Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reveals he will invest $400 mil to support Black entrepreneurs
Steve Ballmer, billionaire owner of the LA Clippers NBA team and former CEO of Microsoft, has been a major philanthropist for years. Now, he’s investing $400 million to support Black-owned businesses.
Ballmer, along with his wife Connie Ballmer, will partner with established private equity firms and investment banks to help address the systemic racial inequities that have hindered investment into these businesses in the past, the couple wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
“Our goal is to feed that need for venture start-up capital that is missing in the African American community,” Ballmer said live on the TODAY show on Wednesday. He explained that the investment would go to Black investment fund managers, who would be required to invest at least 30% of that amount into Black-led businesses.
“This is an incredible opportunity to invest in an undercapitalized market,” Ballmer said in a statement. “We hope it will signal to other investors the value in giving Black investment managers access to capital.”
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