Inside the secretive world of late Microsoft guru Paul Allen who owned three massive superyachts and held legendary star-studded parties on board
The archetypal nerd from Seattle, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, became the ‘accidental zillionaire’ but some of his possessions were hard to miss
PAUL Allen was the most famous man you’ve probably never heard of.
But the so-called “Loch Ness Monster of the Internet age” lived the lives of a hundred men — a hundred fabulously wealthy men that is.
Allen, who died yesterday from cancer aged 65, never grew up wanting to own jets, space planes or hold spectacular star-studded parties on his fleet of super-yachts.
But after teaming up with fellow geek and childhood pal Bill Gates that is what became his world.
In 1975 Allen co-founded and coined the name of a company called Microsoft and the rest is history.
Later he fell out with Gates but crucially kept a stake in Seattle company and became what some dubbed an “accidental zillionaire”— and there aren't many of them around.
Worth £15billion (£20bn) when he died, the seemingly reclusive, introverted and intensely normal-looking man was actually one of history's most extrovert and flamboyant.
He just didn’t like to shout about it.
But the mysterious mega-rich Allen became most visible to the outside world with his spectacular super-yachts.
Allen's most famous yacht was the enormous 414ft boat called The Octopus, which was his flagship.
The £150million vessel has eight decks, a crew of 60 which included former US Navy Seals, two helicopters, seven boats, a remote-controlled vehicle that crawls across the ocean floor as well as a ten-man submarine.
It can berth 26 guest and even boasts a recording studio where the Beastie Boys recorded their last ever album.
The world's biggest yacht when launched, it costs £12 million a year to run and a full tank of oil would cost about £483,000.
Aboard the billionaire would throw extraordinarily lavish parties which would be attended by the most famous people in the world.
“So if somebody runs into me at a party, typically they have no idea if I'm just one of the guitar players in the band or if I'm the host.”
But being obsessively private, those attending had to sign non-disclosure agreements, so details are scarce of what went on.
While Allen was unmarried and lived alone, he had a string of dazzling properties across the world.
His main mansion was based in Seattle and was nothing less than a 10,000-square-foot waterfront home on the exclusive Mercer Island.
It was said his sprawling abode featured an art gallery stuffed with Impressionist masterpieces.
His basketball court was reputedly lined with Renoirs and Monets.
And there was an underground car park where he kept a huge collection of sports cars.
While this man adored the quiet life, he would occasionally come out to party big style, notably on his 45th birthday when held a £5.5million party aboard a cruise ship to Alaska, with guests including Jerry Hall, Candice Bergen and Francis Ford Coppola.
While Allen made his fortune from computers who loved transport.
In fact the ultra-private playboy owned several private jets, including a Boeing 757, a Gulfstream G550, and a Bombardier BD-700 with registration N724AF.
Add to that several helicopters, some of which were permanently station aboard his yachts.
Allen even had his own hangar at Seattle's airport where he also parked 15 flyable planes from World War Two.
His great wealth also bankrolled SpaceShipOne, the first private aircraft to successfully put a civilian in suborbital space.
During the last of three record-setting flights it reached a height of 70 miles above Earth.
Then there is Stratolaunch which has yet to take a test flight but when it does will be the biggest plane to ever fly.
The avid sports fan also collected teams include football clubs which included the Seattle Seahawks, the Seattle Sounders soccer team and basketball's Portland Trailblazers.
In 2007, he reportedly offered £50 million for Southampton FC,
Allen, who played guitar, built a gleaming pop culture museum which started out as his own collection of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia
He also spearheaded underwater expeditions that made important shipwreck discoveries, including a US aircraft carrier lost during World War Two.
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And yet while Allen was happy to spend his incredible wealth on his comfort, interests and social life, he was also one of the most generous men in history.
Over his lifetime, the philanthropist gave more than £1.5bn ($2bn) to efforts aimed at improving education, science, technology, conservation and the lives of those in his home city of Seattle and the world as a whole.
He said once: "Those fortunate to achieve great wealth should put it to work for the good of humanity.”
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