The Steve Ballmer Interview

We sit down with Steve Ballmer, the legendary former Microsoft CEO and owner of the LA Clippers, for an epic conversation covering his 34 years at Microsoft. Steve listened to our Microsoft episodes and had some thoughts to share — and boy, did he deliver. Steve takes us point-by-point through the original IBM DOS deal that started everything, how he built Microsoft's enterprise business from scratch, and offers his candid reflections on missing mobile and search. We also cover the story behind “developers, developers, developers”, the complexities of his relationship with Bill Gates (including a year where they didn't speak), and why he ultimately decided to step down as CEO. Plus, we learn why Steve has held onto his Microsoft stock through it all — giving him arguably the best investment track record in the world over the last 10 years with his net worth growing from $20B to $130B since leaving. And of course, we couldn't resist also talking about his other passion: the Clippers and Intuit Dome. Hit play and get ready to experience the patented Steve Ballmer energy and fun on full display! Sponsors: Sentry: WorkOS: Anthropic: Statsig: Links: Steve's PowerPoint Slides Join us July 15 at Radio City! More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack

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The Steve Ballmer Interview is an episode from Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal.

This episode is 176:58 long.

This episode was published on Jun 2, 2025.

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