A better way to phrase it maybe: Gates is deep into the next new thing. It seems weird now, but maybe for future generations Gates will be remembered more for his post MSFT era.
That's because Ballmer couldn't sell much while he was CEO (that would look very bad).
This article doesn't go there, but many before it have made a big deal about Gates' endless selling of Microsoft stock. The fact that it's still a headline, points to the sensationalism that has surrounded this topic for years.
Gates no doubt cares a lot about Microsoft's well being, but much like Jobs, he doesn't need stock to exercise his influence. His #1 task financially these days (the last decade plus), is to protect his $80 billion in wealth. Articles like to sensationalize the selling for clicks, but it's strictly logical to diversify out of his formerly concentrated MSFT position, and to ultimately balance risk vs returns, with the goal in mind to maximize how much wealth he can give away through the foundation.
Given his priorities, having $13 billion (16% of his net worth) tied up in Microsoft is still a sizable concentration. I would suspect he'll sell that down to $4 to $8 billion before eventually holding a token position (for him). I also expect Ballmer will shortly begin a modestly aggressive plan to reduce his Microsoft position.
I wonder what Ballmer does now.
This statement only proves that Bill Gates is the smarter guy :)
There is just plain something screwed up with a system that rewards someone like Steve Ballmer with any kind of stocks whatsoever, let alone fire him before he has a chance to ruin all kinds of sure things.
> What will be interesting to watch will be how quickly Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, can accumulate stock in the company. Various performance bands that comprise a large portion of his compensation could net him nearly nine-figure equity in his first half decade in charge,
That's not a bad compensation package...