In 2000, Forbes ranked Paul Allen as the third-wealthiest person in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $36 billion. Allen was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 21, 1953, and attended Lakeside High School there, where he was friends with Bill Gates. Gates and Allen co-founded Microsoft in 1975, after Allen left his job as a programmer at Boston-based Honeywell. Allen served as Micro-soft's head of research and new product development. According to his Web page (www.paulallen.com), Allen helped to engineer many of Microsoft's most successful products, including MS-DOS, Word, Windows, and the Microsoft Mouse.
Allen left Microsoft in 1983 to battle Hodgkin's disease, a battle he apparently won. In 1985 he founded his own software company, Asymetrix (subsequently renamed Click2learn.com), and in 1986 established Vulcan Northwest Inc. and Vulcan Ventures. Today, Vulcan Northwest manages Allen's personal and professional endeavors, including the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundations, Vulcan Ventures Inc., First & Goal Inc., Experience Music Project, Entertainment Properties Inc., and others. Vulcan Ventures is Allen's investment capital firm, through which he has invested in nearly 150 companies, many of which are involved in high technology, e-commerce, media, and entertainment.
Allen's other interests include sports and music. He plays in a rock band called Grown Men. His interest in the life and music of Jimi Hendrix led him to create the Experience Music Project in Seattle, which opened its doors in 2000. Following his passion for sports, Allen purchased the Portland Trail Blazers professional basketball team in 1988, and in 1997 exercised his option to buy the Seattle Seahawks professional football team. In 2000 he acquired The Sporting News, which had been publishing sports news for 114 years, from the Times Mirror Co.
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