Paul Gardner Allen (born January 21, 1953) is an American business magnate, investor and philanthropist, best known as the co-founder, with Bill Gates, of Microsoft Corporation.
Growing up in the Northwest, Paul G. Allen’s passion for football was kindled at a young age while attending University of Washington football games with his father. As the years passed, he developed a fondness for the Seattle Seahawks, his hometown NFL team. After purchasing the franchise in 1997, Allen set his sights on creating a playoff-caliber team and building a world-class, multifunctional stadium for the state of Washington.
“From the beginning of this process, my goals have been to work with the community to create a lasting asset for our future and to ensure the long-term success of the Seahawks,” said Allen when he purchased the franchise.
Both goals have been realized. CenturyLink Field & CenturyLink Field Event Center, which opened in 2002 as Seahawks Stadium and Exhibition Center, is a world-class facility that many argue is the best stadium in the NFL. In addition to Seahawks games, the venue hosts more than 300 events annually, including Major League Soccer matches, Supercross, concerts, graduation ceremonies and trade shows. The stadium’s unique architecture – combined with the passion of the Seahawks’ fan base – provides a definite home-field advantage: fans at CenturyLink Field have set the Guinness World Record for noise at an outdoor stadium on two separate occasions and the stadium has seen more false starts by opposing quarterbacks than any other venue in the NFL. The fans’ ardent support of their team has also caused multiple registered seismic events in recent years.
Allen’s ownership style is simple: he does what it takes to put the right people in the right place, provides them with tools for success and then lets them do their jobs. His approach has paid off: The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014.
“Look around at the 12th Man flags flying today and savor a moment that Seahawks fans have been waiting for since 1976,” said Allen at the Seahawks’ championship celebration. “I can’t say how proud I am that the Seahawks are able to bring the Vince Lombardi Trophy home to Seattle.”
Allen has spent his career tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Through both for-profit and philanthropic investments, he has sparked important developments and innovations in the areas of science, technology, education, conservation, the arts and community improvement. Mr. Allen first made his mark in 1975, when he co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, and he continues to be an innovator in the world of business and technology to this day. Mr. Allen is founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., which oversees his philanthropic and business interests, he owns the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers and is part of the primary ownership group for Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle’s Major League Soccer team.
With lifetime giving totaling more than $1.5 billion, Mr. Allen is one of the world’s leading philanthropists; he has pledged to donate the majority of his fortune to charity. Most of Mr. Allen’s giving is channeled through The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which supports innovative initiatives that have the potential to make significant, measureable impacts, but he also gives directly, including a $26 million gift to Washington State University’s School for Global Animal Health in 2010.
In addition to his business and philanthropic efforts, Mr. Allen has a true love of science. In 2003, he created the Allen Institute for Brain Science to accelerate understanding of the human brain. The Institute has generated groundbreaking online public resources, including interactive atlases of the mouse and human brains that have become indispensable research tools for scientists worldwide. In 2012, Mr. Allen pledged $300 million to significantly expand the Institute’s scientific programs. In 2013, he launched the Allen Institute for the Artificial Intelligence to explore critical questions in AI.
Growing up in the era of the Space Race, Mr. Allen has always been intrigued by the possibilities presented by space exploration. Mr. Allen underscored his passion for rocketry by sponsoring the development of SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded spacecraft to successfully enter suborbital space. In 2011, Mr. Allen got back into the space business with the formation of Stratolaunch Systems, an organization which is developing an innovative airborne launch system.
Mr. Allen is also one of the great conservationists of our time. Responding to the highest rate of elephant mortality in history, he is advancing The Great Elephant Census, the largest pan-African aerial survey since the 1970s, which will provide new information critical to the species’ future survival.
Mr. Allen is the founder of the EMP Museum, Seattle’s critically acclaimed interactive music, pop culture and science fiction museum; the Flying Heritage Collection, a collection of rare WWII aircraft and artifacts restored to working condition; the Living Computer Museum, a collection of restored vintage timesharing computer equipment; and Vulcan Productions, the award-winning media company that develops and supports media projects that help audiences understand and respond to challenges facing the world around them.
