paul allen net worth yacht

A billionaire got Paul Allen’s 414-foot-long Octopus megayacht to the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix and paid $138,000 just to moor it near the tracks and enjoy the race from the $285 million vessel

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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.

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

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

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.

Image may contain Furniture Chair Wood Room Indoors Hardwood Flooring Dining Room Meeting Room and Conference Room

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.

Image may contain Wood Flooring Hardwood Floor Indoors Interior Design Room and Plywood

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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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

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.

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'

Main content

Microsoft Titan Paul Allen Sells Tatoosh

Liz lucking, december 20, 2022.

The 300-foot superyacht that belonged to the late tech titan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has sold.

The billionaire and philanthropist, who had a reported net worth of $20.8 billion when he died at the age of 65 in 2018, bought the yacht in 2001 for $100 million.

Getty Images

Custom-built by the German shipyard Nobiskrug, the yacht, named Tatoosh, can accommodate 19 guests and is loaded with lavish features.

That includes a swimming pool, a beach club, an elevator…

a screening room…

and two helicopter pads.

Accommodations include an owner’s full-beam stateroom, meaning the bedroom is as wide as the boat…

and an adjoining apartment complex.

The firm hasn’t disclosed how much the vessel sold for, but it had a hefty price tag of €90 million (US$89.4 million).

Allen’s estate, led by his sister, Jody Allen, as executor has been gradually selling off his assets, including real estate, art and other aquatic vessels.

Click below to read more

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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.

Now read about the world’s most insane superyachts

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What Is Paul Allen's Net Worth?

Paul Allen hasn't been involved in the day-to-day operations of Microsoft in more than three decades, yet he largely owes his vast fortune to the company he co-founded with Bill Gates in 1975.

The self-described "idea man," Allen came up with (among other things) Microsoft's name, and at one point, owned 36% of the company. But over the years, Allen's stake has eroded, and he's channeled his vast fortune into a variety of different endeavors. Let's take a look at Allen's current holdings.

Sports, art, and real estate Allen is a member of several exclusive groups. In addition to being one of the world's richest people, he's also among the few that own multiple major sports franchises. Allen's holdings include the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, and a stake in Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC.

Paul Allen. Source: by Michael Sprague via Wikimedia Commons.

The Seahawks are worth an estimated $1.3 billion, according to Forbes , while the Trail Blazers are valued at just under $1 billion. Both represent solid returns -- Allen acquired the teams for a combined value of less than $300 million.

He also dabbles in art. Allen has an extensive collection, including pieces from such renowned artists as Monet, Manet, andGeorgia O'Keeffe. In recent years, he's been unloading some of his abstract pieces. In 2013, he sold a Barnett Newman painting for nearly $44 million, and last year, he parted with a Rothko for $56.2 million.

Like many investors, Allen has a significant real estate portfolio, but over the years, some of his holdings have been a bit unusual. Allen once owned a private island off the coast of Washington state, for example, though he sold it undeveloped in 2013 for $8 million. He owns numerous mansions, including his own 10,000 square-foot home, ranches, apartments, and even a movie theater (one of the most advanced in the world).

He has an extensive collection of vehicles, including two of the world's largest yachts. Allen's 414-foot Octopus is one of the longest in the world. Tatoosh is a bit smaller (303 feet) but still ranks among the top 50. Allen also collects World War II-era airplanes -- he owns several dozen.

Allen has had his fair share of bad bets But despite his sports-related wins and lavish holdings, Allen has taken some significant lumps over the years. In 1999, he was the world's third-richest person, with an estimated net worth of $30 billion. But today, his holdings are valued at significantly less. What went wrong?

For decades, Allen made investments based on a concept he called the "Wired World" -- a notion that society was marching toward an era of connectivity, one built around the intersection of the Internet, mass media, and PCs.

It's hard to say that Allen was wrong per se -- the Internet is all-encompassing; media reaches people through smart devices on a continuous basis -- but many of his investments just didn't work out. From 1999 to 2004, he lost roughly $12 billion as the value of the dot-com companies he invested in plummeted.

His most significant blow, however, may have come in 2009, when Charter Communications -- one of the largest cable companies in the U.S. -- filed for bankruptcy. At the time, Allen was the largest shareholder, and he was wiped out almost entirely, losing a stake that had once been valued at around $7 billion in the process.

No. 51 But not all of Allen's investments went bad. Vulcan Capital, his private investment company, has positions in a variety of successful tech companies, including Alibaba , Uber, Palantir, and flipkart. And he still owns an estimated 100 million shares of Microsoft: around 1% of the company.

