Founders, Executives and Management Thinkers

Paul Allen

Founder and Executive

Citation Formats

General Reference

Business Atlas. "Paul Allen." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://business.interactiveatlas.org/business-figures/paul-allen.

APA Style

Business Atlas. (n.d.). Paul Allen. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://business.interactiveatlas.org/business-figures/paul-allen

BibTeX

@misc{businessatlas-paul-allen,
  author = {Business Atlas},
  title = {Paul Allen},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://business.interactiveatlas.org/business-figures/paul-allen},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

American businessman who co-founded Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975. Allen suggested the company's name, a blend of microcomputer and software, and helped negotiate the DOS deal with IBM that launched the company's success.

Facts

Birth Date

1953-01-21 1

Birth Year

1953 1

Death Date

2018-10-15 1

Death Year

2018 1

Birthplace

Seattle, Washington, U.S. 1

Death Place

Seattle, Washington, U.S. 1

Nationality

American 1

Defining Contribution

Co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, named the company and helped negotiate the IBM DOS deal that established Microsoft as the dominant PC software supplier. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections