More than a Microsoft founder
Paul Allen, who died this week, was complex and kind
When he met the person who would propel him to become one of the world's richest people, Paul Allen was just 14. The Microsoft co-founder's partnership with Bill Gates became one of the most formative in the history of US business. But at the time there was no obvious sign that the pair would go on to build one of the world's most powerful companies together. "He had a scruffy-preppy look: pullover sweater, tan slacks, enormous saddle shoes. His blond hair went all over the place," Allen recalled of his first meeting with Gates in his memoir. "You could tell three things about Bill Gates pretty quickly. He was really smart. He was really competitive; he wanted to show you how smart he was. And he was really, really persistent." Allen, on the other hand, was the shy son of librarians who liked to think of himself as an "ideas man". In 1975, when Gates was 19 and Allen was 22, they both dropped out of university to create Microsoft, a company that would transform the world and turn th...
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