Paul Allen

Paul Gardner Allen (born January 21, 1953) is an entrepreneur who established himself by co-founding Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates. He regularly appears on lists of the richest people in the world; as of 2005 he is ranked by Forbes magazine as the seventh richest, worth an estimated $21 billion, of which $5 billion is in Microsoft stock. His investment vehicle, Vulcan Ventures, also holds large stakes in Charter Communications and Dreamworks SKG. He was recently invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Early years

Paul Allen was born in Seattle, Washington to Kenneth S. Allen, an associate director of the University of Washington libraries and Faye G. Allen. Allen attended Lakeside School, a prestigious private school in Seattle and befriended Bill Gates, two years his junior but shared a common enthusiasm for computers. Together they monopolized the use of Lakeside school's single minicomputer but in need of more computing power, Allen and Gates snuck into the University of Washington computer labs. They were caught but struck an agreement with lab administrators by providing free computer help to students. After graduation, Allen attended Washington State University, though he dropped out after two years to pursue his dream of writing software commercially for the new "personal computers". He later convinced Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard College to found Microsoft.

Related Topics:
Seattle - Washington - University of Washington - Lakeside School - Minicomputer - Washington State University - Personal computers - Bill Gates - Harvard College - Microsoft

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