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Inside Paul Allen’s Former Yacht on Sale for $90 Million

By Katie Schultz

The estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is offering the sale of his 303-foot-long superyacht , Tatoosh , for a cool $90 million, according to Dirt . If you’re thinking those stats aren’t impressive enough for the billionaire and tech magnate , well, you’d be right. Tatoosh , which is currently the 60th largest yacht worldwide, was just Allen’s secondary vessel. His main yacht, Octopus , sold last year for $325 million and stretches 414 feet long, making it the 20th largest yacht in the world.

As for Tatoosh , the recently-listed vessel was custom-built by German shipyard Nobiskrug in 2000 for fellow American tech mogul Craig McCaw before being bought by Allen the following year for an estimated $100 million. The craft was put up for sale shortly after Allen’s death in 2018, but was taken off the market for an extensive refitting that was completed last year.

The dining room aboard the ship. 

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Inside the vessel, 11 staterooms can accommodate up to 19 guests with access to a lengthy list of lavish amenities that includes a heated swimming pool with a hydraulic-powered mosaic floor that can raise and lower, a parquet floor salon complete with a limestone fireplace and a bar, a movie theater adorned in red velvet, a beauty salon, a gym, two helicopter pads, a sunbathing and diving area decked out with a blue-tiled spa, bulletproof windows, a fleet of jet skis, multiple 43-foot tenders, and a crew of 31 to oversee it all. The owner’s quarters include a private deck, two dressing rooms, and an observation lounge with a private galley, all spanning across two of the ship’s five decks, which are all accessible via elevator.

The owner’s stateroom aboard the ship. 

To maintain and staff the superyacht, which will be one of the largest yachts on display during the Monaco Yacht Show later this month, potential new owners will have to be prepared to pay $9 to $10 million per year in addition to the hefty price tag. Tatoosh is being represented by the Monaco-based yachting company Fraser.

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Microsoft Cofounder Paul Allen’s 303-Foot Superyacht Has Finally Sold

The late billionaire's epic art collection is also being auctioned off later this month., rachel cormack.

Digital Editor

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Watch: this sporty hybrid catamaran uses ai for greener cruising on the high seas, a legendary 36-foot cigarette powerboat is heading to auction this summer, the world’s first superyacht to use methanol fuel is now cruising the high seas.

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After nearly two years on the market, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen’s superyacht Tatoosh has sold.

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Built by German shipyard Nobiskrug , Tatoosh was first delivered to telecom exec Craig McCaw in 2000. Just one year later, Allen snapped up the steel-hulled vessel for $100 million. Named after a mountain range near the tech titan’s lifelong hometown of Seattle, Tatoosh has a generous interior volume of 3,229 GT and no less than five decks.

The exterior was penned in partnership with Claus Kusch, while the interior was brought to life by Terence Disdale. The yacht is full to the brim with amenities befitting a billionaire, including two helipads, a cinema with surround sound, a pool that doubles as a dance floor, a dive center with a pressure chamber, a beach club, a sauna, a beauty salon and even a basketball court.

Tatoosh can accommodate up to 19 guests across 11 staterooms, along with 31 crew. The full-beam owner’s suite features dual dressing rooms, an ensuite, a private study and an observation lounge with a bar offering uninterrupted views. Tatoosh is no slouch on the seas, either, with a top speed of 19 knots and a range of nearly 6,855 nautical miles.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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11 crazy facts about Paul Allen's $200 million superyacht

With an estimated net worth of $17.5 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford some expensive toys.

His 414-foot yacht, "Octopus," has to be one of the best billionaire toys around. 

Fully equipped with a pool, two helicopters, a movie theater, basketball court, recording studio, and accommodations for 26 guests in 41 suites, Octopus makes for an extremely luxurious escape. 

We've rounded up some of the yacht's craziest features here.

1. It cost Allen about $200 million to build.

Octopus is said to have cost Allen up to $200 million . Custom-built by German shipbuilders  Lurssen  over several years, it was officially launched in 2003.

2. It costs an estimated $384,000 a week to operate.

Yacht owners are expected to  pay approximately 10% of the original purchase price each year to cover basic maintenance and operations.

By that logic, Allen pays about $384,000 a week to keep Octopus in tiptop shape. That adds up to approximately $20 million a year, according to New York Social Diary .

3. It weighs more than 9,000 tons. 

Measuring a whopping 414 feet, Octopus is  one of the biggest private yachts in the world. According to Boat International , it was the largest when it launched in 2003, though yachts belonging to David Geffen and Roman Abramovich have since surpassed it.

4. He employs a permanent staff of 60.

Keeping such a massive operation running requires a lot of helping hands: captains, first mate, engineers, deckhands, in addition to chefs and stewardesses.

The yacht has 28 cabins just for the crew, the Superyacht Times reports.  

5. The tender — a boat used to shuttle guests between the yacht and the shore — is 63 feet long.

In keeping with the sea creature theme, Octopus' tender is called "Man-of-War." At 63 feet long , it's a decently sized boat itself.

6. It has two submarines.

Allen  has said  that Octopus is "less a Bentley than a Range Rover" because of the state-of-the art exploration equipment onboard.

Related stories

According to Vulcan , one of the submarines, called Pagoo, can dive for up to eight hours and accommodate 10 people. It's stored in an interior dock on the bottom of the yacht.

A second submarine, called the Octo ROV, can be remotely controlled and dive up to 8,843 feet. The ROV has been loaned out  for Google Earth's " Explore the Ocean " project and for a documentary on the Discovery Science Channel. 

7. A crew discovered a Japanese battleship with one of them.

In March, Allen announced that a crew onboard Octopus had located a WWII-era battleship at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines.

It wasn't the first time Octopus has been used for purposes beyond entertainment for Allen and his inner circle. In 2012, Allen loaned the yacht to the Royal Navy in an effort to find a bell from a British WWII-era battleship. The search was eventually called off due to bad weather.

Octopus is also a member of the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue, which means that it can be used to assist other boats in distress. 

8. It also has two helicopter landing pads.

There's one in the front and one in the back.

9. Mick Jagger has used the recording studio onboard.

A longtime fan of rock and roll — he built an entire museum dedicated to Jimi Hendrix memorabilia — Allen reportedly lent Octopus' recording studio to Mick Jagger when he was recording an album with SuperHeavy in 2011. 

Usher, Dave Stewart, U2, and Johnny Cash have all  reportedly performed onboard Octopus.

10. It has a glass-bottom pool. 

Other amenities include a basketball court, move theater, and a swimming pool with its own bar area. 

