The other Mr Microsoft

Paul Gardner Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, officially becomes a senior citizen today, completing 65 years on January 21. Allen, who held 36 per cent of Microsoft when it was founded, compared to Bill Gates' 64 per cent, left the company less than a decade after co-founding it with his childhood friend, following diagnosis of Hodgkin's Disease, a type of blood cancer, at the age of 29.
Seen here with the co-founder of another iconic company, Steve Wozniak of Apple.

Allen went to start Vulcan, which is now his flagship venture with interests in real estate, science and technology, space travel, arts, entertainment and heritage. Contrary to popular belief that it was inspired by Star Trek TV series, Allen named it after the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Allen, whose net worth is currently $24.6 billion, is now believed to hold less than 2 per cent stake in Microsoft.

A man of varied interests, Allen has dabbled as a guitarist, forming his own rock band, the Underthinkers. He is also a collector of vintage aircraft, having restored and preserved several of them in his private museum. Unlike his co-founder Gates, who's not known for being flashy, Allen is said to enjoy the trappings of wealth, owning a few luxury yachts.

Allen's relationship with Gates turned frosty soon after the discovery of his cancer. He claimed in his memoir, Idea Man, that Gates tried to rip him off his stake in Microsoft during his treatment, which ultimately led to him moving out of the executive role. Allen's association as a Director with Microsoft continued till 2000. Allen and Gates apparently have patched up, as the former has donated $2 billion to The Giving Pledge, founded by Gates and Warren Buffet.

Allen's worth at the time Microsoft went public, in March 1986, was $175 million, which increased almost ten fold in the next seven years, propelling Allen into the ranks of billionaires for the first time in 1990. At 35, two years before he became a billionaire, Allen became the youngest owner in major league sports, after buying NBA team Portland Trail Blazers for $65 million.

Allen went on to buy two more sports teams - Seattle Seahawks, an American football team and Seattle Sounders, a soccer team. He also invested in more than 100 start-ups, most of which flopped, costing him not just money but also his ranking on the billionaires list. Among the successes was Dreamworks SKG, founded by Steven Spielberg, which later received investment from Anil Ambani owned ADA Group.

Allen, who has never been married, was again diagnosed with cancer, this time with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, in 2009, which he also beat - as he did more than two decades earlier.