“My quest to expand access to space began more than a decade ago, when I teamed up with Burt Rutan at Scaled Composites to build SpaceShipOne. This innovative air-launched vehicle was the world's first private spacecraft to carry an astronaut into sub-orbital space.”

American businessman, computer programmer, and investor

Paul Gardner Allen was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates in 1975 and became a major figure in the rise of personal computing. His work is tied to the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Forbes ranked him among the richest people in American history, and at the time of his death in October 2018, his estimated net worth was $20.3 billion.