11. Parties Allen has hosted on the boat have drawn loads of A-list guests.

Octopus was built for a good time.  

Each year at the Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France, Allen throws an extravagant party  attended by actors, filmmakers, and supermodels.

Actors John C. Reilly, Jessica Lowndes, and Kelly Rutherford, as well as models Karlie Kloss and Melissa Bolona were all in attendance at this year's party .

Sharon Stone, Adrian Grenier, Russian actress Svetlana Metkina, and model Natasha Poly came last year .

Allen usually treats his guests to a live performance.

Watch: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

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Paul Allen’s Superyacht Finds Buyer After $278 Million Listing

219 superyachts were sold in the first quarter of 2021, more than double the number during the same period in 2020, says Vessels Value.

Microsoft Corp. Co-Founder Paul Allen Paul Allen. Photographer: Ramin Talaie/Bloomberg

Bloomberg — The late Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen’s 414-foot superyacht “Octopus,” last offered for 235 million euros ($278 million), has been sold to an undisclosed buyer.

The sale comes amid a record-hot market for the world’s largest luxury boats. A surge in personal wealth due to buoyant markets and a newfound interest in private, socially distanced leisure among the ultra-rich are driving unprecedented numbers of sales of both new and used superyachts.

Two hundred and nineteen superyachts were sold in the first quarter of this year, more than double the number during the same period in 2020, according to ship valuation service Vessels Value. Would-be buyers who once preferred to dabble in renting, or chartering, before springing for a purchase are now diving right in and buying. Smaller starter yachts are being bypassed for 100-footers. The sometimes sleepy secondhand market is suddenly pulsing as clients unwilling to wait a few years for a custom build prowl for deals.

Read our best stories in our English News section

Explorer yachts such as “Octopus” are a particularly hot category. Capable of cruising 9,000 miles without needing to stop for a refuel, they minimize the number of port stops and thus, opportunities for viruses to infiltrate the guests and crew.

Put on the market about a year after Allen’s 2018 death, “Octopus” was originally offered at 295 million euros, according to its initial listing. A third longer than a football field, it’s one of the world’s largest explorer yachts, capable of traveling beyond the traditional Caribbean and Mediterranean hotspots.

A spokesperson for Burgess, one of the superyacht brokers retained to market the eight-deck vessel, along with Fraser Yachts, confirmed the sale but declined to comment further. The new owner intends to make “Octopus” available for hire for the first time from next year through yacht firm Camper & Nicholsons, according to the SuperYacht Times, which first reported the sale.

Representatives for Camper & Nicholsons didn’t respond to a request for comment. Vulcan Capital — Allen’s family office — declined to comment.

The boat’s 13 cabins can accommodate 26 guests and it also has space for 63 crew members. Other features include two elevators, two helipads, garage parking for both cars and helicopters and an eight-person submarine. The yacht is worth $208 million, excluding the submarine and other specialist equipment, according to Vessels Value estimates.

Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975 and left in 1983. He turned his stake into a $26 billion fortune over the next three decades, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Through Vulcan, Allen acquired sports teams, real estate, art and invested in startups. Allen had no spouse or children to inherit his empire, though his sister, Jody Allen, is Vulcan’s chair.

Allen had a deep affinity for the German-built superyacht. When it was first delivered in 2003, Allen was overwhelmed by its size, according to his 2011 memoir “Idea Man.” At the time, it was the fourth-largest in the world, with the top three built for heads of state, he said.

“When I first stood on the bridge, I felt as though I was on a spaceship,” he wrote, adding that with features including a pool, basketball court, movie theater, a recording studio with ocean views, “all my passions come together in one movable feast.”

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Late billionaire paul allen’s yacht on sale for $326 million.

(Bloomberg) -- The late Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen’s 414-foot super yacht “Octopus” is on the market.

At 295 million euros ($326 million), the 414-foot vessel where the billionaire partied with U2 and Mick Jagger, and sailed to destinations from Venice to Shanghai, is listed at brokerages Fraser and Burgess.

Allen, who died in October at 65, co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975 and left in 1983. He turned his stake into a $26 billion fortune over the next three decades, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Through his family office Vulcan Inc., Allen acquired sports teams, real estate, art and invested in startups. Allen had no spouse or children to inherit his empire, though his sister, Jody Allen, is Vulcan’s chair.

He had a deep affinity for the German-built super yacht. When it was first delivered in 2003, Allen was overwhelmed by its size -- a third longer than a football field, according to his 2011 memoir “Idea Man.” At the time, it was the fourth-largest in the world, with the top three built for heads of state, he said.

‘A Spaceship’

“When I first stood on the bridge, I felt as though I was on a spaceship,” he wrote, adding that with features including a pool, basketball court, movie theater, a recording studio with ocean views, “all my passions come together in one moveable feast.”

The vehicle, currently anchored off Antibes, France, was far more than just a pleasure craft. Capable of scientific research voyages, Octopus was designed to venture into remote places.

The super yacht has gone through an eight-month refit, according to Fraser. There’s space for 26 guests in 13 cabins, and room for 63 crew members. It has two elevators, an eight-person submarine, two helipads and garage space for helicopters and an SUV, according to Burgess.

Fugitive Financier

One of the most prominent sales this year was the yacht formerly known as Equanimity, which was seized by Malaysia’s government from fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, a central figure in the 1MDB scandal. It was bought by local gaming giant Genting Malaysia Bhd., which paid $126 million. It’s since been renamed Tranquility and was rented last month by Kylie Jenner for her 22nd birthday.

Other than Octopus, Allen’s estate also owns the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks and the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers. The teams are worth more than $3 billion combined, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

At least half his assets were probably earmarked for charitable purposes after he joined the Giving Pledge, and an estate tax bill will apply on much of what remains as they’re liquidated.

Anyone buying Octopus is also getting a piece of popular cultural history. Jagger and Dave Stewart recorded tracks on the yacht, and U2’s preview for an album was so loud it burned out the speakers. Allen also has taken it for adventures that included what he described as his most memorable dive onto the deck a sunken aircraft carrier, as well as exploring an ancient Roman wreck in the Tyrrhenian sea.

“It’s less a Bentley than a Range Rover,” Allen said in the memoir, adding that “Octopus has realized every mission I had in mind for her.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at [email protected], Linus Chua, Steven Crabill

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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The superyacht of the late Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, has hit the market for a cool $90 million.

Allen, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 65 after losing his battle with cancer, purchased the vessel in 2001 for an estimated $100 million.

