List of World's Richest People
Top billionaires reported by Forbes
Paul Allen
| Born: | January 21, 1953 (age 54) Seattle, Washington |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Chairman, Vulcan Inc. and Charter Communications |
| Net worth: |  $18.0 billion USD (2007) |
| Website: | paulallen.com |
Paul Gardner Allen (born January 21, 1953 in Seattle, Washington) is an American entrepreneur.
With Bill Gates, he formed Microsoft. Allen regularly appears on lists of the richest people in the world; as of 2007 Forbes ranks him the fifth richest American, worth an estimated $18.0 billion. He is the Chairman of Charter Communications, but he is no longer a shareholder in DreamWorks Animation. Allen was recently invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
Allen also owns two professional sports teams: The Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association.
In 2007, Allen was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.
He currently resides in Mercer Island, Washington.
Early years
Paul Gardner Allen was born in Seattle, Washington to parents Kenneth S. Allen, an associate director of the University of Washington libraries, and Faye G. Allen, in 1953. Allen attended Lakeside School, a prestigious private school in Seattle, and befriended Gates, who was two years his junior but shared a common enthusiasm for computers. Allen was a model student in his years at Lakeside School. They used Lakeside's teletype terminal to develop their programming skills on several timesharing computer systems. After graduation, Allen attended Washington State University, and was an active member in Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity, though he dropped out after two years to go and work as a programmer for Honeywell in Boston, which placed him near his old friend again. He later convinced Gates to drop out of Harvard University in order to create Microsoft.
Microsoft
With Bill Gates, he co-founded Microsoft (initially "Micro-Soft") in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, and began selling a BASIC programming language interpreter. In 1980, Allen spearheaded a deal for Microsoft to buy an operating system called 86-DOS (QDOS) for $50,000. Due to IBM deadlines, Gates and Allen felt that they didn't have enough time to develop an operating system from scratch; they therefore purchased the fully functional QDOS and reworked the code to fit IBM's needs. Microsoft won a contract to supply the finished program for use as the operating system of IBM's new PC. This became a foundation of Microsoft's growth.
In 1983 Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Before resigning from Microsoft to pursue medical treatment, Allen overheard a discussion between Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer regarding Allen's health and talking about how to get Allen's shares back if he were to die.[1] Allen's cancer was successfully treated by several months of radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant. However, Allen did not return to Microsoft and began distancing himself from the company.
In November 2000, Allen resigned from his position on the Microsoft board but was asked to consult as a senior strategy advisor to the company's executives. He further distanced himself from Microsoft by selling 68 million shares. He still owns a reported 138 million shares.
Philanthropy
Much of Paul Allen's success has been dedicated to health and human services and toward the advancement of science and technology. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation was established in 1986 to administer much of the giving. Through the Foundation, Allen awards nearly $30 million in grants annually. Approximately 75 percent of the Foundation's money goes to non-profit organizations in Seattle and the state of Washington. The remaining 25 percent is distributed to Portland, Oregon and other cities within the Pacific Northwest. Allen also contributes through other charitable projects known as "venture philanthropy". The most famous of those projects are the Experience Music Project, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence through the Allen Telescope Array. Paul Allen's total philanthropy as of 2005 is estimated to be over US$43 million.
The University of Washington has been a major recipient of Paul Allen's donations. In the late 1980s, Allen donated US$18 million to build a new library named after his father, Kenneth S. Allen. In 2003 US$5 million was donated to establish the Faye G. Allen Center for Visual Arts, named after his mother. Allen also was the top private contributor (US$14 million) and namesake of the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering (completed in 2004). Throughout the years, Allen has contributed millions of US dollars to the University of Washington Medical School, most recently US$3.2 million for prostatitis research.
He also has a flower fly named after him for his contributions to Dipterology (see Paul Allen's flower fly).
In 1993, Paul Allen funded the two-year lawsuit in which the family of rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix regained the rights to his music after the estate administrator allegedly sold them without permission. Allen has also funded the purchase of many Hendrix artifacts (including the guitar Hendrix played at Woodstock) and ensured their public display in the Experience Music Project exhibits.
Seattle real estate investment and development efforts
Allen is a key developer and investor in the controversial development of the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle as a biotechnology hub. This development has been criticized as a city-supported real estate investment for Vulcan Inc. Concerns over the loss of low-income housing are prominent. Allen has made investments estimated at US$200 million as of 2005, and has promoted for city funding of a "South Lake Union Trolley" from Seattle's Westlake Center to the south end of Lake Union.
Other investments
At one time, Allen's Vulcan Ventures owned TechTV, a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco, featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet.
Sports involvement
In 1988, Allen purchased the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team from Harry Glickman for $70 million, and was instrumental in the development and funding of their Rose Garden Arena in 1993.
In 1997, Allen purchased the Seattle Seahawks NFL team when former owner Ken Behring threatened to move the Seahawks to Southern California. He played a large part in the development of the new Seahawks' stadium, Qwest Field, although it was funded largely by tax revenue.
Since 2006, Allen asked Portland and Oregon officials for assistance in the financing of the Blazers, which he estimated would lose $100 million over the next three years. Portland Mayor Tom Potter rebuffed the requests. On April 2, 2007 Allen announced the completion of the acquisition of the Rose Garden Arena and at the time stated that this was a major milestone and a positive step for the franchise. "My efforts are focused on continuing to support the Trail Blazers and the long-term financial health of the franchise."
According to a 2006 issue of Forbes, the Blazers are valued at approximately $300 million.
On 27 April 2007, it was rumoured that Allen may launch a takeover bid for English football club Southampton. An apparent close source said "he believes there is long term investment value in UK Soccer. Southampton is a sleeping giant, a family-supported club with traditional values, and we see the value in taking the brand global." Allen has since denied those rumors and has expressed that he has no interest in making a bid for Southampton.
SpaceShipOne
In 2004, Allen confirmed that he was the sole investor behind Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne suborbital commercial spacecraft. SpaceShipOne was the first privately funded effort to successfully put a civilian in suborbital space and winner of the Ansari X PRIZE competition.
Octopus
In 2003, the launch of Paul Allen's 127m (416ft) Octopus secured its position as one of the world's largest yachts. Its current position is fifth in the List of motor yachts by length. Allen has two other very large yachts.
He is known for throwing huge, celebrity-studded parties on the yachts, such as a 2005 New Year's Eve party in which he and his band played Johnny Cash songs with RnB star Usher.