rediff.com
News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

Rediff.com  » Business » Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses
This article was first published 11 years ago

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses

Last updated on: May 21, 2013 11:39 IST

Image: Portland Trail Blazers owner and billionaire Paul Allen (C) talks to the team president Steve Patterson (L) in front of fans during the team's NBA game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Portland, Oregon, in this March 26, 2006 file photo.
Photographs: Richard Clement/Reuters

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen has constructed a $15 billion portfolio of tech, sports, real estate and energy investments, while giving to a wide range of philanthropic causes.


Not all his bets have been a success.

about his most notable hits and misses over the past 30 years...


Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses

Image: Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen watch an NBA game at Key Arena in Seattle.
Photographs: Anthony P. Bolante/Reuters

Technology

Microsoft-co-founders Allen and Bill Gates started off with a 64/36 partnership. Allen's share was worth about $30 billion at the company's zenith in 1999-2000. He now has only a small stake.

Asymetrix/Starwave/Metricom - his first projects after leaving Microsoft in 1983 never lived up to expectations.

Interval Research - Allen set up his own idea lab in 1992, but it was too unfocused to bring its ideas to life. He shut it down in 2000.

America Online - Allen dumped his 24.9 percent stake in 1994 for a $75 million profit. Those shares would have been worth more than $40 billion at the height of the tech stock bubble.

Charter Communications - Allen calculates he lost $8 billion on cable firms Charter and RCN in an unsuccessful attempt to buy into the internet delivery business.

Wireless Spectrum - Allen's advisers say he has made a "very large profit" investing in wireless and telecom tower infrastructure.

...

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses

Image: Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen (C) watches game with Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (R) and Trail Blazers president Larry Miller (L) during first quarter of NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in Portland, Oregon, in this April 18, 2012 file photo.
Photographs: Steve Dipaola/Reuters

Energy/raw materials

Vulcan Energy Corp - a unit of Vulcan Capital, invested $200 million in Plains All American Pipeline several years ago, and says it has generated $2.25 billion in returns.

Entertainment

DreamWorks SKG - Allen invested about $700 million in the movie studio in the 1990s, eventually doubling his money.

...

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses

Image: Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen enjoys a laugh while out on the field before the start of his NFC playoff game against the Washington Redskins in Seattle, Washington.
Photographs: Robert Sorbo/Reuters

Real Estate

Seattle's South Lake Union (SLU) - Allen has made a massive profit from renovating this dilapidated commercial area, boosted by the growth of Amazon.com

Sports

Portland Trail Blazers - The basketball franchise Allen bought for $65 million in 1988 is now value at $457 million.

Seattle Seahawks - Allen bought his hometown football team for $194 million in 1997. It is now valued at more than $1 billion.

Seattle Sounders - Allen is part of the ownership group of Major League Soccer's best supported team.

...

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses

Image: Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen celebrates his team's win over the New England Patriots following their NFL football game in Seattle, Washington, in this October 14, 2012 file photo.
Photographs: Robert Sorbo/Reuters

Cultural

EMP Museum - Pop/rock music museum in Seattle inspired by Jimi Hendrix and housed in swirling Frank Gehry-designed structure costing $250 million.

Philanthropy/Science

Allen Institute for Brain Science - inspired by watching his late mother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease, Allen has invested $500 million in this research institute.

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation - Run together with his sister Jody, the main arm of Allen's philanthropic activities focuses on the Pacific Northwest.

Universities - Allen has given millions of dollars to the University of Washington and his alma mater Washington State University, chiefly for libraries, medical and science research.

Allen puts his total giving at more than $1.5 billion.

...

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen's hits and misses

Image: Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen celebrates a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in their NFC Wild Card NFL playoff football game in Seattle, Washington in this January 5, 2008 file photo.
Photographs: Robert Sorbo/Reuters

Aerospace

SpaceShipOne - An Allen-funded team won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize in 2004 by sending the first privately built manned rocket into space.

Stratolaunch Systems - Allen set up this new company to ferry people and cargo into space. First flight of the launch aircraft is slated for 2016.

Sources: Paul Allen's memoir 'Idea Man', SEC filings, Microsoft, Forbes magazine, company reports. (Reporting by Bill Rigby)

 


Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.