Not as well known as Bill Gates, but one of the founders of Microsoft: Who is Paul Allen?

Paul Gardner Allen was born on January 21, 1953, in Seattle, Washington, USA. Allen, whose father was the vice principal at the University of Washington Libraries, grew up in this city and began his education at the Lakeside School when he came of age.

Bill Gates was Paul Allen's best friend at Lakeside School. The duo had been interested in the software world even back then. They continued their work in the laboratory of the Computer Science Department at the University of Washington.

Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which helped spark the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Microsoft went on to become the world's largest personal computer software company. Allen was ranked as the 44th-wealthiest person in the world by Forbes in 2018, with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion at the time of his death.

At the Lakeside Programming Club, which he founded with Ric Weiland and Kent Evans, they found the software bugs of the Computer Center Corporation. The club's activities came to an end when Kent Evans died while climbing a mountain and the group went to different universities. However, this was not the real end.

While Paul Allen was at Washington State University, Bill Gates was at Harvard University and his conditions were much better. To pursue his dream studies, Allen dropped out and joined Gates. Shortly after, Gates dropped out and they set out to found the company of their dreams.

Microsoft company is born:

Dropping out of school and entering the business world, the duo founded the Microsoft company in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, together with Ric Weiland. Paul Allen came up with the name Microsoft by combining the words microcomputer and software. The company makes a quick introduction to the software world.

Microsoft made an agreement with IBM in 1980 and started working on the disk operating system that we call DOS today. Thanks to their work called QDOS, the path to wealth opens before them. Thanks to the BASIC programming language they have developed before, their work is unique. However, the disease is about to knock on the door.

Paul Allen is leaving active duty:

Although Paul Allen and Bill Gates are good friends, they often quarreled over business reasons and even claimed different rights over the BASIC language. After Paul Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 1982, his already shaky business relationship was severed and Allen left his active role at the company. However, he remained the company's chief technology officer and board member until Allen resigned.

Paul Allen, who made a huge fortune with Microsoft's public offering, founded Vulcan Inc in 1986, in partnership with his sister, instead of spending this money in a corner. It would be more accurate to call Vulcan Inc a holding rather than a company because there were many different companies that undertook different works under its structure.

Paul Allen leaves his mark on the business world with Vulcan Inc:

Vulcan Inc holding companies have made a rapid entry into the real estate industry. Then they stepped into the film industry with Vulcan Production. Football and basketball teams such as Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks, and Seattle Sounders FC were owned by Paul Allen himself.

Paul Allen did not only come to conquer the business world with this holding but also important charitable works were carried out in many fields such as education, health, and science through the Paul G Allen Family Foundation. Later, as their relationship got better with Bill Gates, they did many important charity works together. Since Paul Allen was neither married nor had children, he devoted his life to his work and foundation work.

Paul Allen is one of those who stare into space:

Paul Allen resigned completely from Microsoft in 2000, when he was not already on active duty. Spending millions of dollars, he founded the Allen Institute for Brain Science and later the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. These institutes, which made important studies in the field of science, were also pioneers in engineering and artificial intelligence studies.

Allen was the sole financier of the first privately crewed spaceplane, called SpaceShipOne. One of the biggest goals of Allen, who founded the Vulcan Aerospace company in the following years, was to reduce the costs of space travel and make it accessible to everyone. But the disease was progressing through his body, bringing him closer to the end.

Paul Allen has left us, leaving a great legacy in the world of science and engineering:

While dozens of companies, dozens of studies, 43 patents, and events led to lawsuits with giant companies, Paul Allen died on October 15, 2018, at the age of 65 due to septic shock due to cancer. When he died, he left more than $20 billion in wealth, and more importantly, companies and foundations that work with the same diligence even today.

We answered the question of Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft with Bill Gates and named the company and talked about his work outside of Microsoft. Maybe today's computer world would have been very different if he hadn't left because of his illness.