News of Allen’s death sparked a windfall of condolences from across the pantheon of the business sector, as well as the sports world, where he’s also known as, ahem, a friggin’ 3 time Super Bowl winner, in addition to all that computer mumbo jumbo (please note: he did not catch the game-winning touchdown – he owned the team).
“His contributions to the world of technology and philanthropy will live on for generations to come,” Bill Gates, the other college dropout who founded Microsoft, said in a statement.
Allen had been battling lymphoma for a decade, according to a statement released by Vulcan, Inc., a company he founded to spend money on his various projects.
Allen was ranked earlier this year as 27th biggest fat cat in the universe, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, at a staggering net worth of around 26 Billzon. With a B. Enough ice cold cash to wipe out AIDS, malaria, and these pesky immigrants. The lion’s share of Allen’s bread, of course, came from Microsoft.
In his 2011 autobiography, Allen characterized his role at Microsoft as the “ideas” and “vision” guy, while Gates served as the nuts-and-bolts wonk who turned those dreams into reality. The two met as young shavers at a private school in Seattle.
“From our early days together at Lakeside School, through our partnership in the creation of Microsoft, to some of our joint philanthropic projects over the years, Paul was a true partner and dear friend,” Gates said. “Personal computing would not have existed without him.”
Source: NBC News