- Pete Ballmer, the son of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, said on a podcast that he was not completely satisfied with growing up wealthy and having a father who was the CEO of a famous technology company.
- “It's not something I've made part of my identity,” he said on the Feb. 13 episode. cash cuties podcast
- But the 29-year-old stand-up comedian acknowledged his privilege, saying that when you become a billionaire, “people will put themselves out there for you.”
Peter Ballmer, the son of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, has opened up about what it was like growing up wealthy.
The 29-year-old former project manager turned stand-up comedian made the admission on a recent episode. cash cuties On the podcast, he said he was “very uncomfortable” with having a famous billionaire father.
“It wasn't something I wanted to be a part of.” “It wasn't something I made part of my identity,” he said on the Feb. 13 episode. Ta.
Steve Ballmer, who led Microsoft from 2000 to 2014 after Bill Gates resigned, now has an estimated net worth of more than $122 billion. forbes.
Still, Pete said his parents gave him and his younger brother a relatively normal childhood, driving their father's old 1998 Lincoln and receiving $10 a week in pocket money as kids. he said.
“They didn't grow up spending money,” he said, noting that his parents didn't “want to waste money” and “don't want to spend money on things they don't need.” ”
However, he faced some challenges as everyone knew who his father was.
“When I was in seventh grade, it happened after a lacrosse game. [that] Somehow all the other teams knew who I was,” he said. Pete said that when members of the opposing team said “good game” and shook each other's hands, they told him, “Apple is better.”
But Pete is also outspoken about his privilege, once going on a trip with his family to visit the Statue of Liberty in New York, where he was given a special lunch while everyone else was waiting in line to order food. He said something.
“When you become a millionaire, people will give themselves up for you,” he said.
Pete said that until he was in college and in his early 20s, people still knew about him, but “not as much” so he could avoid being associated with his father. When he first started doing stand-up in college, he took the stage name “Pete Bronson” to distance himself from others.
But the comedian enjoys some of the perks of his wealth, including tipping his father into buying the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team and getting the chance to meet former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. I was able to do that.
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Regarding his current financial situation, Pete said he's mainly spending his money on “convenient things” like Uber, DoorDash, and even flight change fees.
Still, the comedian pointed out one of the “funny” comments he made was when people told him, “One day you're going to be really rich.”
“I'm like, 'Yeah, you're asking if my parents would be excited about dying?'” he said jokingly.