Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen said Thursday that he will give away the majority of his fortune, following a recent call by his former partner Bill Gates for billionaires to publiclypledge at least half of their wealth to philanthropy.

In a statement, Mr. Allen, 57 years old, said his 'philanthropic efforts will continue after my lifetime.'

Mr. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Mr. Gates in 1975, then left the company in 1983 to become an investor in a range of media, cable and other ventures. In March Forbes estimated his wealth at $13.5 billion.

'As our philanthropy continues in the years ahead, we will look for new opportunities to make a difference in the lives of future generations,' Mr. Allen said in his statement.

The comments mark a change for Mr. Allen, who has historically said little about his philanthropy. They are in part a response to Mr. Gates, his wife Melinda Gates and investor Warren Buffett, who last month called on billionaires to commitpublicly to giving away at least half of their wealth in their lifetimes or at death.

Messrs. Gates and Buffett have long criticized what they call 'dynastic wealth' that is passed down through a family over generations.

While Mr. Allen had planned to give away most of his fortune, 'making it public at this point certainly was helped by the fact that he and Bill talked about it,' said David Postman, a spokesman for Mr. Allen. 'He does want to be a part of that.'

In November Mr. Allen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but he has 'finished the treatments, and all I can say is right now he has no medical issues at all,' Mr. Postman said.

In his lifetime, Mr. Allen has given away about $1 billion, including more than 3,000 grants totaling $400 million through his philanthropy, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

He has privately donated $600 million to a range of organizations, including the University of Washington.

Mr. Allen, in his statement, said that his estate would be used to support the foundation and non-profit scientificresearch, such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle.

Mr. Postman said the software entrepreneur hasn't disclosed more details on his future giving.

Born in Seattle, Mr. Allen has focused much of his giving and investments in his native city and the Pacific Northwest. He created Seattle's Experience Music Project, a music museum, and owns two professional sports teams, football's Seattle Seahawks and basketball's Portland Trail Blazers. He is part owner of the Seattle Sounders professional soccer team.

Robert A. Guth

• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
• pledge [pledʒ] n.信物；誓约vt.使发誓 (初中英语单词)
• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)
• commit [kə´mit] vt.犯(罪)；把...判处 (初中英语单词)
• medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
• estate [i´steit] n.财产；庄园；等级 (初中英语单词)
• foundation [faun´deiʃən] n.建立；基金；地基 (初中英语单词)
• scientific [,saiən´tifik] a.科学(上)的 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• institute [´institju:t] n.学院 vt.建立；设置 (初中英语单词)
• project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt] v.设计；投掷 n.计划 (初中英语单词)
• professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)
• response [ri´spɔns] n.回答；响应 (高中英语单词)
• lifetime [´laiftaim] n.一生，终生，寿命 (高中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
• pacific [pə´sifik] a.和平的；温和的 (高中英语单词)
• northwest [,nɔ:θ´west] n.&ad.西北(部) (高中英语单词)
• warren [´wɔrən] n.养兔场；大杂院 (英语四级单词)
• publicly [´pʌblikli] ad.公然；公众所有地 (英语六级单词)
• investor [in´vestə] n.投资者 (英语六级单词)
• spokesman [´spəuksmən] n.发言人 (英语六级单词)
• privately [´praivitli] ad.秘密，一个人 (英语六级单词)
• entrepreneur [,ɔntrəprə´nə:] n.企业家，创业者 (英语六级单词)