Named Tatoosh, it’s considered the 60th largest superyacht in the world spanning 303 feet wide.

It was last listed in 2021, before it was taken off the market for an 11-month retrofit. Tatoosh will be available for viewing at this month’s Monaco Yacht Show, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1. It can also be available upon request.

Pegged as “one of the world’s best super yachts,” it’s equipped with two helicopter pads, large tenders, a heated swimming pool, a beach club and a dive center, a cinema and an elevator servicing all decks, the listing states.

There are 11 state rooms in total that can accommodate 19 guests.

Stuart Larsen with Fraser holds the listing .

The listing comes as Christie’s announced that Allen’s billion-dollar art collection would be auctioned off, which includes 150 artworks spanning 500 years.

Meanwhile, Allen also owned another mega yacht, called Octopus, which spans 414 feet wide and was considered the 20th largest ship in the world. Back in May, the boat was listed for rent .

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Allen co-founded Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend, Gates, in 1975. According to Forbes, just before his death, he was ranked the 44th wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion.

Considered a recluse, Allen expressed interest in one day having a romantic life and a family, but ultimately never married or had children.

In 1982, he was diagnosed with Stage 1-A Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and was successfully treated after several months of radiation. He was diagnosed with the same cancer again in 2009, and was again successfully treated.

The cancer returned in 2018, which led to his death by septic shock on October 15, 2018.

“Paul loved life and those around him, and we all cherished him in return,” Gates said in a statement following his death. “He deserved much more time, but his contributions to the world of technology and philanthropy will live on for generations to come. We will miss him tremendously.”

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The amazing superyachts of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen

$300m of pure nautical grandeur.

Words: Josh Lee

The world’s richest men have some pretty interesting retail habits. It’s reported that Jay Leno, for example, owns just under 300 vehicles; John Malone , the single largest landlord in America, possesses around 2.2m acres of terrain; Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, however, sticks to splurging on yachts. $300m-worth of mega yachts, to be precise. And, with a real time net worth of $20.8b in his pocket, do you really blame him?

We dive into the specifics of his vessel collection.

Cost: approximately $200m. It was custom-built by German shipbuilders Lürssen (the company that crafted the Azzam, the world’s largest private yacht), and after several years of construction it was launched in 2003.

Cost of operation: on average, yacht owners tend to pay around 10% of the original purchase price each year for maintenance and on-board operations. By that logic, Allen pays around $20m per annum in order to keep his vessel in pristine shape and he currently employs 60 permanent staffers, including engineers, chefs and captains.

Accommodates: 26 guests in 41 suites.

Specs: this behemoth is 414-foot and weighs over 9,000 tonnes. When it launched, it was the biggest private yacht in the world. Even the tender – the boat that takes guests from boat to shore – is 63-foot long.

Comes with: pool, two helipads (one at the front and back), basketball court, recording studio (which was used by Mick Jagger in 2011), cinema, jet-ski dock, glass-bottom pool and bar. There are also two submarines inside: one of them, Pagoo, can carry ten people and dive for eight hours; the other, the Octo Rov, can dive up to 8,843 feet, can be remotely controlled and has also been used for a documentary on the Discovery Science Channel.

This vessel isn’t just for leisure: in 2012, the Royal Navy borrowed it in order to find a bell from a British WWII-era battleship. That same year, it was also used to search for a missing American pilot and two officers whose plane disappeared off Palau. Octopus is also part of the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER), meaning it can be used to assist other ships in hazardous situations.

Cost: Approximately $100m. It was built by 112-year-old shipyard Nobiskrug in Rendsburg, Germany and was finished in June, 2000. The design and construction was by Kusch Yachts. A year after she was constructed, Tatoosh was purchased by Allen.

Accommodates: 20 guests in ten cabins.

Specs: this gargantuan sea beast is 303-foot, making it the 43rd-largest superyacht in the world. It can go 15 knots while cruising and has a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

Cost of operation: approximately $10m a year is spent on upkeep and for running a crew of 35 members.

Comes with: a cinema, two helipads, custom 46 power and sailboats, shaded swimming pool , a saloon with a French limestone fireplace, a dining area, a master suite and five decks.

This vessel has caused some controversy: at the beginning of 2016, it was reported that the Tatoosh destroyed around 80% of a protected coral reef in the Cayman Islands. It’s said that the accident was caused by the yacht’s chain when it anchored near The Knife dive site. Four months later, the Department of Environment and Allen’s Vulcan Inc. completed a restoration plan to help to save the injured coral.

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What happened to Paul Allen’s billions, a year after his death? It’s not clear

• Updated: Nov. 29, 2019, 12:24 a.m. |
• Published: Nov. 28, 2019, 11:53 a.m.

• The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — Paul Allen intended to give away the majority of the $20 billion-plus fortune he accumulated as Microsoft co-founder, technology investor, real estate magnate and NFL and NBA team owner.

A little more than a year after his death, the course he charted for doing so remains a closely guarded secret, its execution a complex, high-stakes work in progress. Chatter earlier this month that Jeff Bezos was interested in buying an NFL team, possibly the Seahawks — which are not for sale, according to team sources — renewed interest in the disposition of the rest of the Allen empire.

The many, wide-ranging constituencies for Allen’s endeavors — from Seattle and Portland sports fans to connoisseurs of fine art and pop culture to nonprofits, real-estate investors and academic and scientific leaders — have questions: What will be kept and what will be sold? What form will the promised philanthropy take and what will its focus be? When will it all happen?

The answer to that last one, at least, seems clear: Not yet, and probably not soon.

Estate experts say it can take years to unwind holdings such as Allen’s — an expansive collection of businesses, investments, properties, world-class art and other eclectic and valuable assets. Then there’s the process of thoughtfully and effectively giving away what could be as much as $10 billion or more.

At the helm of it all is Jody Allen, trustee, sister and, with her family, sole heir. Jody Allen “has responsibility for preserving and implementing Paul Allen’s vision for generations to come,” according to a biography on the website of Vulcan, the business they co-founded that serves as the hub of the Allen empire.

Her specific intentions are unknown outside of a tight and protective inner circle. A Vulcan representative declined interview requests, saying “there are no updates to discuss.” She added, “Vulcan remains committed to tackling the world’s toughest problems.”

The expectations are great, based in large part on Paul and Jody Allen’s long and varied record of philanthropy — he gave away some $2 billion while alive — and contributions to the business, scientific and cultural fabric of Seattle and beyond.

