Paul Allen

Since 1950s , there are lot of things had been invented and discovered, just like the DNA structure revealed, the transistors invented and Grace Hopper Invents the Computer Compiler that helps to fill the gap between computer programmers and business. They had contributed their life to have a meaningful works in order to clear the scars left in the World War II. Many mathematicians and scientists work hard to invent a machine that performs a task or such as arithmetic computations. So the machine named Computer, a machine that can computes through a sets of programs. Now, are in this modern generation because of many brilliant minds joined together to make our living easier and efficient. One of them is the creators of the Apple Inc., Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak. They have successful inventions like Apple II, but just like any other companies, the Apple Inc. faced financial woes in the 1990s. That leads Steven Jobs no choice to persuaded longtime rival company, Microsoft to invest millions of dollars in order to stay in competition.

The Microsoft Corporation is the largest computer software company in the world founded by Bill Gates with partnership with his high school friend Paul Allen. They are both born in Seattle, Washington and attended in the same school, the Lakeside School, where they had met. Paul Allen is born on January 21, 1953 three years older than Bill Gates with whom he shared his enthusiasm in the computers. After in Paul Allen graduated in high school, he went to Washington State University, but left the college in 1974 and moved in Boston, Massachusetts. He works in Honeywell, Inc., a leading manufacturer of automation and control systems. Gates was enrolled at Harvard University, but Allen persuaded him to work also in Honeywell as a programmer. The two developed a workable version of BASIC programming for the first personal computer, Altair 8800. They began their business and Allen came up with the name of Microsoft but at the same time, Allen joined the Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS) as the Director of Software. They moved in Albuquerque, New Mexico where the Altair is manufactured. Allen purchased the Quick and Dirty Operating System by Tim Paterson and they have reinvented it. They released MS-DOS operating system that became highly successful, which eventually used for IBMs PC line. They had made contract with IBM which led the two founders of Microsofts wealth and success. Allen contributes a lot to develop some of the companys most innovative and the most popular products, including the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Word application and also the Microsoft Mouse. Paul Allen resigned to his position at Microsoft after he found out that he had a Hodgkins disease, a form of cancer. But he remained on the company as one of the board of directors. In the late 1990s, the stock of Microsoft enormously increased and making Allen one of the richest man in the world. Today, he is in 21th place in the Forbes 400 having estimated net worth 18.6 billion dollars.

If Bill Gates is known to be the “man of action”, Paul Allen is known as “idea man”, after his health restored due to several months of radiation treatment, he start to concentrate to other projects just like the company that he set ups to find and develops solutions for the better living in this cruel world, the Vulcan Ventures. The Vulcan Ventures helps to research possible investments. Allen invests not only in Internet businesses like Starwave but also in the Cable industries. He purchased the Marcus Cable and a 90% of the shares in the Charter Communication. The Microsoft Corporation is located at the Seattle, Paul Allen loves the Seattle so when he heard about the closing of Cinerama Theater in Seattle, he doesn’t hesitated to buy it and upgraded. Allen also fan of sports, he purchased a NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks in 1996 and because of that the Seahawks won three times in Super Bowl and also won three NFC Championships. Allen also owns a professional basketball team, Portland Trail Blazers in 1988. He also supports the development and funding of the Moda Center where the said team plays, and later on, he purchased it. And even in the world of soccer, Allen also partly owns in the ownership team of the Seattle Sounders FC and also the stadium controlled by Paul Allen. He also has a passion in the aviation, because he has a collection of flying vintage airplanes, tanks and artifacts from World War II in working condition. He has also interested in flight, in fact he funded Space-ship One. It is the first private aircraft to put a civilian in suborbital space. From the vintage airplanes to museums, he funds an art museum, the EMP Museum. And also, he owns a Living Computer Museum featuring vintage computers and some of restored cars from 1960’s.

Mr. Allen goes to Environment and Conservations; He contributes million to grants a range of wildlife projects and Charities. He address about illegal trafficking of endangered species and ensuring to continuing the generation of wild animals. Allen funds more than 7 million dollars for the census that surveying the elephants in Savannah Elephants. He also established the Paul G. Allen Foundation that supports his philanthropic contributions, and community services. He has donated a hundred millions of dollars to the Allens Institute for Brain Science tackling how the human brain works and also in making advanced research tools for the scientific community. He founded also the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence focusing in engineering and researching about artificial intelligence. Lately, in 2014, Mr. Paul Allen helps to fight the epidemic of Ebola Virus in the Western Africa, and supporting other Organizations such as UNICEF and World Food Program to prevent the future widespread outbreaks of the Ebola virus. He’s not forgetting his Alma Mater, the University of Washington, by constructing the Allen Library, donated a building, the Paul Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering and later this year he donated over 10 million dollars for the Allen Discovery Centers at Tuff and Stanford University. He is one multi – talented mogul. He is musician, he plays lead guitarist in a Seattle band named Grown Men. When he first saw Jimi Hendrix perform, he inspired to play and so the band released their first album in 2000. At the early age, he and his friend Gates, they are both dropped out from the college. Even their dropped out, they became one of the successful companies. They dedicated their life to work an innovative thing for more efficient living. The legacy of Paul Allen does not end in the Microsoft Corporation. After four decades in Microsoft, being a businessman and investors. Allen never stops to explore the edge of technology and human intelligence. And also he remembered where he came from. He remains committed to share the majority of his fortune. In fact because of the will to change the world, he never met his forever, he is not even married. That is why I started to idolized him.