Clippers owner Steve Ballmer puts lots of cash behind a new team: Twitter
Clippers owners Steve Ballmer speaks during an NBA news conference in China on Oct. 11. (Zhong Zhi/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer owns 4% of social media company Twitter Inc., he revealed in a tweet on Friday.
It’s unclear how his stake will impact Twitter’s new push to revive its once-stellar user growth and get advertisers to spend more on its service. But Ballmer’s proclamation already has been apparent good news for Twitter shares, which were up nearly 5% in Friday’s trading to above $31.
Earlier this month, Ballmer used Twitter to call the San Francisco company “remarkable” and said it has an “amazing chance to innovate and grow,” especially under its recently re-appointed Chief Executive Jack Dorsey.
Still, Ballmer’s large stake in Twitter came as a surprise. Ballmer over the past few months has become one of the largest individual Twitter shareholders, owning more of the company than even Dorsey, who’s sold off significant chunks over the past year. Twitter co-founder Ev Williams and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal own slightly more than Ballmer.
Large shareholders tend to get greater acknowledgement from management, and it’s possible Ballmer could come to advise Twitter on strategy or help them form connections in sports, media and tech. Twitter declined to comment.
In recent days, Twitter has announced new products, the layoffs of 8% of its workforce and hired a Google executive as executive chairman. It’s all intended to put Twitter “on a stronger path to grow,” Dorsey said in an email to employees this week.
For his part, Ballmer hasn’t exactly had the Midas touch. This year, in his first season as Clippers owner, the team lost in the second round of the playoffs.
And as chief executive of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014, he was slow to steer the company toward smartphones and tablets. Shares of Microsoft dropped about 40% over his tenure by the time he announced his intention to retire. He continues to own 4% of Microsoft, and Forbes estimates his net worth as $23 billion.
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