Shannon Halberstadt, chief executive of Artist Trust, a Seattle-based group that supports artists with grants and advocacy, called Allen’s support “transformative for the arts community in Seattle. But if there’s one thing to criticize, it would be the lack of transparency and what to expect.”

If $10 billion were to end up in a single foundation, it would be the sixth largest in the U.S. today, said Jacob Herald, executive vice president of Candid, which provides data and services to philanthropies and nonprofits.

Since Allen died Oct. 15, 2018, at age 65 of complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, some things have changed in the multitentacled Allen enterprise. But for the most part, it’s business as usual.

“I wouldn’t expect to see very much or know very much. In an estate such as this, this is still very early in the proceedings,” said Douglas Lawrence, an estate planning attorney who works with high-net worth clients at Stokes Lawrence in Seattle.

Allen’s largest mega-yacht, Octopus, was refitted and put on the market for $325 million, as was a Beverly Hills development property and an estate in Atherton, California. But another large yacht, Tatoosh, as well as the rest of Allen’s globe-spanning private residences — from a villa on the French Riviera to Georgia O’Keefe’s home in New Mexico — aren’t for sale.

Two area golf courses, Willows Run in Redmond and Druids Glen in Kent, have been sold — though Allen was considering their sale as early as 2015. The costly Stratolaunch space venture shed employees, achieved the giant rocket-launching airplane’s first flight, and then changed hands, going to an unknown buyer. The Upstream Music Fest, begun in 2017, wasn’t held this year.

Meanwhile, Allen’s multibillion-dollar investment firm opened a new office in Singapore and continues pouring capital into new ventures. Vulcan Real Estate continues buying and selling properties, in the past few years with a greater emphasis on Bellevue. Allen’s research vessel, Petrel, continues discovering historically significant shipwrecks. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation continues issuing grants. The two research institutes Allen established in Seattle focused on artificial intelligence, brain and cell science and immunology are growing.

Perched on opposite ends of Lake Union, the institutes, with an estimated 650 employees between them, have “transformed the landscape of Seattle as a center of research in these fields, complementing existing organizations,” said Ed Lazowska, professor at the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

Vulcan Real Estate, which rebuilt South Lake Union and developed assets worth some $4.3 billion over the last two decades, is “the crown jewel of (Allen’s) business ventures,” said longtime Seattle developer Kevin Daniels.

Daniels and other real estate watchers aren’t anticipating a mass liquidation or diminished activity.

“It’s not a plaything. It’s not a toy,” he said of Vulcan Real Estate’s substantial holdings. “They’re a formidable competitor. I stay out of their way.”

The sale of cash-consuming assets, such as yachts or space ventures, is a standard part of cleaning up an estate “so that when the time is right, you can distribute cash, cash equivalents and other what I would call useful assets,” Lawrence said.

But that typically takes years for estates of this size. Estates have up to 15 months from the date of death, including extensions, to file estate tax returns. The executor must pay estimated taxes, which can run to 52% of assets not passing to charity. As a practical matter, major distributions often have to wait until after state and federal tax officials sign off, he said.

Allen’s will gives most of his estate to a living trust he established in 1993, with Jody Allen as trustee. Its provisions would spell out any specific philanthropic plans Allen made and could also potentially create additional trusts, direct any distributions to individuals and handle taxation.

“It all depends what that trust says,” Lawrence said.

In life, Paul Allen’s philanthropy was many-faceted and deep. He funded research institutes and tiny preschools, museums and housing, ocean surveys and responses to Ebola outbreaks.

He was among the first to take the Giving Pledge in 2010 — a billionaires’ pact to donate most of their wealth — but had planned to do so long before. People who worked with him said he would view investment decisions in part through the lens of whether he’d have more or less to give away at the end. They also said he sometimes made contributions anonymously.

One of the main channels for philanthropy is the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, set up by Paul and Jody Allen in 1988. It has since given away at least $575 million.

Philanthropy-watchers wonder whether Allen’s wealth will ultimately be placed in that foundation, a new one, or in some other structure. Several tech industry fortunes in recent years have been pledged for philanthropic purposes through limited liability companies rather than private foundations, among them the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan, and Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective.

“The big tech donors over the last decade or so have tended to put their money into a more complex structure,” said Herald, the Candid executive.

This structure provides wealthy donors with more flexibility to make investments, political contributions and otherwise engage in advocacy, as well as making charitable grants.

“Another interpretation is that they’re an attempt to avoid transparency,” he said. “There’s some truth to both of those.”

Beyond its structure, big philanthropy is coming under increasing criticism “as a product of inequality, which it clearly is, kind of by definition,” he said.

The Allen Family Foundation’s recent giving could be a window into its future, or it could be a mere snapshot of a philanthropy in transition.

At the end of 2018, the foundation had assets worth more than $931 million and made more than $48 million in contributions. Foundations must distribute 5% of their assets each year, on average.

Recipients range from a handful individuals given $200 for educational projects to $2.6 million for the UW’s Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, according to federal tax filings. The majority of the largest grants went to fund scientific and medical research at preeminent institutions, and to environmental causes, such as combating illegal ivory trafficking, inventorying sea life around the globe and developing climate models.

The foundation also funded Allen’s museums devoted to the histories of computers, military armor and aviation; a “smart city” program in Columbus, Ohio; improvements to a hospital cafeteria in Yreka, California; Mercy Housing Northwest’s construction of apartments for homeless families; and community development near a safari lodge in Zambia. (The foundation is also a funder of The Seattle Times’ reporting on homelessness.)

Some in the local arts community said the foundation’s giving has diminished since 2014, and hope it will again be a priority.

“That support before 2014 was major – it was one of the biggest grants we got in this region,” said Sharon Williams, chief executive of the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, adding that the organization hasn’t been invited back for funding since.

Arts-focused grants from the foundation in 2018 include $300,000 to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association for the Allen Elizabethan Theatre in Ashland; $125,000 to Performing Arts Center Eastside; and $100,000 to a five-year-old hip-hop artist residency program, a collaboration among Arts Corps, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and the MoPOP museum co-founded in 2000 by Paul and Jody Allen.

Halberstadt of Artist Trust said Jody Allen was “so supportive in the past when she was leading the foundation. … She was looking at the whole spectrum of arts organizations, the smaller and scrappier as well as the more established.”

In addition to supporting artists, Allen had a seldom-seen personal art collection that is considered world class.

