Microsoft

CO-FOUNDER: BILL GATES

SUCCESSOR: STEVE BALLMER

Ballmer took over from Gates in 2000 in the midst of the dotcom bust and led the company until 2014, when Sathya Nadella took over as CEO. Ballmer had joined Microsoft in 1980 as employee No. 30 after dropping out of Stanford's MBA program. In 2014, the same year he retired from Microsoft, he bought the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. As of February 17, 2021, Ballmer was worth $81 billion.