Clippers' Steve Ballmer, Wife Connie's Foundation to Donate $1M Amid Coronavirus

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie are donating $1 million to local groups in L.A. to help combat the effects of the coronavirus on the community.

According to the Los Angeles Times' Andrew Greif, the LA County's Office of Education and the LA Unified School District have both already received $250,000 from the Ballmer Group. 

Before Thursday's donation, the Ballmers had already pledged $3 million to a fund in Seattle helping those affected by the virus while the Clippers joined forces with fellow Staples Center tenets, the Lakers and Kings, to establish a fund to provide financial support to the arena's hourly workers. 

Greif notes that while $750,000 has already been dispersed, the Ballmer Group is still deciding where to donate the remaining sum:

The Ballmer Group is also donating $100,000 to Brilliant Corners to help the immediate needs of the homeless in Los Angeles in the wake of the coronavirus and $150,000 to the California Community Foundation to support low-income and low-wage workers. The Ballmer Group said it is still deciding how to direct another $250,000.

Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, is worth an estimated $51.9 billion and is the ninth-richest American as of October 2019, according to Forbes. 

The LA Times also notes the county's superintendent, Debra Duardo, said the funds will be used to distribute food, diapers and baby formula along with medial supplies across Los Angeles. 

On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all residents of the state to stay home to prevent the spread of the disease. The World Health Organization has tallied 209,839 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with 8,778 deaths. In the United States alone, there are 7,087 cases. 

While no cases have been reported by the Clippers, two unidentified Lakers players tested positive on Thursday, bringing the total number of NBA players known to have the coronavirus to 14.