“In terms of buying art, Paul was extraordinarily well advised and had an extraordinary eye for some of the greatest works of art that have ever been made,” said Benedict Heywood, who led a short-lived private museum, Pivot Art + Culture, that displayed some of Allen’s collection. He referred to a Lucian Freud painting in Allen’s collection that was “literally one of the most important pieces of portrait painting in the 20th century, in my opinion. … One can infer that the rest of his collection was equally great.”

Will those great works find their way to public display or be auctioned off to fund other initiatives? As with the rest of the Allen estate, that remains to be seen.

©2019 The Seattle Times

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'He changed the world': Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies aged 65

Bill Gates says he is "heartbroken" by the death of the friend with whom he founded the software giant in 1975

By Alix Culbertson, news reporter

Tuesday 16 October 2018 08:10, UK

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has died aged 65 from "cancer complications", his family said.

The billionaire was suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma and died in Seattle on Monday afternoon.

He started the US software giant with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975 and was estimated to be the 46th richest person in the world at the time of his death, with a net worth of $20.2 billion (£15.4bn).

Two years older than Mr Gates, he persuaded him to drop out of Harvard to start up Microsoft, after the pair met in the computer room at school in Seattle

His sister, Jody Allen, said in a statement: "My brother was a remarkable individual on every level. While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend.

"Paul's family and friends were blessed to experience his wit, warmth, his generosity and deep concern."

Some personal news: Recently, I learned the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma I battled in 2009 has returned. I’ve begun treatment & my doctors are optimistic that I will see a good result. Appreciate the support I’ve received & count on it as I fight this challenge. https://t.co/ZolxS8lni5 — Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) October 1, 2018

In a statement Mr Gates said: "I am heartbroken by the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Paul Allen."

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On 1 October Mr Allen revealed the non-Hodgkin lymphoma he successfully battled in 2009 had returned, but his doctors were "optimistic that I will see a good result".

Satya Nadella, the current head of Microsoft, said: "Paul Allen's contributions to our company, our industry and to our community are indispensable.

"As co-founder of Microsoft, in his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions, and in doing so, he changed the world.

"I have learned so much from him - his inquisitiveness, curiosity and push for high standards is something that will continue to inspire me and all of us at Microsoft.

"Our hearts are with Paul's family and loved ones. Rest in peace."

Mr Allen served as Microsoft's executive vice president of research and new product development until 1983 when he resigned after being diagnosed with cancer for the first time at just 30-years-old.

He never married, had no children, and was often considered reclusive, not wanting to be in the limelight.

Mr Allen founded Vulcan Inc in 1986 to oversee his diverse business activities and philanthropic efforts, from sports teams to conservation projects.

The keen sports fan owned the Seattle Seahawks American football team, the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team - which he bought when he was 35-years-old - and was a part-owner of the Seattle Sounders FC.

He was often seen at games or chatting in the locker room with players of the three teams.

Sky News is calling for an Independent Leaders' Commission to oversee and organise election debates.

In 2010 he publicly pledged to give away the majority of his fortune, saying he believed "those fortunate to achieve great wealth should put it to work for the good of humanity".

During his lifetime he gave more than $2bn to a variety of causes including education, wildlife and environmental conservation, the arts, health and community services.

Mr Allen founded the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Institute for Cell Science and Stratolaunch Systems, a space transportation venture.

In May he donated $1m to a gun control drive in Washington state called Initiative 1639, which calls for enhanced background checks, safety training courses, secure storage standards and raising the semi-automatic rifle purchase age to 21.

He was also a keen musician and in 2013 released a blues-rock album called Everywhere at Once, under Sony's Legacy Recordings.

Mr Allen and his band were famous for playing on his 414ft (126m) super yacht, Octopus, at the Cannes film festival every year - when singers including Usher and Dave Stewart would join in.

The boat features two helicopters, a submarine, a remotely operated underwater vehicle, a swimming pool, a music studio and a basketball court.

He loaned it out for a number of operations, including the search for a missing American pilot and two officers whose plane disappeared off Palau in the western Pacific Ocean, and the study of a rare fish called a coelacanth.

He also owned Tatoosh, one of the world's 100 largest yachts.

Paul Allen Biography, Age, Yacht, Wife, Family, Career & Net Worth

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At the time of his passing on October 15, 2018, Paul Allen was a wealthy American businessman, investor, musician, owner of a sports franchise, and philanthropist with a net worth of $20.3 billion. Paul Allen co-founded the software giant Microsoft, which is how he made the majority of his personal wealth.

Allen and Bill Gates, a friend from their youth, created the software corporation together. The majority of professional sports club owners are fairly affluent, but Paul Allen stands out as the richest of them all. The 34 club owners who made the most recent Forbes’ 400 Richest Americans list are led by Allen, who has a net worth of $15.2 billion.

Paul Allen Bio/Wiki

Kenneth and Edna Allen welcomed Paul Gardner Allen into the world on January 21, 1953, in Seattle, Washington. In 1959, Jody, his sister, was born. Bill Gates and he became friends while he was a student at Seattle’s Lakeside School, a private high school. They both had a passion for computers. Despite having a two-year age difference, they quickly bonded as friends and learned how to program and hack thanks to access they had to a mainframe system that belonged to their school. 

In a notorious instance, the school purchased what it thought would be a year’s worth of mainframe time, only to discover that Allen and Gates had used that time up in just three weeks. Shortly after, Allen started figuring out how to enter computer laboratories covertly and log in as an administrator. To acquire more programming time, Allen even pretended to be a graduate student at the University of Washington. He was eventually apprehended and expelled from the lab.

Paul Allen Personal Life

Allen was heavily interested in charity and donated more than $2 billion to organizations that support health and human services as well as the advancement of science and technology. The debut blues-rock album Everywhere At Once by Allen and The Underthinkers was published in 2013.

With friends like Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Allen plays some wicked electric guitar. The assets of Allen are held under a living trust that he created in 1993.

Paul Allen Controversies

Selling software was essentially unheard of when Allen and Gates founded the business. Hardware sales were how the era’s titans, like IBM and DEC, made their money. It was standard practice to share software on floppy disks, punch cards, or tape without paying for it. The first of many conflicts the business would encounter began when Gates referred to anyone who copied Microsoft software without paying as “thieves” in an open letter published in 1976.

But after Microsoft, a lot of other companies quickly followed suit, and an industry was created. Despite the early years of their business relationship being fruitful, it didn’t last. In Idea Man, Gates and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were charged with plotting to reduce Allen’s ownership stake in the business. Three years before Microsoft went public, in 1983, a deteriorating relationship and a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s cancer prompted Allen to part ways with the company.