With a total fortune worth $17.5 billion, according to Forbes , Allen is the world's 51st richest person.

The article What Is Paul Allen's Net Worth? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Sam Mattera has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

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When late Paul Allen’s 126m Lürssen superyacht Octopus was launched in 2003, she was easily the largest explorer yacht ever built, and one of the biggest yachts outright.

Iconic yachts: On board Paul Allen's 126m Lürssen superyacht Octopus

When the late Paul Allen’s Octopus was launched in 2003, she stood alone in the yachting world. At 126m length, she was easily the largest explorer yacht ever built, and one of the biggest yachts outright. But in many ways, she heralded a new era of owning very large boats – one where science and research were every bit as important as luxury finish, spas and swimming pools.

Allen himself was said to have commented that his yacht was more of a Land Rover than a Bentley. It’s a view that pays homage to capabilities including an ice-class 1A steel hull, hangar space for two helicopters, a battery of tenders, submersibles and remotely operated vehicles plus a comprehensive dive centre including a hyperbaric chamber. But the boat also has a lavish interior.

Octopus was built by Lürssen in Bremen and Kiel with external styling and design work from Espen Øino . He remembers starting work on her back in 1998, when she was the largest project of his career. “It was a very ambitious brief, because none of the tenders, tools, RVs, subs, helicopters could be outside – they should all be concealed,” remembers Øino. “Particularly the very large tender and the sub. We came up with an interesting solution for launching those through the big transom door, and the travel lift.”

The solution was revolutionary for a private yacht. When the transom door folds up it reveals a world straight out of a Bond movie – a high walkway alongside a 36 metre internal wet dock area overhung with big cranes on gantries. Øino chuckles at the memory: “The stern dock is just an amazing space,” he says.

Allen’s motivation for all this was his love of diving for shipwrecks , which has driven Octopus to many remote corners of the oceans. Her 10-person Pagoo submersible was custom built for the boat – there was no alternative at the time. Subsequently, an autonomous unmanned vehicle was added to the arsenal of equipment, capable of scanning the seabed for features of interest for hours before returning to the mothership. She has six tenders and numerous toys besides.

Among the notable missions undertaken by Octopus was the recovery of the ship’s bell of HMS Hood , sunk by the Bismarck in 2,700m off Greenland, and the discovery of the Japanese warship Musashi 1,000m down in the Sibuyan Sea.

For all that, Octopus is a true superyacht, fitted out in luxurious style by Jonathan Barnett . The interior finish includes an antique bronze door from the 1930s, and is said to set a “harmoniously rugged” tone. There’s solid furniture, lots of wood panelling and serious-looking stainless steel handrails.

She boasts an owner’s deck with a private jacuzzi and dining area plus a dedicated owner’s lift. Other features include an observation lounge, beach club, pool (which converts into a dancefloor), gym and spa. Most notably, Octopus is fitted with a large cinema and a fully-equipped recording studio – something that has hosted artists from Mick Jagger and Bono to Usher and Joss Stone. “Mr Allen’s interest in music was enormous and the acoustic quality was nothing less than a shore-based one,” says Øino. “There were 54 tonnes of AV/IT equipment aboard. A very complex boat in many ways. I think he loved it.”

The boat sleeps 26 guests in 13 cabins, as well as 57 crew. She had an extensive refit at Blohm+Voss in 2019 and was one of the biggest sales of 2021.

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#6 Paul Allen

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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

Many companies on MoneyMade advertise with us. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how companies may appear. See disclosure.

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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:

	$20.3 billion
	44th-wealthiest person in the world (Forbes, 2018)
	January 21, 1953. Aged 65 at the time of his death on October 15, 2018
	American born in Seattle, Washington, United States
	Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, sports team owner
	Microsoft, Vulcan Inc, Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Sounders FC
	Stocks, Startups, Art, Real Estate, Sports Memorabilia

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


+$1.6B

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


+$149M

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


-$8B

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


+$4.1 billion

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 .

Elevate Money

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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COMMENTS

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Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 - October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, ... Allen was ranked as the 44th-wealthiest person in the world by Forbes with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion at the time of his death in October 2018. [2] [3] ... Allen's 414-foot (126 m) yacht, Octopus, was launched in 2003. [187]
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PAUL ALLEN (1953-2018) • Net Worth $20 billion • House • Yacht
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Net Worth: 22.0 Country Of Citizenship: United States Residence: ... (413-foot yacht Octopus armed with 2 helicopters and a 60-foot submarine). His Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has donated heavily to education, art and science causes. Joined buddy Bill Gates in 1975, left the company in 1983 to fight Hodgkin's disease.
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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.