How rich was Paul Allen?

Bill Gates knows just about every child. But what about Paul Allen? The Microsoft co-founder and eternal single were not so well known in the minds of many people. Nevertheless, this American was one of the richest people in the world. This has also been confirmed by Forbes magazine, ranking Paul Allen 44th among the world’s wealthiest people before his death in 2018. His fortune could well be impressive. The purchase of a 23-million-euro property in Atherton in Silicon Valley on California’s west coast was easy for the entrepreneur and philanthropist. Paul Allen had an estimated 17.52 billion euros before his death (October 15, 2018). What will happen to his money is initially unclear. However, it is expected to go entirely to the philanthropist organization “The Giving Pledge”.

Great assets

His Mercer Island property is also worth over 15 million euros. Indeed, Paul Allen was very knowledgeable about real estate. After all, he sold an office complex to Amazon.com (CEO Jeff Bezos ) in 2012 – for almost 1 billion euros! His investment portfolio was also worth millions. Whether Gist or Evri, in this way, the entrepreneur can benefit financially from others’ good ideas. The American also had two professional sports teams – they were also part of the clever investment strategy and contributed to a steadily growing fortune.

In addition to the Seattle Seahawks, who play in the world-famous National Football League ( NFL ), Paul Allen also owned the Portland Trail Blazers, who play in the NBA. Allen had been a shareholder in Seattle Sounders FC, a major league soccer team, since 2009. Paul Allen owned three yachts, including the Octopus. He put this yacht into operation in 2003. At that time, with a length of 126.20 meters, it was still one of the world’s largest and most expensive luxury yachts.

The visionary Paul Allen – Microsoft

Whether as an art collector, businessman, or in his role as a team owner, his vision determined Paul Allen’s life. The media have already called him a “visionary of the networked world.” After all, by 2007 he had invested over 10 billion euros in precisely this sector. At the same time, the businessman doesn’t understand jokes when it comes to his intellectual property. Half of Silicon Valley has already sued his company. Apple, Google, Facebook, eBay, and Yahoo were also there.

That Paul Allen had such an impressive career in the IT world may come as a surprise to some, given his background during his younger years. Because he never graduated from Washington State University. But that was a good thing. Ultimately, he was able to devote himself to his role as a programmer fully. As a result, he laid the foundation for his current billion-dollar fortune shortly after graduating from high school.

It shouldn’t be long before the first company was founded with Bill Gates. The two friends jointly developed software for automating traffic counts. In 1973 Allen then worked as a programmer for the US company Honeywell. But that wasn’t enough for him. After all, Paul Allen convinced Bill Gates, one of today’s most famous billionaires, to drop his studies at Harvard College. Because this paved the way for Paul Allen and Bill Gates to found Microsoft jointly. The rest is history.