Microsoft Co-Founder, Paul Allen Dies Of Cancer, He Was Bill Gates Best Friend

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) co-founder Paul Allen, the man who persuaded school-friend Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard to start what became the world's biggest software company, died on Monday at the age of 65, his family said.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983, before the company became a corporate juggernaut, following a dispute with Gates, but his share of their original partnership allowed him to spend the rest of his life and billions of dollars on yachts, art, rock music, sports teams, brain research and real estate.

Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, the Allen family said in a statement.

Bill Gates described Allen as following the Microsoft partnership with a "second act" focused on strengthening communities and in a statement said, "I am heartbroken by the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends."