20-05-2025
Steve Ballmer and Connie Ballmer
Los Angeles was still smoldering on Jan. 30 when Steve and Connie Ballmer turned Intuit Dome, home court of the NBA's L.A. Clippers, into a stage for Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish, and other A-listers as part of a two-venue mega-concert, FireAid, which raised about $100 million for wildfire relief, including a dollar-for-dollar match by the Ballmers of all donations during the six-hour show, on top of $15 million they had pledged on Jan. 15.
Until then, Ballmer Group, the nonprofit created in 2015 after Steve retired as CEO of Microsoft, was largely guided by Connie's passion for helping at-risk children through education and economic mobility programs. That work continues, too, with active grants to more than 500 wide-ranging efforts from providing tuition for Black men studying to become teachers to backing a mentorship program for kids in HeadStart as their generosity amid the wildfires reflects, the couple will pivot, as needed. A decade and more than $7 billion in grants into their lives as philanthropists, the Ballmers are widening their focus at the urging of their oldest son, Sam—and, in the process, seeding a second generation of philanthropy. In October, they launched Rainier Climate Group, a $1 billion initiative to combat climate change that Sam, a passionate environmentalist, will oversee.
