Earlier this week, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer dropped a whopping $400 million — in cash no less — to buy the Forum in Inglewood from New York Knicks owner James Dolan. Now, Ballmer is once again dipping into his vast reserve of resources to help those affected by the coronavirus.
Through the Ballmer Group — a philanthropic effort run by Steve and his wife, Connie — the couple will be donating $25 million to assist various communities dealing with the societal and economic affects of the coronavirus. Money will go to Seattle, Los Angeles and Southeastern Michigan. In particular, $10 million will be allocated to the University of Washington to aid their efforts to develop a vaccine for the virus.
In the past weeks, Ballmer has also donated $1 million to groups in Los Angeles, and $3 million to groups in Seattle to help assist those impacted by the virus.
The former CEO of Microsoft, Ballmer is worth over $57 billion, according to Forbes. That fortune made him the ninth wealthiest American in 2019, and the 19th wealthiest person in the world. Ballmer purchased the Clippers in 2014 for what was then an NBA-record $2 billion. In 2017, Tillman Fertitta eclipsed that mark by buying the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion.
Many others in the NBA have made donations to support those affected by the coronavirus as well. Kevin Love and Giannis Antetokounmpo each pledged $100,000 to help pay arena workers impacted by the suspension of the season, while Rudy Gobert — the first player to test positive — committed $500,000 for arena workers and health services and Joel Embiid did the same.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
