Paul Allen founded the software group in 1975 together with Bill Gates. At the age of 65, he passed away because of cancer.

Death of Paul Allen

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died at the age of 65. This was reported by the company Vulcan Inc., whose founder and the chairman was Allen, on behalf of his family The technology pioneer, billionaire investor and owner of two US professional sports teams and well-known philanthropist died on Monday afternoon after complications from lymph node cancer.

Allen had founded the software company in 1975 together with his childhood friend Bill Gates. Only eight years later, after the founding of the company he left Microsoft, at that time the doctors had diagnosed him with lymph node cancer. Allen defeated the cancer several times, last one was nine years ago, but remained in poor health. According to US media, Allen had recently announced that he would be treated again for lymphoma cancer.

“My brother was a remarkable individual on every level,” Allen’s sister Jody Allen said. “While most knew Paul Allen as technologists and philanthropists, he was a beloved brother and uncle to us and a special friend.” Millions of people were touched by Paul Allen’s generosity and his tenacity to work for a better world, Volcan CEO Bill Hilf said in the statement.

Allen was instrumental in getting computer giant IBM an operating system for the first personal computer, which was MS-DOS, that laid the foundation for Microsoft’s success. The breakthrough Microsoft had made in 1980 after IBM had decided not to develop the operating system for the first PC, but to buy at the company of Allen and Gates.

Sources: Kurier.at