Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is now just as rich as his former boss Bill Gates. Here's how he spends his billions.

Steve Ballmer was Bill Gates' assistant before ultimately becoming Microsoft's CEO himself in 2000.Microsoft

• Earlier this week, Steve Ballmer's wealth briefly overtook that of his former boss, Bill Gates.
• It was only a brief blip, though: They're now tied at $158 billion, Bloomberg data shows.

It's not often an employee becomes richer than a company's founder, but that's just what happened this week — at least briefly — with Bill Gates and his former assistant.

Steve Ballmer's wealth leapfrogged that of Gates, his former boss and Microsoft's cofounder. Bloomberg's Billionaires Index showed Ballmer's pulling ahead was short-lived, though: The men are now both worth $158 billion, as of late Friday, according to the index, which is sure to move again as the markets fluctuate.

Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as the company's first business manager and climbed the ranks to become CEO in 2000, succeeding Gates in the position. Ballmer remained CEO until 2014, when he passed the baton to Satya Nadella.

Here's a look at how Ballmer spends his vast fortune: