Kaylyn Hohn 
The co-founder of Microsoft, the multinational technology company, Paul Allen, died at the age of 65 on Monday.
According to Allen’s family, the 65-year old philanthropist died from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system. Earlier this month, it was announced that Allen was undergoing treatment for the disease.
Allen co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with Bill Gates, and it quickly became a leading PC software company in the world. Allen left Microsoft five years later, when his cancer first appeared. He didn’t let it stop him though, and in 1986, Allen established Vulcan Inc., a private company based in Seattle that houses his “network of organizations and initiatives”. The company has done everything from support research in artificial intelligence and initiatives garnered towards fixing climate change, to overseeing Allen’s sport franchises: the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.
Among Allen’s noteworthy successes as a philanthropist, technologist, and conservationist, he was also recently ranked 44th on the list of billionaires in 2018, according to Forbes. Allen had a net worth of $20 billion. He was known for using his wealth to help revitalize parts of Seattle, along with the city’s cultural institutions, as part of Vulcan’s local commitment.
“He possessed a remarkable intellect and 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,” said Bill Hilf, CEO of Vulcan Inc., in a statement about Allen’s passing.
In a statement of his own, shared with The Washington Post, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft with Allen, had some parting words about his former business partner: “He channeled intellect and compassion into a second act focused on improving people’s lives and strengthening communities in Seattle and around the world. He was fond of saying, ‘If it has the potential to do good, then we should do it’. That’s the kind of person he was.”