Bill Gates Biography, Age, Wife, Children, Daughter, Homes

Paul Allen Education

Allen attended the Lakeside Institution in Seattle, a private school, where he first met Bill Gates and developed a close friendship with him. Gates was 12 years old and Allen was 14 at the time; both were avid computer users. Both of the buddies began honing their programming talents on various time-sharing computers in Lakeside’s Teletype terminal.

Allen received admittance to Washington State University after achieving an SAT score of 1600, but he decided to leave school after just two years to work as a programmer for Honeywell in Boston. Additionally, he persuaded Bill Gates, a close friend, and fellow computer enthusiast, to leave Harvard University in order to collaborate on a ground-breaking project.

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Professional Career

In 1975, Allen and Gates opened a business in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their big break occurred when they came across a Popular Electronics Magazine article about the Altair 8000. The computer was perfect for home computing because it was portable and affordable.

The two men approached the Altair 8000’s maker and offered to create a programming language for it. The creation of that language, known as BASIC, made them aware of the potential benefits of developing a programming language. Oh, and they created it for a computer that they had never ever seen before, let alone owned. Amazingly, it was successful, and their language was effective.

Allen used the money from his Microsoft shares to fund Vulcan Capital, the private venture company he and his sister Jody Allen established in 1986. Both the Maaco and Meineke auto maintenance brands are currently owned by Vulcan. It was a founding investor in the movie company Dreamworks SKG and has developed over 7 million square feet of real estate.

Allen founded Vulcan Aerospace, which provided funding for the SpaceShipOne project, and was awarded the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004. Richard Branson purchased the technology underlying SpaceShipOne from Allen. The largest aeroplane in the world was being constructed by Allen’s Vulcan Aerospace at the time of his passing.

He intended to utilize this aircraft as a launch pad for orbital rockets. The Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Sounders FC, and Seattle Seahawks were three of Allen’s professional sports franchises. When former owner and real estate developer Ken Behring threatened to relocate the Seahawks to Southern California, he bought the team in 1997 for $194 million.

When Allen owned the Seahawks, he built a new stadium, hired Pete Carroll, a former USC coach, won a Super Bowl, and generally tried to appease a group of supporters regarded as among the NFL’s most fervent home crowds. He was successful there. P aul Allen headed Charter Communications at the time of his passing in 2018. Over 40 other media, technology, and entertainment companies were included in Allen’s multi-billion dollar investment portfolio.

Real Estate

Paul Allen was really interested in real estate and bought multiple houses all around the USA.  In 2000, Allen bought the former Georgia O’Keefe estate, Sol y Sombra in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Three miles outside of Santa Fe is where the 20-acre property is situated.

The property included a 9,685 square foot, five-bedroom main house built in the 1930s as well as a 5,000 square foot lodge, a guest house, and a carriage house when Allen bought it. When Allen bought it, it had a $12.2 million price tag on the MLS. In 2013, Allen acquired the 2,066-acre Trees Ranch in southern Utah.

Public lands encircle The Trees Ranch on three sides. The Canaan Mountain Wilderness and the Bureau of Land Management are to the south, while Zion National Park is to the north and east. A little less than the ranch’s $25 million asking price was paid by Allen. In 2013, Allen and his sister bought a home in Atherton, Silicon Valley.

On a 1.97-acre property, they spent $27 million for a 22,005 square foot, six-bedroom, six-bathroom home. The property includes a spa, a home theatre, seven fireplaces, a five-car garage, a guesthouse with two bedrooms, a pool, and a residence for the caretaker. In 2011, Allen paid $25 million for the penthouse at 4 East 66th Street, a 1920 limestone structure on Fifth Avenue and 66th Street.

It was above the full-floor flat on the eleventh floor that he had paid $13.5 million for in 1996. In 1993, Allen purchased two properties close to the small community of Tetonia, which is located 80 miles from Jackson, Wyoming, on the Idaho side of the Tetons. One of the properties was a 2,400-acre plot of land near Grand Teton National Park’s border and the Targhee National Forest.

Allen invested $7.25 million in the building. After almost 15 years, Allen spent $3 million to purchase a 1,200-acre estate. The Teton Ridge Ranch, a 10,000-square-foot lodge made of pine, was part of the property. The Teton Ridge Ranch, whose accommodations cost $690 per night, was regarded as one of the top luxury resorts in the world when it closed in 2007.

For $11 million, Allen paid for a 10.3-acre estate on Kailua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1997. The Four Seasons Hualalai Resort is close to the property. A concert pool, a garage, and three additional structures, including a 9,080 square foot home with five bedrooms and five bathrooms and a 2.968 square foot home with six bedrooms and five baths, were all added in 2011.

There is also a little harbour on the property. In the 1990s, Allen bought an 18-bedroom estate in Cap Ferrat, in the south of France. During the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, Allen hosted a pirate-themed party at the Villa Maryland house. For $9 million, Allen acquired the 387-acre Sperry Peninsula on Lopez Island in Washington in 1996.

Since 1945, it had been the location of a camp for kids. In addition to his 13,000 square foot, five-bedroom home, Allen also constructed a 5,400 square foot, nine-bedroom bunkhouse, a 3,150 square foot beach house, and a second, 2,160 square foot home with two bedrooms, a two-bedroom, 1,24 square foot caretaker’s cottage, and a swimming pool.

On Mercer Island, the affluent Seattle neighbourhood by the shores of Lake Washington, Allen owned eight homes spread across 10.8 acres of land on thirteen lots. There is only one bridge connecting Mercer Island’s 24,000 population to the mainland.

Paul Allen Net Worth

Paul Allen was well-known for his ownership of Microsoft, however, the precise percentage hasn’t been disclosed since 2000 because it dropped below 5%. He made much of his money in the real estate, private equity, and energy industries.

In California, New York, Washington, Oregon, and other states, Allen held more than 1 million square feet of commercial, industrial, and retail space. He worked with Ticketmaster, DreamWorks, Plains All America, and Uber. Allen reportedly lost $8 billion by attempting an early internet expansion.

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Paul Allen Partners/Affairs

Paul Allen never got married and never had kids. The business tycoon had two girlfriends in his life, although they were just romantically involved. He apparently dated Jerry Hall briefly in 1999 after dating tennis legend Monica Seles for several years before she left in 1998.

He has also been linked to Leigh Colier, the vice president of programming and development at CBS Television Distribution and managing director of television, with whom he has been dating since 2011.  Allen’s sexuality has been questioned by some, who believed he was gay or at the very least bisexual but lacked the confidence to come out. However, the statements were unsupported by any credible data.

Rich Paul Net Worth, Girlfriends, Height, Clients, Career

Paul Allen Height, Weight & Age

Allen stood around 5 feet and 10 inches and weighed around 78 kgs. Allen had salt and pepper hair and a dashing pair of blue eyes. Paul Allen died of Septic Shock, a Known Complication of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma on October 15th, 2018. He passed away at the age of 65 at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

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How much was his net worth of Paul Allen at the time of death ?

$20.3 Billion

Who was Paul Allen’s  wife?

What was Paul Allen’s age at the time of his death?

What was the name of the Paul Allen  firm?

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Rich Dudes│How Paul Allen Built His $20B Net Worth Without Microsoft

Paul Allen was worth $20.3 billion at the time of his death in 2018. Here’s what his sports teams, yachts, art, stocks, real estate & other assets are worth.

By Priscilla Thomas

Updated Nov 22, 2022

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• Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates but grew most of his $20 billion net worth with investments in sports teams, real estate, stocks, and fine art.
• Paul Allen’s Vulcan Real Estate sold Amazon its $1.16 billion Seattle office. 
• Paul Allen has netted over 1,100% returns on his sports team deals.

The late Paul Gardner Allen, also known as the Idea Man, was a businessman, investor, sports team owner, and philanthropist worth an estimated $20.3 billion.

While Paul Allen was best known for co-founding the Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates, he grew most of his $20 billion net worth with  alternative investments —including sports teams like the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers.

During his lifetime, Allen also donated over $2 billion towards philanthropic causes in science, education, wildlife conservation, and the arts.

Since a 1% stake in Microsoft today is equal to the value of Paul Allen’s entire $20.3 billion estate, it's clear that Paul Allen sold a lot of his stock...

After he died in 2018 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the executor of Paul Allen’s will began selling all of his assets—including an art collection that recently fetched $1.6 billion at auction—and donating the proceeds to charity.

We dived into Paul Allen's $20.3 billion investment portfolio of sports teams,  real estate ,  startups ,  fine art , and more . So read on if you want to learn how to invest like this billionaire.

Paul Allen net worth at a glance:

When you think of Microsoft, Bill Gates mostly comes to mind. But he didn't build the $1.8 trillion technology giant on his own—his childhood friend and co-founder Paul Allen was by his side for the early years of Microsoft.

Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1981. Source: forbes.com

In 1975, Allen convinced Gates to drop out of college with him and create Microsoft. They ran it together, with Gates taking the lead—and the larger stake—until 1983, when health problems and differences with his playmate-turned-partner caused Allen to resign from the company.

While they were both owners, Gates convinced Allen that his contribution to the company was smaller and that he should take a 36% cut to Gates’ 64%.

39 years later, Paul Allen's net worth represents less than 20% of Bill Gates's $104 billion fortune—though it's nothing to sneeze at. Despite co-founding Microsoft, he held onto very little of his stock in the company.

In 1986, when Microsoft went public, Allen had 25% of the company. By 2000, his stake had dipped below 5%—presumably worth much less than $30.3 billion. It's unclear how much he owned after that because the company no longer needed to report his holdings.

How much does Paul Allen make a year?

Microsoft’s successful IPO in 1986 gave the software maker a market capitalization of $777 million. Paul Allen’s 25% stake worth $194 million means he made the equivalent of $17.63 million per year and $48,300 per day since Microsoft was founded in 1975.

Paul Allen may have been a deca-billionaire, but he also missed out on some big-time investment gains.

Since a 1% stake in Microsoft is equal to the value of Paul Allen's estate worth $20.3 billion today, it's clear that Paul Allen sold a lot of his stock—losing $630 billion (97%) in potential gains. That’s over three times Elon Musk’s 2022 net worth.

Source: Companiesmarketcap.com

Much of Paul Allen’s portfolio isn't publicly known, but we have some clues and recent information about what Allen bought and sold over the years.

1. Paul Allen yacht collection & real estate

 Paul Allen’s $45 million Beverly Hills home  Source: Los Angeles Times

The crown jewel of Paul Allen's net worth was Vulcan Real Estate. The development and property management company reshaped downtown Seattle with $4.3 billion worth of real estate there. Vulcan Real Estate drew Amazon to the area, selling them a $1.16 billion office.

Allen's personal real estate holdings spanned the country, from West Coast mansions to apartments in New York City. Since 2021, the trust has sold $233 million worth of Allen's properties, including $101 million in NYC apartments and $35 million for his Silicon Valley mansion.

That same year, Paul Allen’s 414-foot megayacht Octopus was sold for around $278 million. His 303-foot superyacht Tatoosh followed soon after for $90M.

Paul Allen’s Octopus, 414-foot megayacht worth $278 million. Source: Business Insider

2. Paul Allen art collection

Allen purchased many valuable artworks to build one of the world's most expensive collections—which was sold off in November 2022 for a record-setting $1.6 billion.

The sale, held at Christie's Auction House, was the biggest in auction history. The Paul G. Allen Collection consisted of 115 pieces of artwork by artists like Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh as well as sculptures and ceramics by Pablo Picasso.

Of the 115 pieces in the collection, five sold for over $100 million. This includes:

• Paul Cezanne’s  La Montagne Sainte-Victoire :  $137.79 million
• Vincent Van Gogh’s  Verger avec cyprès :  $117.18 million
• Paul Gauguin’s  Maternité II:   $105.73 million
• Gustav Klimt’s  Birch Forest : $104.58 million

But the most expensive piece of fine art in the collection was a painting by Georges Seraut, a French post-impressionist artist known for his pointillism work.  Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version) sold for  $149 million , nearly five times the previous high for Seraut’s work.

Seraut's "Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)" (1888) Source: christies.com

3. Paul Allen space company & other investments 

Allen was passionate about science and science fiction. He founded the Allen Institute in 2003 with initial funding of $100 million and an additional $300 million in 2012.

Besides funding grants and scientific research through the Allen Institute, he began multiple aerospace ventures in 2004. He started at least three different companies trying to make space travel affordable and put serious capital into attempting to discover extraterrestrial life—like $30 million to build the Allen Telescope Array in 2005.

Paul Allen’s early investments after leaving Microsoft focused more on companies and  startups that were pursuing his idea of a "wired world" where everyone's on the internet. This included companies like American On-Line (AOL), cable and internet providers, and media companies.

