• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechPointCloud

Why Steve Ballmer Loves Twitter

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 30, 2017, 10:38 PM ET

Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who now owns the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, also owns a chunk of Twitter.

Two years ago, he took a 4% stake in the popular but growth-challenged social network, On Tuesday, he provided insight into why he invested.

“Twitter is an amazing asset and I think it has a real opportunity to be a real business,” Ballmer said on stage at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Twitter has a huge user base—last month it said it had 328 million monthly active users. But for the past few years, the company has struggled to increase revenue. Last month it hired an ad tech executive to help. But because of the economics of online ads, it’s hard for any company other than huge players like Facebook (FB) or Google (GOOGL) to make a profit from digital advertising.

Related: Twitter Hires Ad Exec to Boost Revenue

Ballmer thinks that Twitter’s top management has decisions to make. Critics note that Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, a co-founder who stepped back into the top job two years ago, also remains CEO of Square, the online payment company. Many consider the dual roles to be a stretch, including Ballmer.

Related: Catching Up With LA Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer

“Being a CEO is a tough job at one company. Being CEO of two companies, I can’t imagine,” Ballmer said. “I think Jack will end up picking one or the other.”

As for Twitter’s future? “The business will either get sorted through or become an asset someone else will buy” he said. While there has been a lot of acquisition talk about Twitter—last year Salesforce (CRM) was reportedly interested, but nothing ultimately happened—Microsoft never tried to buy Twitter during Ballmer’s tenure, Ballmer said.

Some say the very presence of Twitter exacerbates political and social tensions at a tough time. But Ballmer said the positive outweighs the negative. “So many good things come out of that real-time information. It gives people direct access to anyone,” he said.

Still he’s not a big tweeter in his own right. As “@clippersteve” on Twitter, Ballmer has posted exactly 36 times since he created that account in August 2014. “I started tweeting frequently early in the basketball season, but how many times can you say ‘whooo, great game?’ I don’t want to be that guy.”

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

broker
EconomyMarkets
Citadel Securities demolishes viral AI doomsday essay, arguing the real ‘Global Intelligence Crisis’ is ignorance of macro fundamentals
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 26, 2026
8 hours ago
InnovationHome robots
For $20,000, a humanoid robot will do your household chores for you like unloading the dishwasher and watering plants—but it still needs help
By Matty Merritt and Morning BrewFebruary 26, 2026
9 hours ago
instagram
LawSocial Media
As Meta battles addiction claims in court, Instagram says it will start notifying parents of kids searching for suicide or self-harm
By Barbara Ortutay and The Associated PressFebruary 26, 2026
9 hours ago
ebay
LaweBay
Couple who got live insects, bloody pig mask mailed to them reach settlement with eBay
By Leah Willingham and The Associated PressFebruary 26, 2026
10 hours ago
Man speaks on stage
CryptoNvidia
Bitcoin rides Nvidia wave to spike above $70,000 before pulling back
By Carlos GarciaFebruary 26, 2026
11 hours ago
peter thiel
AIskills
Forget the STEM safety net. Peter Thiel warns AI is a bigger threat to technical roles than to creative thinkers
By Jake AngeloFebruary 26, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Innovation
An MIT roboticist who cofounded bankrupt robot vacuum maker iRobot says Elon Musk’s vision of humanoid robot assistants is ‘pure fantasy thinking’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 25, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Jeff Bezos says being lazy, not working hard, is the root of anxiety: ‘The stress goes away the second I take that first step’
By Sydney LakeFebruary 25, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump claims America is ‘winning so much.’ The IMF agrees, adding that Trump’s trade policies are the only thing holding it back from even more
By Tristan BoveFebruary 26, 2026
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ex–presidential candidate Andrew Yang warns that millions of white-collar workers will lose their jobs within 18 months: ‘The AI jobpocalypse is here’
By Preston ForeFebruary 25, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z Olympic champion Eileen Gu says she rewires her brain daily to be more successful—and multimillionaire founder Arianna Huffington says it really does work
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 25, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Jamie Dimon says society should start preparing for AI job displacement: ‘Now’s the time to start thinking about’ it
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 25, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.