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Billionaire Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Buys $27 Million Dollar Silicon Valley Mansion

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has just paid $27 million for a sprawling mansion in Atherton, CA, a ritzy town in the heart of Silicon Valley.

According to Forbes, Allen has a net worth of $15.8 billion dollars, and he’s an avid collector of trophy properties and yachts. His newest acquisition was purchased via a family trust and the deal closed on November 12, 2013.

Allen lives full-time in the Seattle area, where he has a sprawling, state-of-the-art residence on tony Mercer Island, with a yacht parked out front. He also owns multi-million-dollar properties all over the world, including Cap Ferrat in France, Hawaii, Malibu, Manhattan, Idaho, Beverly Hills and London.

Aside from his residences, Allen has a world-class collection of World War II aircraft, a fleet of private jets and two yachts. A yachting enthusiast, he has a 303-foot-long, $125 million yacht named Tatoosh, and a 414-foot long superyacht named Octopus. Octopus costs an estimated $400,000 a week to operate.

Allen started on his road to riches in 1975, when he co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. In 1983, he he left the company after a cancer diagnosis, which he battled successfully. Allen is still a major Microsoft shareholder and an avid investor.  Since the 80’s, he has been involved in a strong of high-profile investments, including buying the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team in 1988, the Seattle Seahawks NFL team in 1997, and co-founding the Frank Gehry-designed Experience Music Project Museum in 2000 in Seattle.

Allen recently opened an arm of his investment firm, Vulcan Capital, in Palo Alto, to “focus on expanding the firm’s investments in the Internet and technology sectors,” according to a corporate announcement. With that entree into Silicon Valley, his newest purchase in nearby Atherton makes sense.

Allen’s brand new Northern California property was listed in late September for $31.8 million, but Allen ended up closing the deal for $27 million. The newly-built estate sits on an impressive 1.97 acre lot, and has 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, a spa, theater and 7 fireplaces in the 22,005 square foot main home. Adjacent, the guest home has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen and a 5-car garage that also includes a House Manager Suite.

Images via property developer Pacific Peninsula Group.