Paul Allen

Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which helped start the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Allen was one of the richest people in American history, with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion at the time of his death.

After leaving daily work at Microsoft in 1983, Allen and his sister, Jody Allen, started Vulcan Inc. in 1986 to manage his business and charitable work. He owned sports teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, and he supported many areas including education, environmental protection, and scientific research.

Allen created important organizations such as the Allen Institutes for Brain Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Cell Science. He also helped start companies like Stratolaunch Systems and supported the first private spaceplane with SpaceShipOne. Sadly, Allen passed away in 2018, but his work continued to have a big impact on the world.

Early life

Paul Allen was born on January 21, 1953, in Seattle, Washington. He went to a private school called Lakeside School, where he met his friend Bill Gates. Both loved computers and spent a lot of time learning to program them.

Later, Allen went to Washington State University but left after two years. He started working as a programmer and helped convince Gates to leave Harvard University to focus on their big idea, Microsoft.

Microsoft

Main articles: History of Microsoft and Microsoft § 1972–1985: Founding

Paul Allen and Bill Gates started Microsoft in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They created a special language called BASIC that helped people use computers.

Later, Microsoft got a big chance when they agreed to provide a system for the first IBM PC. They bought a system called QDOS and changed its name. This helped Microsoft become very successful.

Allen and Gates worked together closely at first, but their relationship had some tough moments. Allen left Microsoft in 1982 after being diagnosed with an illness, but he kept many shares in the company. When Microsoft became a public company, Allen became a billionaire because of his shares. Even after leaving, Allen stayed connected to Microsoft and gave back to their old school in 1986. He stayed involved with Microsoft for many years.

Businesses and investments

See also: Vulcan Inc.

Financial and technology

Paul Allen used his money to support many technology projects and companies. He created Vulcan Capital to manage his investments and opened an office in Palo Alto, California to focus on new technology ideas. Allen also supported many apps and startups, like Saga and SportStream. He helped start Interval Research Corporation, which created many new ideas and patents. Allen invested in Ticketmaster and AOL, and later in Charter Communications, which became a big cable company in the U.S.

Aerospace

Allen supported the creation of SpaceShipOne, a spacecraft that reached space for the first time with a civilian. This won a big prize called the Ansari X Prize. Later, he started Stratolaunch Systems to create a new way to launch rockets from airplanes. This project aimed to make space travel easier and more affordable.

Real estate

Allen’s company, Vulcan Real Estate, helped develop parts of Seattle, like the South Lake Union area. They built homes, offices, and shops, and even helped start a streetcar line there. One big success was selling a large office complex to Amazon for over a billion dollars.

Venues

Allen paid for many places where people can watch sports and movies. He helped build the Moda Center in Portland and CenturyLink Field in Seattle. He also bought Seattle’s historic Cinerama Theater and updated it with new technology.

Sports team ownership

Portland Trail Blazers

Main article: Portland Trail Blazers

Allen bought the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team in 1988. He helped build their arena, the Moda Center, and the team made it to the playoffs many times.

Seattle Seahawks

Main article: Seattle Seahawks

Allen also bought the Seattle Seahawks football team. He helped improve their stadium, and under his leadership, the team went to the Super Bowl three times and won one.

Seattle Sounders FC

Main article: Seattle Sounders FC

Allen’s company helped own the Seattle Sounders FC soccer team. They started playing in 2009 and filled their stadium every game in their first season.

Filmmaking

Allen and his sister owned Vulcan Productions, a company that made movies and TV shows. Their films won many awards and told important stories about different topics, like health and education. One film, Girl Rising, showed how important it is for girls to go to school.

Philanthropy

Paul Allen gave more than $2 billion to help science, technology, education, wildlife, the arts, and community services. He started the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation with his sister Jody to manage his charitable giving. By 2015, the foundation had given more than $494 million to over 1,500 nonprofit groups.

In 2010, Allen joined The Giving Pledge, promising to give at least half of his wealth to charitable causes. He received awards for his generosity, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Science and research

In 2003, Allen began the Allen Institute for Brain Science with $100 million to study how the human brain works. He later gave $500 million to this institute, making it his biggest single gift. The institute shares its research tools with scientists everywhere. Projects include mapping the mouse and human brain.

