Paul Allen
Co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, and investor.
Miles Harris · via Wikipedia: Paul Allen · CC BY-SA 3.0
At his death in October 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth at $20.3 billion.[1] In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Gardner Allen, an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor, together established Microsoft Corporation.[1] Allen's sports team ownership included the Seattle Seahawks (National Football League), the Portland Trail Blazers (National Basketball Association), and a partial stake in the Seattle Sounders FC (Major League Soccer).[2]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Paul Gardner Allen
- Born
- 21 January 1953
- Birthplace
- Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- Died
- 15 October 2018
- Education
- Washington State University (dropped out)
- Known for
- Pioneer of the personal computer revolution with Bill Gates; Co-founding of Microsoft
- Years active
- 1972–2018
- Relatives
- Jody Allen (sister)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Allen was born on January 21, 1953, in Seattle, Washington, to a librarian father and a fourth-grade teacher mother.[3] While a student at Lakeside School, Allen formed a friendship with Bill Gates, and the two discovered they both had a strong interest in computers.[3] After earning a perfect 1600 on the SAT, Allen enrolled at Washington State University; he left that institution two years later to take a programming position at Honeywell.[4] Allen persuaded Gates to leave Harvard University so they could concentrate on Microsoft, a company they started in 1975 located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[4][5]
Following a diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma in early 1983, Allen stepped away from his daily responsibilities at Microsoft but continued to serve as vice-chairman on its board.[6] In 1986, Allen and his sister Jody established Vulcan Inc., a firm created to oversee his commercial and charitable activities.[6] On October 15, 2018, at 65 years old, Allen passed away due to septic shock that was connected to his cancer.[7]
What the cited sources add
A CNBC report from October 2018 states that Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and that his Vulcan Inc. announced his death in Seattle.[8] The same CNBC article notes that Allen ranked 44th on Forbes' 2018 list of billionaires with an estimated net worth of more than $20 billion.[8] The CNBC article quotes Bill Gates saying "personal computing would not have existed without him"[8] Allen's own memoir excerpt states that he and Gates considered "Allen & Gates" as a company name but rejected it because it "sounded too much like a law firm"[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "#21 Pito Allen – 2018 Forbes 400 Net Worth", Forbes; "Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer at age 65", CNBC, October 15, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Attner, "Behring straits – Seattle Seahawks owner Ken Behring", Sporting News, March 25, 1996; "Learn More About Larry Weinberg", NBA.com; "Seattle to Get Expansion MLS Franchise for 2009", ESPN, November 9, 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pogrebin, "Opening Paul Allen's Treasure Chest", The New York Times, September 23, 2022, p. C14; "Kenneth S. and Faye G. Allen Library Endowment – UW Libraries", Lib.washington.edu; "Paul Allen's Mother Dies at 90", Puget Sound Business Journal, June 4, 2012; "Timeline: Selected events in the life of Paul Gardner Allen", The Seattle Times, October 15, 2018; "Timeline: Selected events in the life of Paul Gardner Allen", The Seattle Times, October 15, 2018; Paul Allen, "Microsoft's Odd Couple", May 2011; Hannelore Sudermann, "Paul Allen, Welco en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: From the archives: Twin brothers both get a flawless 1600 on the SAT, but Long Beach seniors simply take it in stride Newsday; "Alumni Bookshelf – Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity, Incorporated", Phikaps.org; High-Tech Fraternity The New York Times; Paul Allen to give $26 million to Washington State University The Oregonian; Paul Allen, "Microsoft's Odd Couple", May 2011; Paul Allen: World's Sixth-Richest Man and Bill Gates 'Quirky Twin' ABC News (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Microsoft history", The History of Computing Project; Paul Allen, "Microsoft's Odd Couple", May 2011; Gates, "Bill Gates & Paul Allen Talk Check Out The Ultimate Buddy Act in Business History: The Multibillionaire Co-Founders Of Microsoft Sit Still For An Entire Afternoon To Tell Fortune's Brent Schlender Their Story And (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Leadership", Vulcan.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Paul Allen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Faulkner, "Paul Allen's Cause Of Death Revealed: Septic Shock & Immunosuppression", Inquisitr, October 20, 2018; "Stratolaunch, the World's Biggest Airplane, Takes Flight", Condé Nast Ars Technica, April 14, 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer at age 65", CNBC, October 15, 2018. facts only, no text reused. cnbc.com
- Paul Allen, "Microsoft's Odd Couple", May 2011. facts only, no text reused. vanityfair.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Paul Allen (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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