Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, researcher, film producer, explorer, sports executive, investor, author, and philanthropist.

At the time of his death, he had a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio, including technology and media companies, scientific research, real estate holdings, private space flight ventures, and stakes in other sectors.

[25] In 1972, after Evans' sudden death due to a mountain climbing accident, Gates turned to Allen for help finishing an automated class scheduling system for Lakeside.

[32] Allen and Gates formed Microsoft in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and began marketing a BASIC programming language interpreter, with their first employee being high school friend and collaborator Ric Weiland.

[35][36] As a result of this transaction, Microsoft secured a contract to supply the DOS that ran on IBM's PC line, which opened the door to Allen's and Gates' wealth and success.

[46] Allen confirmed that he was the sole investor behind aerospace engineer and entrepreneur Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne suborbital commercial spacecraft on October 4, 2004.

It is the company within Allen's Vulcan Inc. that plans and executes projects to shift how the world conceptualizes space travel through cost reduction and on-demand access.

[67][68] Stratolaunch CEO Jean Floyd offered this comment: "We dedicate this day to the man who inspired us all to strive for ways to empower the world's problem-solvers, Paul Allen.

[69] Allen's Vulcan Real Estate[70] division offers development and portfolio management services, and was involved in the redevelopment of the South Lake Union neighborhood immediately north of downtown Seattle.

[74] Allen purchased the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team in 1988 from California real estate developer Larry Weinberg for $70 million.

[82] Allen purchased the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks in 1997 from owner Ken Behring,[83][84] who had attempted to move the team to southern California the previous year.

Vulcan Productions' films and documentary projects include Far from Heaven[94] (2002), Hard Candy[96] (2005), Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge[97][98] (2005), Where God Left His Shoes[99] (2006), Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial[100][101] (2007), This Emotional Life[102][103] (2010), We The Economy[104] (2014) Racing Extinction[105] (2015) and Oscar-nominated Body Team 12[106] (2015).

[109] Also in 2013, Vulcan Productions signed on as a producing partner of Pandora's Promise,[110] a documentary about nuclear power, directed by Oscar-nominated director Robert Stone.

[127] He began supporting the University of British Columbia's Sea Around Us Project in 2014 to improve data on global fisheries as a way to fight illegal fishing.

[129] Allen funded the Global FinPrint initiative, launched in July 2015, a three-year survey of sharks and rays in coral reef areas.

[130][131] Allen backed Washington state initiative 1401 to prohibit the purchase, sale and distribution of products made from 10 endangered species including elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, marine turtles, pangolins, sharks and rays.

[136] Allen funded the building of microgrids, which are small-scale power grids that can operate independently, in Kenya, to help promote reusable energy and empower its businesses and residents.

The summit aimed to share key learnings and reinforce the need for continued action and support to reduce the number of Ebola cases to zero, which was achieved in January 2016.

[141] In October 2015, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced it would award seven new grants totaling $11 million to prevent future widespread outbreaks of the virus.

The auction also included paintings by Botticelli, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Jan Brueghel the Younger.

[178][179] In the 1990s, he purchased Rock Hudson's Los Angeles estate from film director John Landis and added the Neptune Valley recording studio to the property.

[184][185] On February 7, 2018, an interview by the magazine New York on their Vulture website, Quincy Jones expressed respect for Allen's talent, saying he "sings and plays just like Hendrix".

[188] Octopus is a member of AMVER, a voluntary group ship reporting system used worldwide by authorities to arrange assistance for those in distress at sea.

[191] Octopus was also used in the search for a missing American pilot and two officers whose plane disappeared off Palau,[192] and the study of a rare fish called a coelacanth, among many others.

In January 2016, it was reported that Tatoosh severely damaged approximately 1300 square meters of coral reef in the West Bay replenishment zone, Cayman Islands.

[195] In April 2016, the Department of Environment (DoE) and Allen's Vulcan Inc. successfully completed a restoration plan to help speed recovery and protect the future of coral in this area.

The book recounts how Allen became enamored with computers and, at an early age, conceived the idea for Microsoft, recruited his friend Bill Gates to join him, and launched what would become the world's most successful software company.

It also explores Allen's business and creative ventures following his 1983 departure from Microsoft, including his involvement in SpaceShipOne, his purchase of the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, his passion for music, and his ongoing support for scientific research.

[194][202] Several Seattle-area landmarks, including the Space Needle, Columbia Center and Lumen Field, as well as various Microsoft offices throughout the United States, were illuminated in blue on November 3, 2018, as a tribute to Allen.

[203] He was also honored by his early business partner and lifelong friend Bill Gates, who said in a statement: Paul loved life and those around him, and we all cherished him in return.