Photo: Miles Harris / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Paul Allen is one of those figures who gets perpetually undersold by his own origin story — yes, he co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates back in 1975, and yes, that alone would cement anyone's legacy, but what I find genuinely fascinating is everything he did after stepping away from the company in 1983. The guy won a Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, funded the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, bankrolled SpaceShipOne through his Vulcan Ventures, owned the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, jammed guitar in a rock band, and quietly poured billions into neuroscience research. He didn't cash out and disappear — he turned curiosity itself into a career. Losing him at 65 in 2018 felt like the universe snatching away someone who was only just hitting his philanthropic stride.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Paul Allen
- Name (Japanese)
- ポール・アレン
- Reading
- ぽーる・あれん
- Born
- January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Snake
- Origin
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Occupation
- inventor / computer scientist / film producer / musician / entrepreneur
2. Background
- University
- Washington State University
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Paul Allen born?
January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018.
Where is Paul Allen from?
Paul Allen is from Seattle, Washington, United States.
What does Paul Allen do?
Paul Allen works as inventor, computer scientist, film producer, musician, entrepreneur.
Inventor — see all → · Computer scientist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.