Paul Allen

Paul Gardner Allen was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. In 1975, alongside his childhood friend Bill Gates in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Allen co-founded Microsoft Corporation—the software enterprise that catalyzed the personal computing revolution.

It was Allen who famously noticed the Popular Electronics cover featuring the MITS Altair 8800 microcomputer in Harvard Square and convinced Gates to drop out to build software for the nascent personal computer industry. Allen formulated the company's historic original name, "Micro-Soft," and personally engineered the 8080 microprocessor emulator and Altair BASIC interpreter that established Microsoft's inaugural commercial software success. He subsequently spearheaded the 1980 acquisition of QDOS, which evolved into MS-DOS, securing Microsoft's transformational contract with IBM.

Following his diagnosis and initial recovery from Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1982, Allen stepped back from daily operations at Microsoft while retaining a major equity stake. He channeled his immense fortune through Vulcan Inc. into pioneering scientific and cultural initiatives: founding the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), owning the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), and backing the SpaceShipOne commercial spaceflight project. Over his lifetime, Allen contributed more than $2 billion to philanthropic endeavors before passing away on October 15, 2018.