Early life and career
Paul Allen was born in Seattle, Washington, to parents Kenneth Samuel Allen, an associate director of the University of Washington libraries, and Edna Faye (née Gardner) Allen,
on January 21, 1953. Allen attended Lakeside School, a private school in Seattle, and befriended Bill Gates, who was almost three years younger and shared a common enthusiasm
for computers. They used Lakeside's Teletype terminal to develop their programming skills on several time-sharing computer systems. After earning a perfect score of 1600
on the SAT (pre-1995 scale), Allen went to Washington State University, where he joined Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, but dropped out after two years in order to work as a
programmer for Honeywell in Boston, placing him near his old friend again. Allen later convinced Gates to drop out of Harvard University in order to create Microsoft.
Microsoft
Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, and began marketing a BASIC programming language interpreter. Allen came up with the original
name of "Micro-Soft," as recounted in a 1995 Fortune magazine article. In 1980, after promising to deliver IBM a Disk Operating System (DOS) they had not yet developed for
the Intel 8088-based IBM PC, Allen spearheaded a deal for Microsoft to purchase a Quick and Dirty Operating System (QDOS) written by Tim Paterson who, at the time, was employed
at Seattle Computer Products. As a result of this transaction, Microsoft was able to secure a contract to supply the DOS that would eventually run on IBM's PC line. This
contract with IBM was the watershed in Microsoft history that led to Allen and Gates' wealth.
Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1982. His cancer was successfully treated by several months of radiation therapy. However, he did not return to Microsoft and
began distancing himself from the company. Allen officially resigned from his position on the Microsoft Board of Directors in November 2000 but was asked to consult as a
senior strategy advisor to the company's executives and still owns a reported 138 million shares.
Recognition
Paul Allen has received various awards recognizing many different areas including sports, philanthropy, and the arts:
On March 9, 2005, Paul Allen, Burt Rutan, and the SpaceShipOne team were awarded the 2005 National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement.
In 2007 and 2008, Allen was listed among the Time 100 Most Influential People in The World.
In 2008, Allen received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Watson School of Biological Sciences.
He received the Vanguard Award from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association on May 20, 2008.
On October 30, 2008, the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors honored Allen for his “unwavering commitment to nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest and
lifetime giving approaching US$1 billion.”
In 2009, Allen's philanthropy as the long-time owner of the Trail Blazers was recognized with an Oregon Sports Award
Allen has received awards and honorary degrees from several universities. In May 1999, Washington State University bestowed its highest honor, the Regents' Distinguished Alumnus
Award, upon him. He received a Docteur honoris causa from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne on March 31, 2007.
On October 26, 2010, Paul Allen was awarded the W.J.S. Krief Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the field of neuroscience by the Cajal Club.
On January 26, 2011 at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Paul Allen was named Seattle Sports Commission Sports Citizen of the Year, an award that has been renamed the Paul Allen Award.
In 2011, Paul Allen was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
On October 15, 2012, Allen received the Eli and Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts at the National Arts Awards.
On February 2, 2014, Allen received the Super Bowl ring as the Seattle Seahawks won the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Philanthropy
Paul Allen has given more than $1.5 billion towards the advancement of science, technology, education, wildlife conservation, the arts and community services in his lifetime.
In 2010, Allen became a signatory of The Giving Pledge, promising to give at least half of his fortune to philanthropic causes. A report in February 2012 named Allen as
the most charitable living American in 2011; Allen's direct giving in 2011 totaled $372.6 million.
Scientific endeavors
Paul Allen has founded and provided support to many scientific endeavors, including:
Allen Institute for Brain Science: The Allen Institute for Brain Science is a Seattle-based non-profit dedicated to understanding how the human brain works. In total, Paul Allen
has donated $500 million to the Allen Institute for Brain Science, making it his single largest philanthropic recipient. Allen launched the institute in 2003 with a $100 million
donation, and contributed another $100 million after it completed the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas and other early initiatives. In 2012, Allen expanded the scope of the institute and
infused it with an additional $300 million pledge. The Allen Institute for Brain Science makes research tools freely available to the scientific community using an open data
model.
Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence: In fall of 2013, Paul Allen announced the expansion of Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a new research institution that
will be modeled after the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Allen Distinguished Investigators: Allen launched a grant program in 2010 to support scientists pursuing early-stage research projects who often have difficulty securing funding from traditional sources.
Allen Telescope Array: Paul Allen donated the seed money to build SETI’s radio telescope array, eventually contributing $30 million to the project.
Wildlife Conservation: Allen bankrolled a range of wildlife conservation projects in Africa over the past several years. Allen contributed nearly $10 million in direct gifts and
grants to African charities and projects, including protecting lions in Namibia, developing a migratory corridor for elephants in Tanzania, and protecting gorillas in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Paul Allen is a founding member of The International SeaKeepers Society and hosts its proprietary SeaKeeper 1000TM oceanographic and atmospheric monitoring system on all three
of his megayachts.
Allen has a flower fly named after him for his contributions to Dipterology, called Paul Allen's flower fly.
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation was established in 1988 to administer a portion of Paul Allen’s philanthropic contributions. Between 1990-2012, the Foundation gave away
$454 million, with the majority of the funds awarded to science and technology ($160.1 million), followed by arts and culture ($102.1 million), along with community development
and social change ($98.9 million) and diverse other causes. During that period, 59% of the Foundation's money went to non-profit organizations in Seattle and Washington State,
18% was distributed across other states in the Pacific Northwest, and 23% went to national and international organizations outside of the Pacific Northwest.
Museums and collections
Over the years, Paul Allen has established several non-profit community institutions that feature his private collections of historic artifacts. These include:
EMP Museum, a collection of rock ’n’ roll and pop culture exhibits inside a Frank Gehry-designed building at Seattle Center, established in 2000. The EMP Museum also
houses the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Flying Heritage Collection, which showcases restored vintage military aircraft and armaments primarily from the World War II era, established in 2004.
STARTUP Gallery, a permanent exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque dedicated to the history of the microcomputer, established in 2007.
Living Computer Museum, a collection of vintage computers in working order and available for interactive sessions on-site or through networked access, opened to the public in
2012.
The arts
An active art collector, Paul Allen has gifted more than $100 million to support the arts. On October 15, 2012, the Americans for the Arts awarded Allen with the Eli and
Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts. Allen has also loaned out more than 300 pieces from his private art collection to 47 different venues. In 2013, Allen sold
Barnett Newman’s Onement VI (1953) at Sotheby’s in New York for $43.8 million, surpassing its estimate of $30 million to $40 million.
Universities
In 1989, Paul Allen donated $2 million to the University of Washington to construct the Allen Library, which was named after his father Kenneth S. Allen, a former associate
director of the University of Washington library system. In the same year, Allen donated an additional $8 million to establish the Kenneth S. Allen Library Endowment. In
2012, the endowment was renamed the Kenneth S. and Faye G. Allen Library Endowment after Allen’s mother (a noted bibliophile) passed away.
In 2002, Allen donated $14 million to the University of Washington to construct the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering. The building was dedicated in
October 2003.
In 2010, Allen announced a gift of $26 million to build the Paul G. Allen School of Global Animal Health at Washington State University, his alma mater. The gift is the largest
private donation in the university’s history.
Business holdings and investments
Financial and technology
Vulcan Capital is the investment-arm of Allen's Seattle-based Vulcan Inc., which manages his personal fortune. In 2013, Allen opened a new Vulcan Capital office in Palo Alto,
California to focus on making new investments in emerging technology and internet companies. Recent investments include Redfin, Decide.com and Audience Inc.
Patents: Paul Allen holds 43 patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Apps: Allen is the backer of A.R.O., the startup behind the mobile app Saga; SportStream, a social app for sports fans; and a content-management app called Fayve.
Interval Research Corporation: In 1992, Allen and David Liddle co-founded Interval Research Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based laboratory and new business incubator that was
dissolved in 2000 after generating over 300 patents, four of which were the subject of Allen's August 2010 patent infringement lawsuit against AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook,
Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo!, and YouTube.
