In the race to rank the richest people in the world, former assistant Ballmer is second only to Bill Gates. If his fortune continues to grow, it’s rare for employees to be richer than the company’s founder.

When employees are about to get richer than the boss

According to Bloomberg, the fortune of Steve Ballmer – former assistant to Microsoft founder Bill Gates is estimated to increase by $ 29 billion this year and rank 5th in the world. Steve Ballmer is behind his former boss Bill Gates – who ranks fourth with a fortune of $ 121 billion.

Worth mentioning, three months ago, the fortune of the businessman born in 1956 was $ 17 billion less than billionaire Bill Gates but now less than $ 6 billion.

And yet, Ballmer is now richer than a series of big-name billionaires like Larry Ellison ($114 billion), Warren Buffett ($111 billion), Larry Pagpe ($110 billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($108 billion) and Sergey Brin ($105 billion).

Billionaire Ballmer – former assistant to Microsoft founder Bill Gates

Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as an assistant to Chairman Bill Gates, though he was more of a chief business officer than a personal assistant.

According to Forbes, he initially negotiated a base salary of $50,000 plus 10% of the profit growth he generated. But when his share of profits exceeded record levels, he agreed to exchange it for a significant amount of shares.

In the years that followed, Ballmer rose steadily to become CEO of Microsoft in 2000. He stepped down in that role in 2014 with 333 million shares, or a 4% stake, legal filings show.

In 2000, Bill Gates’ former assistant rose to become CEO of Microsoft. Four years later, Ballmer stepped down from the role with 333 million shares, or a 4% stake.

Bloomberg speculates that the 56-year-old billionaire retains most of these shares. It gives him a fortune of more than $100 billion based on Microsoft’s current stock price.

In addition, Ballmer’s wealth soared this year thanks in part to the artificial intelligence boom, boosting Microsoft stock. The computing giant’s investment in Open AI’s ChatGPT this spring raised hopes it could break Alphabet’s dominant position in Internet search. Microsoft shares have risen 38 percent in the past 10 months.

Statistics of the wealth of billionaires around the world – Bloomberg Billionaires Index

In Bloomberg’s list of the 10 richest people in the world, Ballmer is considered an unusual case. Billionaires Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos and the rest all got rich from their stakes in the companies they founded or run while Ballmer is not the founder or current CEO of Microsoft.

If Ballmer surpasses Bill Gates, it’s a rare case of employees being richer than the company’s founder.

If you want to grow, play with rich people

According to Forbes, America’s 400 richest people are richer than America’s poorest 150 million people combined. What about middle-class people? You could be among them. You’re not poor but you’re not rich either. Data over the past few decades shows that the middle class is shrinking. That means you’ll be less likely to fall into this department in the future. You will be more likely to fall into the rich or poor section.

In real life, who you know is actually very important, even it can change the destiny of your life, deciding every victory or defeat in your life.

If you play with 5 confident people, you will be the 6th.

If you play with 5 smart people, you will be the 6th person.

If you play with 5 millionaires, you will be the 6th.

If you play with 5 idiots, you will be the 6th.

If you play with 5 burners, you will also be the 6th….

Living with someone for so long, you also gradually become like them. Being with hardworking people, you will not be lazy. Being with positive people you won’t be negative. Along with smart people, you also get good influences…

Scientific researchers say humans are the only animals receptive to suggestions. Positive suggestions, which greatly affect the spirit and physiological state of people, stimulate all inner potentials, promote the hidden abilities of each person, make them progressive, excited and happy.

Billionaire Warren Buffett once shared in a conversation with a group of students from Columbia University: “Usually you will go in the same direction as the person you interact with the most. So it’s important to surround yourself with people who are better than you.”

Therefore, the most unfortunate thing in life is this: There are no positive people next to you. Your life will become bland, mediocre.

If you want to be richer, think like a rich person

Here are 10 differences in thinking between rich and not-rich:

1. The middle class lives comfortably, the rich choose to be uncomfortable

“In investing, comfort rarely brings returns.” – Robert Arnott

It’s comfortable to do a “safe” job. It’s comfortable to work for someone else. Middle-class people assume that comfort means happiness, but rich people realize that extraordinary things often happen when we put ourselves in uncomfortable situations. Step out of your comfort zone, take risks if you want to be rich.

2. The middle class lives on property; the rich live to increase wealth

Rich people don’t spend money on things that make them lose their wealth, they spend it on things that help them increase their wealth, and they spend less than they earn. On average, rich people drive cars they’ve built a few years earlier and aren’t buying new ones, research in “The Millionaire Next Door” shows. Even if they can afford a new Escalade, they usually don’t.

Remember that if you make $1 million a year but spend $1 million a year, you’ll go bankrupt.

3. The middle-class climbs the ladder of advancement; the rich own that ladder

“The richest people in the world find and network, others just look for work.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Billionaire Bill Gates (and former assistant Steve Ballmer

The middle class often works for others. They have jobs, careers. Richer people tend to create jobs for themselves. They own that work. The rich understand that they need more people to work for them to make more money. The rich understand the power of passive collecting.

4. The middle class makes friends with everyone, the rich choose who to make friends with

“It’s best to play with someone better than you. Choose people who behave better than you, and you’ll get caught up in that direction.” – Warren Buffett

Rich people understand that when you surround yourself with successful people, success will follow you and vice versa. Your income is usually the average income of your 3 best friends.

5. The middle class work to earn money; the rich work to learn

“When you’re young, work to learn, not to make money.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Middle-class people are more likely to be persuaded to switch jobs if someone offers a higher salary. Rich people understand that working isn’t about money, especially when they’re young, but about developing the skills needed to become wealthy.

6. The middle class has everything, the rich have money

“Too many people spend money on things they don’t need just to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Rogers

Luxury cars and expensive homes are what middle-class people pour money into. Walking around the middle-class residential area, you will see branded cars, expensive landscapes, luxury houses. Rich people understand that to be rich, you have to want to make money rather than spend it. Warren Buffett still lives in the house he bought in 1958, and he only spent $31,500 on it.

7. The middle class focuses on saving, the rich focus on making money

“Your greatest asset is your ability to make money. Your greatest resource is time.” – Brian Tracy

“If you want to be rich, save and make money at the same time.” – Benjamin Franklin

Saving is also important. Investing is more important, but making money is the foundation of both. If you really want to be rich, rely on your ability to make money, not your ability to save.

8. The middle class spends money according to emotions, the rich spend money logically

For 30 years, author Steve Siebold interviewed more than 1,200 people on the list of the world’s richest people to write “What the Rich Think,” and he says there are more than 100 differences in how rich people view money compared to middle-class people. One of the most key differences is that middle-class people see money with the eyes of emotion, rich people see money with logical eyes. Making financial decisions based on emotions kills your budget.

9. The middle class underestimates his potential, the rich set big goals

“Set a big goal and don’t stop until you achieve it.” – Bo Jackson

Middle-class people set goals that are easy to achieve. Rich people set goals that seem impossible, difficult to achieve, even crazy. But they know they can do it.

10. Middle people believe in hard work, rich people believe in leverage

Hard work is necessary with all of us. But the problem is that hard work alone rarely makes you rich. You can’t get rich by doing everything yourself. You have to use leverage to get really rich. The more leverage you incorporate, the more time you have to do things that will truly impact your business and your life.