Paul Allen
Born 1953 · Age 72
American businessman, computer programmer, investor and philanthropist; co-founder of Microsoft; founder of Vulcan Inc. and multiple research institutes; owner of major sports teams; major funder of scientific, cultural and conservation efforts.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Seattle, Washington
Paul Gardner Allen born to Kenneth Sam Allen (librarian) and Edna Faye (teacher).
Enrolled at Lakeside School
Begins attending Lakeside School (1965–1971), where he develops early computing interest and meets Bill Gates.
Befriends Bill Gates at Lakeside
Forms friendship and computing partnership with Bill Gates; they start programming together on Teletype/mainframe systems.
Banned from University of Washington CS lab
Allen and Gates had been using the UW Computer Science Department resources for personal projects until being banned in 1971 for abusing privileges.
Co-founds Traf-O-Data (early venture)
With Bill Gates and others forms Traf-O-Data to build traffic counters based on the Intel 8008 processor.
Enrolls at Washington State University
Begins college at Washington State University; joins Phi Kappa Theta fraternity.
Drops out of Washington State University
Leaves WSU after two years to work as a programmer at Honeywell in Boston.
Joins MITS and co-develops Altair BASIC
Works with Bill Gates and Monte Davidoff to produce Altair BASIC; becomes MITS director of software development and helps spark founding of Micro-Soft.
Co-founds Micro-Soft (Microsoft)
Allen and Bill Gates form Micro-Soft (later Microsoft) in Albuquerque, NM; Allen is credited with the name.
Secures QDOS deal that leads to MS-DOS
Brokered Microsoft purchase/license of QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) from Tim Paterson/Seattle Computer Products, enabling the IBM PC DOS licensing opportunity.
Microsoft incorporated in Washington state
Company restructured and incorporated; Gates becomes president/chair and Allen executive vice president & vice chairman.
Diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma (first diagnosis)
Allen is diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma; this precipitates stepping back from day-to-day Microsoft work.
Resigns from day-to-day role at Microsoft
Officially leaves active management of Microsoft (retains board seat and vice-chairman title); Gates offers to buy him out at $5/share—Allen refuses and keeps shares.
Founds Vulcan Inc.
Paul and his sister Jody establish Vulcan Inc., to manage his business investments and philanthropic projects.
Microsoft goes public — Allen becomes billionaire
When Microsoft goes public Allen becomes a billionaire due to his significant ownership (25.2% stated in sources).
Purchases Portland Trail Blazers (NBA)
Acquires the Portland Trail Blazers from Larry Weinberg; purchase price reported around $70 million.
Co-founds The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Establishes family foundation with sister Jody to administer philanthropic giving.
Co-founds Interval Research Corporation
With David Liddle launches Interval Research, a Silicon Valley lab/incubator; dissolved in 2000 after producing >300 patents.
Acquires majority of Ticketmaster
Invests more than $325 million to purchase ~80% of Ticketmaster.
Home Shopping Network buys part of Ticketmaster stake
HSN acquires 47.5% of Allen's Ticketmaster stock in exchange for $209 million of HSN stock.
Purchases Seattle Seahawks (NFL)
Allen buys the Seattle Seahawks (reported purchase price around $200 million) and helps keep the team in Seattle.
Purchases Seattle Cinerama theater
Saves and restores the historic Seattle Cinerama theater and upgrades projection and sound.
Acquires controlling interest in Charter Communications
Expands cable holdings by purchasing a controlling interest in Charter Communications (investment reported in various sources).
Experience Music Project (EMP) opens
Opens the Experience Music Project (later MoPOP) in Seattle; project cost reported in sources (~$240–$250M).
Resigns from Microsoft's board; becomes senior strategy advisor
Steps down from Microsoft's board but assumes role as senior strategy advisor to management.
Donates to University of Washington CS building
Gives $14 million to UW to construct the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering.
Launches Allen Institute for Brain Science
Announces the Allen Institute for Brain Science with an initial $100 million donation; institute later received ~$500M total.
Opens Flying Heritage Collection & Hospital Club (London)
Expands cultural and museum projects including the Flying Heritage collection and opens the Hospital Club in London (Hospital Club opened 2004).
