Steve Ballmer overtakes Bill Gates with $165 billion net worth after refusing to sign Paul George for $200 million max deal

According to reports, LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has overtaken his former Microsoft boss, Bill Gates, to become the sixth richest person in the world. While Ballmer previously worked for Gates as an early employee of Microsoft, he now has a net worth that exceeds Gates' by a reported $1 billion. according to Joe Pompliano.

From the sounds of things, there are two key factors to consider when looking at Ballmer overtaking Gates as the sixth richest person in the world. The first is that Gates has reportedly donated nearly $50 billion in the past three decades as part of his philanthropic efforts.

The second is that Gates has diversified his investments while Ballmer held onto his Microsoft stock. At the time of publication, Microsoft's stock sits at a price of $455.42 per share.

The news comes on the heels of reports indicating that Steve Ballmer and the Clippers turned down the opportunity to re-sign Paul George to a max deal. After the team declined to offer George a max deal worth $200 million, he went and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a four-year $212 million deal.

While the team wants to remain competitive with the opening of the Intuit Dome, they have been forced to play their cards carefully given the salary cap.

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Looking at Steve Ballmer and the LA Clippers' response to Paul George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers

Heading into this offseason, it was no secret that the Clippers were on the hot seat.

The team was fresh off yet another season that was defined by injuries, this time with Kawhi Leonard appearing in just two of the team's first-round games against the Dallas Mavericks.

The team signed Kawhi Leonard to an extension, with the hope being that they would extend George this offseason. However, the two sides were still quite a ways off when it came to negotiations.

In a statement relayed by ESPN this week, Steve Ballmer's organization opened up on the situation:

"Heading into this offseason, our roster was constructed [with] three great players 33 and over, two of whom could become free agents. We wanted to retain them on contracts that would allow us, under the constraints of the new CBA, to continue building the team."

"We explored an opt-in and trade scenario, but it would have left us in a similar position under the new CBA, with very little asset value to justify the restrictions."

Under the new CBA rules, teams who cross the second apron are now hit with harsher penalties and restrictions. For example, apart from being barred from using the mid-level exception, they are also unable to complete sign-and-trade deals unless that deal put them below the second apron.

Moreover, if they remain above the second apron, they could lose a future first-round pick. Given that, Steve Ballmer and the Clippers were forced to make a hard decision to let Paul George walk.

What the rest of this offseason has in store for them, only time will tell.