Microsoft Co-Founder and Seattle Area Sports Owner Paul Allen Dead at 65 From Cancer

On Wednesday, October 15, the world of technology and major league sports lost a business icon and philanthropist, as Microsoft co-founder and major league sports owner Paul Allen died at the age of 65 from complications of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a severe type of blood cancer.

Allen, who was treated for the disease previously, signed The Giving Pledge in 2010, in which more than half of his own personal wealth will go to charity and/or philanthropy of his choice.

In 1975, at 22 years old, Allen co-founded the future computer software and hardware technology giant with Bill Gates, who he met early in life as a teenager during their private school days in Seattle.

Allen left Microsoft in 1982 after being diagnosed with cancer. However, his condition did not stop his own business and philanthropic ventures with starting his own private investment firm, Vulcan Inc., and founding non-profit scientific research organizations such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Institute for Cell Science.

Also, Allen gave more than $100 million to fund the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. A native of Seattle, Allen was the previous owner of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team and the Portland Trail Blazers NBA basketball team as well as part-owner of the Seattle Sounders FC MLS soccer team.