Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen said today that he intends to donate the majority of his estimated $13.5 billion fortune to philanthropy. In a statement commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Allen said he had long planned this move, which will ensure that his “philanthropic efforts will continue after my lifetime.” The 57-year-old philanthropist, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last fall, said he plans to continue with his foundation’s work and the funding of nonprofit scientific research. In honor of the foundation’s anniversary, Allen also announced a total of $100,000 in special grants that will be awarded to the founders of five notable local nonprofits, amounting to $20,000 each. Over the past 20 years the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has provided more than 3,000 grants totaling over $400 million. Read more about this announcement at The Seattle Times.
Author: Thea Chard
Before joining Xconomy, Thea spent a year working as the editor of another startup, the hyperlocal Seattle neighborhood news site QueenAnneView.com. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California, where she double-majored in print journalism and creative writing. While in college, Thea spent a semester studying in London and writing for the London bureau of the Los Angeles Times. Indulging in her passion for feature writing, she has covered a variety of topics ranging from the arts, to media, clean technology and breaking news. Before moving back to Seattle, Thea worked in new media development on two business radio shows, "Marketplace" and "Marketplace Money" by American Public Media. Her clips have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Santa Monica Daily Press, Seattle magazine and her college paper, the Daily Trojan. Thea is a native Seattleite who grew up in Magnolia, and now lives in Queen Anne.
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