The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Ballmer shoots for a billion in Microsoft share sale

  • alert
  • print
  • tweet

Only 421 million shares to go

By Ashlee Vance in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 28th May 2003 07:34 GMT

Free whitepaper – Enabling Datacenter and Cloud Service Management for Mid-Tier Enterprises

Don't mind the $1.2 billion Steve Ballmer sold in Microsoft stock. He really is very committed to the software maker's future.

Recent SEC filings show that Microsoft's CEO dumped 49 million shares between May 21 and May 23 to the tune of $1.19 billion. Twelve years have passed since Ballmer last sold off Microsoft stock, but the exec said it was time for some asset diversification.

As Ballmer started to sell last week, Microsoft issued a statement to reassure investors and let them know everything in Redmond was okay.

"Even though this is a personal financial matter, I want to be clear about this to avoid any confusion," Ballmer said in the statement. "I remain excited about the potential for our technology to change people's lives, and I remain as committed to Microsoft as ever."

Just in case you were worried that Ballmer would not be able to clear another billion in a pinch, rest easy, he has 421,519,622 shares left. ®

Free whitepaper – Enabling Datacenter and Cloud Service Management for Mid-Tier Enterprises