Funds SpaceShipOne — wins Ansari X Prize
Allen is the sole investor behind Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne (via Mojave Aerospace Ventures); SpaceShipOne wins $10M Ansari X Prize and becomes first privately funded civilian suborbital craft.
Amazon leases major South Lake Union space
Amazon leases roughly 1.6 million sq ft from Vulcan in South Lake Union, kicking off Amazon's major campus expansion there.
Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Receives diagnosis and undergoes treatment; later recurrences occur in 2018.
Files major patent lawsuit
August 2010 — Allen sues numerous tech companies over patents financed earlier (related to Interval Research patents).
Launches Allen Distinguished Investigators Awards
Creates ADI program to fund early-stage, high-risk bioscience research.
Signs The Giving Pledge
Becomes a signatory of The Giving Pledge, committing to give away at least half of his wealth.
Publishes memoir 'Idea Man'
Recounts Microsoft rise and relationship with Bill Gates; generates public attention.
Announces Stratolaunch Systems
Creates Stratolaunch Systems (dual-fuselage, large carrier aircraft concept) based at Mojave Air and Space Port.
South Lake Union real-estate sale to Amazon
Vulcan sells a ~1.8 million sq ft office complex in South Lake Union to Amazon for ~$1.16 billion, marking a major real estate milestone.
Donates additional funds to Allen Institute for Brain Science
Contributes approximately $300 million more (bringing institute gift totals to roughly $500M) to expand research.
Ranked among world's richest (~2012)
Reported by HistoryLink/Forbes as the ~48th richest person in the world with estimated net worth ~$14.2 billion (2012 estimate).
Releases album with Paul Allen & the Underthinkers
Publishes the album 'Everywhere at Once' with his band the Underthinkers (released August 2013).
Launches Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2)
Creates AI2 to research and engineer artificial intelligence; modeled on Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Held substantial Microsoft holdings into 2014
As of January 2014 Allen reportedly still held ~100 million shares of Microsoft.
Pledges $100M to fight Ebola
Announces at least $100 million commitment to combat the West Africa Ebola epidemic and launches TackleEbola.org.
Commits $100M to Allen Institute for Cell Science
Announces a $100 million gift to create the Allen Institute for Cell Science to study cellular behavior.
Owns or funds major cultural, sports & science institutions
By 2014 Allen controls Vulcan Inc. investments including sports teams (Seahawks, Trail Blazers, Sounders stake), museums, research institutes and real estate; lifetime giving >$2B.
Stratolaunch partners announced; plans for operations
Stratolaunch partners with Orbital ATK and Scaled Composites to develop air-launch system targeting multiple missions per year.
Announces Vulcan Aerospace and related projects
Vulcan Aerospace (announced April 13, 2015) plans projects to reduce launch costs and enable on-demand access to space.
Awarded Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
Recognized for philanthropy including Ebola, brain research, and environmental conservation.
Launches Global FinPrint shark & ray survey and funds elephant census
Funds Global FinPrint (July 2015) and contributes more than $7M to the Great Elephant Census.
Smart City Challenge launched with USDOT
Vulcan partners with USDOT to launch Smart City Challenge with USDOT $40M and Vulcan $10M commitments; Columbus, Ohio wins.
Hosts Ebola Innovation Summit
Brings together key leaders at the Ebola Innovation Summit to share learnings and reinforce action.
Launches Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group
Announces the Frontiers Group with a $100 million commitment to fund frontier bioscience research.
Allen Telescope Array funding and recognition in science
Allen donated initial seed money to build SETI's Allen Telescope Array (total Allen contributions reported ~$30M); his name attached to scientific resources.
Discovers wreck of USS Indianapolis
Leads expedition that locates the USS Indianapolis on the Pacific seafloor (~18,000 ft deep).
Discovers wreck of USS Lexington
Expeditions led or funded by Allen locate World War II wrecks including USS Lexington (discovery reported 2018).
Announces return of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Publicly states that his non-Hodgkin lymphoma has returned and that he will undergo treatment while continuing work.
Dies of complications related to cancer
Paul Allen dies in Seattle of septic shock related to cancer on October 15, 2018.
Stratolaunch makes maiden flight (posthumous milestone)
Allen-funded Stratolaunch aircraft first flew April 13, 2019, becoming the largest airplane in history by wingspan.
Key Achievement Ages
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