Paul Allen is a co-founder of Microsoft (along with some random dude named Bill Gates) and the owner of the Seattle Seahawks, and he has accumulated an estimated net worth of $16.2 billion. Here are five things you didn’t know about Paul Allen.
He’s a college drop-out – just like Bill Gates.
It turns out that both of the founders of Microsoft dropped out of school. Paul Allen went to Washington State University for two years before he left to become a programmer. However, like Bill Gates, Allen has shown that you don’t always need a college degree to be successful. His net wroth of $16.2 billion reportedly makes him the 26th wealthiest person in America.
He owns three sports teams.
Paul Allen isn’t just a tech guy. He’s also a big sports fan, so much so that he owns two other sports teams in addition to the Seattle Seahawks. Back in 1988, Allen bought the Portland Trail Blazers, but he’s not simply a fan of football and basketball. Allen also possesses a minority stake in the Seattle Sounders FC soccer team.
He’s pretty talented when it comes to the arts.
You would think that simply being the co-founder of Microsoft would be enough for Paul Allen but it hasn’t been. While he’s been enormously successful in the tech field, Allen has also shown his talents in music, television, and literature. He and his band, The Unthinkers, debuted their first blue-rock album, entitled Everywhere at Once, last summer, and Allen supposedly shreds on the guitar, even get a chance to play with rock stars like The Eagles’ Joe Walsh and The Pretenders’ Crhissie Hynde. In addition to his pretty stellar music career, Allen’s memoir, Idea Man, was a New York Times bestseller, and he also won an Emmy for his film company’s (Vulcan Productions) production, Rx for Survival–A Global Health Challenge. You could definitely call Paul Allen a man of many talents.
He gives back – a lot.
One of the most likable things about Paul Allen is how much he gives back to charity. He was one of the first billionaires to join the Giving Pledge back in 2010, along with his friends and fellow billionaires, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Allen has reportedly donated over $1.5 billion to charity. Plus, he has promised to leave the majority of his estate to charity.
He’s a cancer survivor.
Not only is Paul Allen a talented, intelligent, and charitable man, but he’s also incredibly strong. Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was younger but beat back in 1982, even though the disease forced him to have to leave Microsoft. 27 years later, in 2009, Allen found himself again battling cancer, this time being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He has undergone chemotherapy since the diagnosis, and so far, Allen, who is now 61, appears to be doing pretty well, despite the disease. “For those who know Paul’s story, you know he beat Hodgkin’s a little more than 25 years ago,” said Paul’s sister, Jody Allen, in a statement back in 2009, “and he is optimistic he can beat this, too.” We certainly continue wish Paul Allen the very best as he continues this battle against cancer.
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