last year after announcing his resignation from the CEO position, Ballmer explained that he planned to remain one of the largest company shareholders, so he would stay close to the business as much as time allows him.
“I am excited by our mission of empowering the world and believe in our future success. I cherish my Microsoft ownership, and look forward to continuing as one of Microsoft’s largest owners,” he said at that time.
Steve Ballmer was replaced as Microsoft CEO by former cloud boss Satya Nadella who took over the top job at the company in February. Nadella also brought Bill Gates on board, who decided to spend more time working at the software giant in order to ensure that more great new products are coming out of Redmond. Gates is currently serving as a technical advisor to Satya Nadella, but there's no doubt that as time passes by, his role could become a lot more important for the company's business.