Also in 2014, Allen started the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence to study computer thinking. In the same year, he gave $100 million to start the Allen Institute for Cell Science to study cells and find disease treatments. All data and tools from these institutes are made public online.

Allen also supported early research projects through the Allen Distinguished Investigators Awards, started in 2010. He helped build a network of telescopes for searching for life beyond Earth.

Environment and conservation

Allen gave more than $7 million to count elephant populations in Africa, the largest such count since the 1970s. He also supported projects to better understand fish and stop illegal fishing. He helped pass a Washington state law to stop buying products from endangered animals.

Allen started a contest for American cities to improve their public transportation systems. He also helped build small power grids in Kenya to provide clean energy.

Ebola

In 2014, Allen gave at least $100 million to fight a serious disease outbreak in West Africa. He created a website to share information and raise funds for groups working to stop the disease.

Exploration

Allen tried to recover a ship bell from a famous warship that sank during World War II. After a failed attempt, he succeeded in 2015. He also funded a research ship that found many sunken warships and airplanes.

Museums and community institutions

Allen created several museums and galleries to share his collections of historic items and art. These include a museum about popular culture, a collection of old airplanes, and a gallery about the history of computers.

Art

Allen gave more than $100 million to support the arts. He loaned many pieces of art to museums and started art fairs in Seattle.

Education

Allen gave millions to universities for buildings and programs. He helped build libraries, computer science centers, and schools for studying animals at the University of Washington and Washington State University. He also started special research centers at Tufts University and Stanford University.

Personal life

Paul Allen never married and did not have children. He once planned to marry his first girlfriend but decided he wasn't ready at age 23. Some people thought of him as keeping to himself.

Allen loved music. He got his first electric guitar at sixteen after listening to Jimi Hendrix. He played guitar on an album called Grown Men and later released an album with his band, the Underthinkers.

Allen also enjoyed yachting. He owned a very large yacht named Octopus, which had special features like a swimming pool and a music studio. The yacht helped in searches for missing planes and studying rare sea creatures. After Allen passed away, the yacht was sold. He also owned another large yacht called Tatoosh, which accidentally damaged a coral reef. Efforts were made to help the reef recover.

Idea Man

Main article: Idea Man

In 2011, Paul Allen wrote a book called Idea Man, where he told the story of how he fell in love with computers. He shared how he came up with the idea for Microsoft and asked his friend Bill Gates to help him start the company. The book also talked about the many things Allen did after leaving Microsoft in 1983. This included helping build a special airplane called SpaceShipOne, buying sports teams, loving music, and supporting science. His book became very popular and was even on the New York Times Best Seller list. A paperback version with extra thoughts came out in 2012.

Death

Paul Allen was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1982, and it was treated successfully. Later, in 2009, he was found to have another type of cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which was also treated successfully. However, the cancer returned in 2018 and led to his passing on October 15, 2018, when he was 65 years old. His sister, Jody Allen, took care of his estate.

In honor of Paul Allen, several famous landmarks in Seattle, such as the Space Needle, Columbia Center, and Lumen Field, as well as many Microsoft offices across the United States, were lit up in blue on November 3, 2018. His longtime friend and business partner, Bill Gates, shared kind words about him, saying he loved life and would be remembered for his important work in technology and helping others.

Awards and recognition

Paul Allen received many awards for his work in different areas like sports, technology, helping others, and the arts. Some of his notable awards include the Collier Trophy in 2004, the National Air and Space Museum Trophy in 2005, and being named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2007 and 2008. He also received the Vanguard Award for his support of nonprofit groups and was honored with the Seattle Sports Commission Sports Citizen of the Year award, later named after him. Allen was recognized for his contributions to neuroscience, received a Super Bowl ring when the Seattle Seahawks won, and was inducted into several halls of fame for his philanthropy and support of various causes.

Honorary degrees

Allen was also given honorary degrees from several universities and institutions, including Washington State University, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Watson School of Biological Sciences, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.