Before his death on October 15, 2018, Paul Allen was a U.S. business mogul, investor, researcher, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of Microsoft, the largest software company in the world. In addition to Microsoft, Allen had other business interests, including technology, real estate, media, and sports.
In addition to co-founding Microsoft alongside his close friend Bill Gates, Allen also founded Vulcan Capital Inc. and was the owner of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and a partner in Seattle Sounders FC, which became a member of Major League Soccer in 2009.
The business mogul was also interested in research, and so he founded several research institutes such as the Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Stratolaunch Systems, and the Institute for Cell Science.
Paul Allen Brief Bio
Allen was born on January 21, 1953, in Seattle, Washington, the son of Edna Faye and Kenneth Sam Allen. His full name was Paul Gardner Allen. He attended a private school in Seattle, the Lakeside School, where he met his close friend and future business partner, Bill Gates.
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They were united by their love and passion for computers. After high school, Allen went to Washington State University to study computer science, and Bill went to Harvard. After two years, Paul Allen dropped out of the university and convinced Bill to drop out as well, so both could pursue their passion for computers and software.
Inspired by an article in the magazine “Popular Electronics” introducing the new Altair microcomputer kit of the MITS computer, the two friends moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the MITS headquarters was located. After working for some time and saving $16,000, they set up the world’s largest software in 1975.
Their road to success was not always smooth, but vision, perseverance, and hard work had kept them alive, and today the small company, founded with only $16,000, has a 2017 turnover of 89.95 billion, and the two friends have found their names on the list of the richest men in the world.
Apart from Microsoft, Paul Allen had a number of other businesses and investments. He was the founder of Vulcan Capital Inc – a private asset management company he founded in 1986 with the mission of finding solutions to some of the world’s most difficult challenges. In 2013 he opened a new office in Palo Alto, California, with the goal of investing in young and emerging technology and Internet companies. His recent investments include Decide.com, Audience Inc. and Redfin,
His real estate company is engaged in development and portfolio management services and had developed over 6 million square meters of office retail, biotechnology, and residential space. In 2012, it sold $1.16 billion worth of office space to Amazon.
Paul Allen owned the Seattle Seahawks National Football League franchise, which he acquired from Ken Behring in 1996. He is also the owner of the NBA team Portland Trail Blazers, which he bought in 1988 for $70 million from real estate developer Larry Weinberg, and he is a partial owner of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.
The business magnate was also a force to be reckoned with in the media industry. Together with his sister Jody Allen he founded Vulcan Productions – a TV and film production company based in Seattle. Both act as executive producers for the company.
His love and passion for aviation also led him to found Vulcan Aerospace, where he financed the SpaceShipOne project, the first private aircraft to take a civilian into suborbital space. Before his death, he pursued other interests in space travel through his Stratolaunch Systems.
Allen was a renowned philanthropist who invested more than $2 billion of his earnings in the promotion of conservation, education, arts, community service, science, and technology. He had done all this through various foundations such as the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Stratolaunch Systems, and the Institute for Cell Science. In 2014, he donated approximately $100 million to the fight to end the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.
Net Worth: How Much Was Paul Allen Worth?
In 2018, Paul Allen was named the 43rd richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion at the time of his death. His income came not only from his shares in the software company but also from his other business ventures.
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Who was Paul Allen’s Wife? – Girlfriend, Family
Paul Allen had never been married and had no children. The business mogul was romantically involved with a pair of women who had never become his wife. The first was tennis champion Monica Seles, with whom he allegedly dated for several years before quitting in 1998, and then Jerry Hall, with whom he allegedly dated briefly in 1999.
He was also associated with Leigh Colier, the TV managing director and vice president of programming and development at CBS Television Distribution, with whom he reportedly has been dating since 2011.
Allen’s sexual orientation had been questioned by some who believed he was gay, or at least bisexual, and who did not have the courage to come out. However, there had been no hard evidence to substantiate the allegations.
His Death
He died on Monday, October 15, 2018, in Seattle from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Two weeks before his death, he announced that he was undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system he had been diagnosed with since 1983. He was 65 years old at the time of his death.