Ticketmaster: In 1993, Paul Allen invested $243 million to acquire 80% of Ticketmaster. In 1997, Home Shopping Network acquired 47.5% of Allen's stock for $209 million worth of
HSN stock.
Aerospace and defense
Allen confirmed that he was the sole investor behind Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne suborbital commercial spacecraft on October 4, 2004. SpaceShipOne climbed
to an altitude of 377,591 feet (115,090 m) and was the first privately funded effort to successfully put a civilian in suborbital space. It won the Ansari X Prize competition
and received the $10 million prize.
On December 13, 2011, Allen announced the creation of Stratolaunch Systems. Stratolaunch is a proposed orbital launch system consisting of a dual-bodied, 6 engine jet aircraft,
capable of carrying a rocket to high altitude; the rocket would then separate from its carrier aircraft and fire its own engines to complete its climb into orbit. If successful,
this project would be the first wholly privately funded space transport system. Stratolanch, which is partnering with Orbital Sciences Corporation and Scaled Composites, is
intended to launch in inclement weather, fly without worrying about the availability of launch pads and to operate from different locations. Stratolaunch plans to ultimately
host six to ten missions per year.
Real estate
Allen's Vulcan Real Estate division is a key property developer and investor in the development of the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle as a biotechnology hub and
mixed-use community. Allen is also the largest private landowner in South Lake Union and owns nearly 2,600,000 square feet (240,000 m2) in the neighborhood. His holdings
company has a development capacity of more than 10,000,000 square feet (930,000 m2) of new residential, office, retail and biotech research space. The South Lake Union
redevelopment represents one of the largest urban revitalization projects in the country. Allen has made investments estimated at US$200 million as of 2005, and promoted for
city funding of the Seattle Streetcar line known as South Lake Union Streetcar, which runs from Seattle's Westlake Center to the south end of Lake Union. The Streetcar is a
public and private partnership made possible because of a Local Improvement District (LID) supported by businesses and residents along the line; it officially started
operation on December 12, 2007. This development has been criticized as a city-supported real estate investment for Vulcan Inc., and concerns over the loss of low-income
housing have been expressed.
In 2012, The Wall Street Journal called Allen's South Lake Union investment "unexpectedly lucrative" and one that led to his firm selling a 1,800,000 square feet (170,000 m2)
office complex to Amazon.com for US$1.16 billion, one of the most expensive office deals ever in Seattle. "It's exceeded my expectations," Mr. Allen said of the South Lake Union
development.
Venues
Sports & Event Centers: Allen invested more than $150 million in Portland’s Moda Center, which he now owns outright. He also contributed more than $140 million to help build
CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
Seattle Cinerama: Allen purchased Seattle’s historic Cinerama Theater in 1998, and upgraded it with 3-D capability and digital sound, in addition to interior and exterior
refurbishing. The theater is set to install the world’s first commercial digital laser projector in early 2014.
Hospital Club: Allen opened the Hospital Club in London in 2002 as a professional and social hub for people working in the creative arts.
Vessels
Octopus
The launch of Paul Allen's 414 feet (126 m) yacht, Octopus, secured its position as one of the world's largest yachts in 2003. As of 2013, it is 14th in the list of motor
yachts by length. The yacht is equipped with two helicopters, two submarines, a swimming pool, a music studio and a basketball court.
Allen has loaned Octopus, which is equipped with a submarine and ROV, for a variety of rescue and research operations, notably assisting in a hunt for an American pilot and
two officers whose plane disappeared off Palau, and loaning his yacht to scientists to study a rare fish called a coelacanth. In 2012, he loaned the ship to the Royal Navy
in their attempt to retrieve the bell from the HMS Hood, which sank in the Denmark Strait during WWII, as a national memorial.Octopus is a member of AMVER, a voluntary group
ship reporting system used worldwide by authorities to arrange assistance for those in distress at sea.
