Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trailblazers, and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died at age 65 Monday afternoon from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma according to a statement released by Vulcan Inc. on behalf of the Allen Family, Vulcan Inc. and the Pau G. Allen network.
STATEMENT FROM PAUL G. ALLEN’S FAMILY
This is a time of profound loss for Mr. Allen’s family. On their behalf, Paul’s sister, Ms. Jody Allen, has released the following 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. For all the demands on his schedule, there was always time for family and friends. At this time of loss and grief for us – and so many others – we are profoundly grateful for the care and concern he demonstrated every day.”
STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF VULCAN INC. AND THE PAUL G. ALLEN NETWORK
Speaking on behalf of Vulcan Inc., the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers, Stratolaunch Systems, the Allen Institute and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Vulcan CEO Bill Hilf released this statement:
“All of us who had the honor of working with Paul feel an inexpressible loss today. He possessed a remarkable intellect and a passion to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems, with the conviction that creative thinking and new approaches could make profound and lasting impact.
Millions of people were touched by his generosity, his persistence in pursuit of a better world, and his drive to accomplish as much as he could with the time and resources at his disposal.
Paul’s life was diverse and lived with gusto. It reflected his myriad interests in technology, music and the arts, biosciences and artificial intelligence, conservation and in the power of shared experience – in a stadium or a neighborhood – to transform individual lives and whole communities.
Paul loved Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. The impact of Paul’s efforts can be seen here at every turn. But the true impact of his vision and generosity is evident around the globe.
Paul thoughtfully addressed how the many institutions he founded and supported would continue after he was no longer able to lead them. This isn’t the time to deal in those specifics as we focus on Paul’s family. We will continue to work on furthering Paul’s mission and the projects he entrusted to us. There are no changes imminent for Vulcan, the teams, the research institutes or museums.
Today we mourn our boss, mentor and friend whose 65 years were too short – and acknowledge the honor it has been to work alongside someone whose life transformed the world.”
Allen’s unfortunate passing comes two weeks after his announcement that he had restarted treatment of cancer which he was originally diagnosed with and treated in 1990.
Allen’s passion for sports was only equaled by his desire for music and philanthropy. Along with ownership of the Seahawks and Trail Blazers, Allen established the Experience Music Project which was later renamed to MoPop and generously supported radio station KEXP. It is estimated that Allen gave more than $2 billion to philanthropies through the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation which was created in 1990. The Foundation is now known as Paul G. Allen Philanthropies.
Allen bought the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988 when he was just 35 years old and told the Associated Press that ” for a true fan of the game, this is a dream come true.”
