Steve Ballmer Says He 'Didn't Speak' To Bill Gates For A Year After Becoming Microsoft Chief: Reveals Power Struggle And Rift Over 'Real CEO' Role

Former Microsoft Corp. MSFT CEO Steve Ballmer disclosed a previously unknown rift with co-founder Bill Gates that left the tech executives not speaking for an entire year during Ballmer’s transition to chief executive in 2000-2001.

What Happened: Speaking on the Acquired podcast, Ballmer revealed the communication breakdown occurred from approximately March 2000 to 2001, coinciding with his assumption of the CEO role amid Microsoft’s antitrust battles and the dot-com crash.

“We went through a year where we didn’t speak,” Ballmer stated, describing the period as among the company’s most challenging.

The rift stemmed from unclear power dynamics as Gates transitioned from CEO to Chief Software Architect. When Gates offered Ballmer the CEO position, Ballmer insisted on clarification: “Do you really want me to be CEO or do you just want me to be a figurehead?” Gates confirmed he wanted “a real CEO,” but both executives struggled with the new reporting structure.

“I didn’t know what it meant to be his boss and he didn’t know what it meant to work for me,” Ballmer explained. The former CEO, who had served as Gates’ lieutenant for two decades since joining Microsoft in 1980, found the role reversal particularly challenging.

Why It Matters: The reconciliation came through intervention from their wives, who arranged an “awkward dinner at a health club” to repair the relationship. However, Ballmer acknowledged they “never really got the right mojo” afterward, with Gates maintaining significant influence over product direction.

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During Ballmer’s 14-year tenure, Microsoft’s revenue tripled while the stock price remained relatively flat. Ballmer attributed this disconnect to his reluctance to engage with Wall Street analysts and his reputation as a heavy spender on strategic initiatives like Surface and Xbox.

The leadership tensions manifested in major strategic disagreements over hardware initiatives, mobile phones, and the HoloLens project. Ballmer has since maintained his Microsoft stake, with Forbes estimating his net worth grew from $20 billion to $130 billion since departing in 2014.

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