Allen is known for throwing huge, celebrity-studded parties on his yacht, such as a 2005 New Year's Eve party in which he and his band played Johnny Cash songs with R&B star
Usher. His band also played at another party he hosted during the Cannes film festival with keyboardist Dave Stewart.
Allen also owns Tatoosh, one of the world's 100 largest yachts.
Sports team ownership
Portland Trail Blazers
Allen purchased the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team in 1988 from California real estate developer Larry Weinberg for $70 million. He was also instrumental in the development
and funding of the Rose Garden in 1993. The Blazers were valued at $457 million in January 2013 according to Forbes, ranked No. 15 out of 30 NBA teams. Allen announced
the completion of the acquisition of the Rose Garden on April 2, 2007, and stated that this was a major milestone and a positive step for the franchise. In 2013, the Rose
Garden was renamed the Moda Center, a move Allen said "will allow us to enhance virtually every aspect of the fan experience."
Seattle Seahawks
Allen purchased the Seattle Seahawks NFL team in 1997 when former owner Ken Behring threatened to move the Seahawks to Southern California. "I'm not sure anybody else in this
community would have done what [Allen] did," Herman Sarkowsky, a former Seahawks minority owner, told The Seattle Times about Allen's decision to buy the team. "That was the
birth of the stadium, and the birth of the stadium was the lifeline for the club we know today." The Seahawks were valued at $1.08 billion in August 2013 by Forbes, which
says the team has "one of the most rabid fan bases in the NFL." Under the helm of Allen the Seattle Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in 2014.
Seattle Sounders FC
Allen's Vulcan Sports & Entertainment is part of the ownership team of the Seattle Sounders FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise that began play in 2009 at CenturyLink
Field, a stadium also controlled by Allen. The ownership team also includes film producer Joe Roth, businessman Adrian Hanauer, and comedian Drew Carey. Sigi Schmid, two-time
MLS Cup winner, is the team’s head coach.
The Sounders sold out every home game during its first season, setting a new MLS record for average match attendance and the most season tickets sold in the league. Seattle
Sounders FC is only the second expansion team in MLS history to win the U.S. Open Cup tournament in its first season.
Filmmaking career
Paul and Jody Allen are the owners and executive producers of Vulcan Productions, a television and film production company headquartered in Seattle within the entertainment
division of Vulcan Inc. Their films have received various recognition, ranging from a Peabody to Independent Spirit Awards, Grammys and Emmys. The films have
also been nominated for Golden Globes and Academy Awards among many others. Vulcan Productions' films and documentary projects include Far from Heaven (2002), Hard
Candy (2005), Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge (2005), Where God Left His Shoes (2006), Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial (2007), and
This Emotional Life (2010).
In 2013, Vulcan Productions co-produced the Richard E. Robbins-directed film Girl Rising which tells the stories of girls from different parts of the world who seek an
education. Globally over 205 million households watched Girl Rising during the CNN and CNN International premieres, and over 4 million people have engaged with Girl Rising
through websites and social media. Through the associated 10x10 program, over $2.1 million has been donated to help girls receive an education worldwide.
Also in 2013, Vulcan Productions signed on as a producing partner of Pandora's Promise, a documentary about nuclear power, directed by Oscar-nominated director Robert
Stone. It was released in select theaters nationwide June 12, 2013 and on CNN on November 7, 2013. A variety of college and private screenings as well as panel discussions have
been hosted throughout the country.
Writing career
Allen's memoir, Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft, was released on April 19, 2011. The paperback version of Idea Man, which included a new epilogue, came out on
October 30, 2012.
Paul Allen and the Underthinkers perform at the Allen Institute for Brain Science's 10th Anniversary Gala.
Musical aspirations
Paul Allen received his first electric guitar at the age of sixteen, and was inspired to play it by listening to Jimi Hendrix. In 2000, Allen played rhythm guitar on the
independently-produced and eponymous album Grown Men. In 2013, he had a major label release on Sony's Legacy Recordings; Everywhere at Once by Paul Allen and the
Underthinkers. PopMatters.com described Everywhere at Once as “a quality release of blues-rock that’s enjoyable from start to finish.”
