Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has died
Paul Allen, the former number two man, co-founder and investor of the American tech giant Microsoft, has died.
On October 15, local time in the United States, a number of foreign media reported that Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, died of illness in Seattle at the age of 65. The spokesman said Allen died of complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
On the afternoon of the 15th local time in the United States, Paul Allen's sister Jody confirmed his death in a statement, saying that the Microsoft number two person was "a remarkable person at all levels."
Satya Nadella, the current MICROSOFT CEO, said Allen made "indispensable" contributions to Microsoft and the tech industry. Nadella also said he learned a lot from Allen, "As a co-founder of Microsoft, he created amazing products, experiences, and institutions in his own quiet and enduring way, and he changed the world." ”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Allen's death meant the world had lost its great technology pioneers.
In 1975, Paul Allen and Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft to make software for small computers, which eventually built the company into the world's largest operating system and technology company. The New York Times report mentions that it was Paul Allen who gave Microsoft the name "Micro-Soft".
Paul Allen left Microsoft in 1983 and became a venture capitalist. He has invested in a wide range of fields, including aerospace, brain science, and NFL teams.
Alan is also one of the richest people in the world. As of the afternoon of Oct. 15, he was ranked 44th on Forbes' 2018 billionaire list with a net worth of more than $20 billion.
He persuaded Gates to drop out of Harvard and co-found Microsoft
Paul Allen was born on January 21, 1953.
While attending Lakeside School north of Seattle, 14-year-old Paul Allen met 12-year-old Bill Gates.
In June 1975, Allen left Washington State University and, with Bill Gates, who dropped out of Harvard, founded Microsoft to design software for the coming personal computer boom. According to Reuters, it was Paul Allen who persuaded Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard University and then founded Microsoft, the world's largest software company.
The New York Times reported that when Allen and Gates founded Microsoft, their goal was to develop technology that would make personal computers widely available — one computer on everyone's desktop. Those small machines at the time were called microcomputers to distinguish them from bulky computers that occupied an entire room.
According to the New York Times, Microsoft's first product was a compressed version of the basic programming language that could be used on underpowered computers. Since then, Microsoft has made another major breakthrough: it has promised to provide IBM with an operating software system to help the computer giant enter the personal computer business.
At that time, Allen arranged for Microsoft to buy the operating system Q-DOS for $50,000, and Gates and Allen redesigned Q-DOS, launched MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), and installed it into IBM's personal computer products as operating systems, which quickly occupied the market after its release in 1981. The product became an important watershed in Microsoft's development history.
After that, Microsoft introduced the popular Windows operating system, which was designed to allow users to use the mouse to click on the screen icon to operate the computer, instead of typing commands. Microsoft has also introduced Office software for word processing, form and presentation production.
Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, called Allen a "truly wonderful, intelligent, inspiring person."
After Allen's death, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "Our industry has lost a pioneer, and our world has lost a beautiful power." ”
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, said, "Paul Allen's passion and persistence in creating inspires a lot of people. ”
Investor and philanthropist
In 1983, When Allen left Microsoft, which he co-founded with Bill Gates, he was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. But then he recovered and Allen became a successful venture capitalist.
Paul Allen, who entered the investment world, has a wide range of interests and has dabbled in a wide range of fields.
In 1986, Paul Allen founded his own media and communications investment firm, Vulcan.
Vulcan CEO Bill Hilf said in a statement: "Millions of people have been touched by his generosity, his relentless pursuit of a better world, and his drive to use his time and resources to accomplish his tasks in the best of his ability. ”
Paul Allen is also the owner of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, while owning a stake in Seattle's Soulrs soccer team, CNBC reported.
Allen is also an investor and generous philanthropist. According to the New York Times, Allen has donated more than $2 billion to nonprofits to advance science, technology, education, the environment and the arts. Allen funded research institutions include the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2003 and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in 2014.
According to tech media reports, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, founded in 2003, invested $500 million in nonprofit projects with the goal of providing scientists with the tools and data needed to explore how the brain works. Forbes reporter Matthew Herper called it the "Manhattan Project of Medicine."
After leaving Microsoft, Allen spent most of his time and work in Seattle, and he became the driving force behind Seattle's cultural institutions. The New York Times reported that Allen helped fix old-fashioned movie theaters to fit modern standards for watching sci-fi movies. Allen also hired Frank Gehry to design the Pop Culture Museum, which he founded in 2000.
In the 1990s, Allen bought a piece of land near South Lake Union with plans to build a Seattle version of Central Park, but the public ultimately voted the plan down. Allen then developed the real estate project into Amazon's headquarters, and Google and other tech companies opened offices in the area.
Paul Allen is also one of the richest people in the world, ranking 44th on the 2018 Forbes Rich List with assets of more than $20 billion.
In 2010, he promised to donate most of his fortune to charity after his death.