Despite his initial enthusiasm, Paul Allen sold his AOL stock early after being ridiculed by Bill Gates for believing AOL could beat Microsoft in bringing the internet to the masses. His AOL stake would have been worth $40 billion had he sold it at its peak. Instead, he pocketed $75 million profit in 1994.

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At one point, the Idea Man owned Charter Communications, the 7th largest cable company in the world valued at $25 billion. However, Allen ultimately lost over $7 billion on his investment after the company’s bankruptcy in 2009.

4. Paul Allen sports teams: Seahawks and Trail Blazers

Paul Allen after a Seattle Seahawks Superbowl win Source: Seattle Sports

Among Allen's more offbeat investments are the two professional sports teams he purchased. In 1988, Allen bought the Portland Trail Blazers for $70 million—or $176 million in 2022 dollars. Then nine years later, in 1997, he snagged the Seattle Seahawks for $194 million—or $360 million today.

Today those teams are worth $2.1 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively, each netting over 1,100% returns before factoring in any income they produced. He was also part-owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, a Major League Soccer team valued at $705 million in 2021.

Based on public information about the sales of his assets and his initial investments in some of them, we can make some assumptions about how Paul Allen's net worth breaks down.

If we group those assets into investment classes, Allen's portfolio probably looked something like this:

Had you put $10,000 into a portfolio like this for the past 10 years, you would have $61,188 in 2022. That's a 511.88% increase thanks to a 1,300% gain in sports memorabilia.

Sports Cards

A standard 60/40 portfolio—with 60% of your money in stocks and 40% in bonds—would have yielded 110.89% returns in the same time period. Your $10,000 initial investment would only be worth $21,089 today.

A more diversified portfolio that's still fairly traditional might look like this:

This investment portfolio would turn your initial $10,000 into $20,725—a 107.25% increase in 10 years. That’s still over $40,000 less than you would have made investing in a Paul Allen-inspired portfolio.

Paul Allen might have kicked himself for selling hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Microsoft stock, but his alternative asset investments still helped preserve his status as a multi-billionaire and one of the wealthiest people in the world in 2018.

Even if you don't have megayacht money or a tech genius bestie to launch a business with, you can still learn some lessons from Paul Allen's investments.

Paul Allen standing on the wing of his Stratolaunch plane. Source: GeekWire

1. Diversify your portfolio 

Investing in various assets will help you hold onto some money when things go south (or when someone peer pressures you into selling off potential billions). Gaining exposure to several uncorrelated asset classes is a time-honored diversification strategy—having some exposure to sports cards could give you downside protection since  they're a proven store of value .

For instance, you if you invested in the S&P 500 a year ago, you would be down nearly 16%, but if you bough and held a Stephen Curry rookie card at the same time, you would be up over 21% on your investment. There are only 61 PSA-10 Steph Curry rooky cards and they go for upwards of $50K, but you can buy shares in one for less than $20 on  Public .

Steph Curry rookie card Source: Public

Public is not just for sports cards, either. They let you invest in stocks, ETFs, cryptos, and other collectibles, like game-worn Air Jordan 1's signed by MJ himself. If you want to build out a diversified portfolio accross both alternatives and traditional assets, Public is the best place to start.

2. Invest in your passions

Whether it's music, art, or space exploration, you can invest your money in alternative assets that you love. While owning tangible assets like artwork and sports memorabilia is a good strategy, another route you can take is investing in companies you're passionate about.

Video gaming is one of the most valuable pastimes—an industry worth over $50 billion in the U.S. alone, but unless you're buying retro video games and holding them for years, you're unlikely to make a return on your PS3 copy of GTA V. A better way to invest in video games is by buying equity the companies that make them.

But what if your favorite video game publisher hasn't gone public? Well, fear not, because accredited investors can now gain exposure to the creators of Fortnite through  Dizraptor . Though you can't invest in Epic Games through the stock market, Dizraptor lets you buy shares in the company at their pre-IPO price of $830. Now's your chance to  get in on the ground floor of a $28.2 billion company.

3. Own equity in recession-proof businesses

Holding productive assets in your portfolio helps guarantee that cash will keep flowing into your bank account. While stocks and crypto go up and down with the economy, certain businesses have the fortitude to withstand tough markets. Just think about how many people frequent gas stations, fast food restaurants, and dollar stores regardless of how the market is doing.

While not everyone can own a Chik Fil A, owning a piece of commercial real estate is the next best thing. And that doesn't mean owning it outright. Nowadays, anyone with $100 to spare can invest in income-generating commercial real estate. Platforms like  Elevate Money let you buy shares in a durable business—like a Family Dollar in Fort Worth, TX—by offering fractional ownership in the land underneath it.

Commerical real estate is the best source of passive income because it's stable—Family Dollar is unlikely to go anywhere considering their lease term is 5 years. If you're not a landlord with deep pockets and the patience to find and manage tenants,  use Elevate Money to invest in commercial real estate and earn passive income .

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Real Estate

Jody Allen net worth

Paul Allen never married or had children, and his estate was entrusted to his sister Jody Allen after his death. Jody Allen's net worth is estimated at $20.3 billion. She was responsible for overseeing the execution of Paul Allen's will. She also took control of the properties he owned, including the Seattle Seahawks NFL team, and continues to run Vulcan, Inc.

Where did Paul Allen’s money go? 

After leaving Microsoft in 1983, Allen began investing in companies that would support his vision of a "wired world" where everyone was online. He made $25 billion investments in cable and internet providers as well as traditional and online media. He even purchased 80% of TicketMaster in 1993 but sold half his stake to The Home Shopping Network for HSN equity. In 2015, Allen founded Vulcan Aerospace.

Allen was a man of the arts,  amassing an art collection that sold for $1.6 billion after his death. His other expensive hobbies were buying sports teams—he owned or had a stake in three professional sports teams—yachting, researching time travel, and exploring space.

Allen was also a philanthropist who spent the last decades of his life getting involved with various causes. His donations to these causes came to over $2 billion by the time of his 2018 death.

Why is Bill Gates richer than Paul Allen?

Microsoft was not an equal partnership. The equity was doled out in a 64/36 split that favored Gates. Paul Allen was only involved in the company from 1975 to 1983, at which time he began selling shares to fund his many other ventures that weren’t as successful as Microsoft.

He bought a large stake in AOL in the early 1990s but sold it all before it became big. He also lost around $7 billion by investing in cable companies.

Paul Gardner Allen famously led a lavish lifestyle. The billions he spent on passion projects, like music museums, ate into Paul Allen net worth.

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