The famous black and white photograph dates back to 1981: in the middle of computers, he was the bearded man next to Bill Gates, the big brother, the "other" founder of Microsoft. Paul Allen is a forgotten figure in history: a discreet type of man who did not seek to save humanity, unlike the flamboyant Gates. This bachelor cultivated his garden in his city of Seattle, where he was born in 1953. Once his fortune was made, he invested and "returned" to the community, following the precepts of American charity. Until his death from cancer in October 2018 at the age of 65.
City Mayor Democrat Jenny Durkan paid tribute during "Paul Allen Day" in January 2019 to "That real son of Seattle, who worked tirelessly to make his beloved city – and our world – a more dynamic and better place ”. Rightly so, because Paul Allen was all in the city of the American North-West: owner of the football team, creator of a pop culture museum, property developer. But also founder of a brain institute or a pilot project to help the homeless. In total, its holding company, Vulcan, controlled some 250 companies, associations or foundations, valued at more than $ 20 billion (18 billion euros).
The Allen case illustrates the weight of associations in American society, a phenomenon noted in 1831 by Alexis de Tocqueville, during his trip to America. "The Americans team up to give parties, found seminars, build inns, raise churches, spread books … Everywhere where, at the head of a new business, you see the government in France, and in England a great lord, expect that you will see an association in the United States ”, he reports in Democracy in America (second part, 1840). The Americans do not have a king, but they have billionaires, ever more powerful. Paul Allen was one of them, who reigned over Seattle through his associations.
Happy shareholder …
Mr. Allen has often been described as a "Billionaire by accident". Back in 1968: the aeronautical giant Boeing imposed the scientific spirit on Seattle, which has become a city of engineers. Paul Allen, a high school student, prowls around his school computer and meets a kid two and a half years younger, Bill. They sympathize, leave together in Boston, then found Microsoft in 1975.
