Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies at 65

In 1975 Allen co-founded Microsoft with partner Bill Gates, but resigned from the company in 1983 after he became ill.

"Once I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s, my decision became simpler. If I were to relapse, it would be pointless—if not hazardous—to return to the stresses at Microsoft. If I continued to recover, I now understood that life was too short to spend it unhappily."

• Allen later parlayed his Microsoft stake into a fortune that put him among the world's wealthiest individuals, reports Forbes.
• In recent years he turned to other ventures, including ownership of the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers, as well as a space company, Stratolaunch. Allen was also a philanthropist whose foundation was instrumental in aiding the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.