Paul Allen's love of football began as a boy when his dad would take him to games at Husky Stadium. The Seahawks moved to Anaheim in 1996 and Allen was asked by community leaders to step in and help keep the Seahawks in Seattle. In 1997, Allen purchased the Seahawks after a public-private partnership was crafted and approved by Washington state voters to a build a new stadium, which turned out to be one of the loudest in the nation. With the 12s all in, the Seahawks transformed that championship dream into reality in February 2014, winning Super Bowl XLVIII.
"As an owner who was born and raised here, it's a very special moment and the fulfillment of a dream, not just for me, but for everyone on the team," Allen told thousands of cheering fans after the Seahawks' 43-8 Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos. And just one year later, in Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks came within one play of winning it all again.
In addition to the Seahawks, Allen owns the NBA's Portland Trailblazers and is a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC.
Allen established himself as an innovator and entrepreneur as a teenager, launching his first programming business while still in high school. A few years later, as the idea man and original technologist behind Microsoft, Allen helped pioneer the PC software industry – a development that ultimately enabled billions of people to use computers for the first time.
In the decades since, Allen has used his resources to tackle a wide range of challenges, and to expand the horizons of human knowledge. His contributions are focused on some of the world's biggest challenges and toughest problems, such as brain and cell research, climate change, ocean health, wildlife preservation, as well as pandemic preparedness and prevention, among others.
Allen is also committed to his hometown. In March 2017, Allen announced his pledge of $30 million for an innovative, permanent housing and onsite services community to help address the Seattle area's homelessness crisis. In recognition of Allen's broad philanthropy, as well as his leadership in fighting the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, he was awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2015. All told, Allen's philanthropic contributions exceed $2 billion.
"We live in an age of big challenges," Allen said. "But I choose optimism. With the right team, anything is possible."
Learn more about Allen at PaulAllen.com.
