Steve Ballmer Bets Big On Twitter: Reveals He’s Accumulated A 4% Stake In Company

Steve Ballmer has been keeping busy over a year since he stepped down from Microsoft’s board of directors. One hand is occupied with owning the Los Angeles Clippers, the other -- a 4 percent stake in Twitter.

And there was no better a place for him to reveal that latter fact but on the social network itself.

When the tweet was initially discovered, there were some questions as to the veracity of the tweet, since it wasn’t from Ballmer’s verified account, ClipperSteveb. He later issued a Tweet from his old account, redirecting Twitter users to his new handle, Steven_Ballmer. In addition, Ballmer confirmed the legitimacy of the Tweet via an email to Bloomberg.

After reports of the tweet began trickling out Friday, Twitter stock jumped 3.13 percent to 30.64, as of 1:31 p.m. EDT. Ballmer adds to the number of high-profile owners of Twitter, such as Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alaweed bin Talal, who owns over 5 percent of the social network, according to Reuters. Twitter co-founder Evan Williams owns a 6.8 percent stake, and CEO Jack Dorsey also owns over 3 percent of the company, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.