Paul Allen’s finances don’t look so hot for a billionaire
This was in the Business Journal:
Paul Allen this week sold 28.5 million shares of bankrupt Charter Communications.
Multichannel News calculates that the Microsoft co-founder and Portland Trail Blazers owner will make just $996.36 on the sale.
The filing indicates that Allen sold 28,467,421 of Class A Common Shares in the St. Louis cable company. The type A shares represent a small part of Allen’s overall ownership stake. Allen has reportedly invested $7 billion in the company.
Can you imagine how much money the man lost on 28.5 million shares of that stock? He recently reached an agreement to sell his Rose City Radio (KXL and 95.5 The Game), too. It has been reported he paid upwards of $50 million for those properties and sold them for about $11 million.
I don’t see how this bodes well for his future ownership of the Trail Blazers. There is heavy duty belt tightening going on with his companies right now and it’s surely going to bleed into his basketball operation even more than it already has.
(Thanks to Blazers Edge for the tip)
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | June 23, 2009
Charter Communications, Dwight Jaynes, Paul Allen, Portland Trail Blazers
“he sold them to take the tax loss. His basis would have been several hundred million dollars, if not billions. He has to actually sell the worthless shares to get the tax loss.”
This was a comment I found on the link you provided. I know from my tax law classes, (who knew i would ever use that stuff 10 years later!) that you can not claim a loss until it is realized, so this makes sense. But since I am not a tax attorney I don’t know for sure, but it could be the reason he sold these shares to get a nice tax write off while losing none of his stake in Charter.
Dwight, all I can say is, I wish I had his problems…
Charter has been the squaking albatross around his neck for a long time now, I’m sure he’s glad to be done with it.
C’mon Dwight, we all know that Paul Allen stumbled into his riches. He is super intelligent with one thing-computers.
Its a miracle that he isn’t living in his Mom’s basement…
Will someone please name a Paul Allen business other than Ticketmaster (he still owns Ticketmaster, right?) which has turned a decent profit. I have been hearing nothing but bad business news about Paul Allen for years. Let’s hear about his successes, please!
I’m not expert, but I like to play one on the innernet.
From what I’ve read in that expose that was written about him a couple years ago (I forget which paper or sports rag it was), Allen’s business decisions have essentially all lost money. MS stock is what has made him what he is, and had he held on to it and done simply absolutely nothing, he would have had far far more money today, or even during his richest period when he was worth his record most.
It could be that his surfacing business issues are what prompted him to make it clear to the Blazer front office to push forward despite luxury tax risk. I imagine any time a move like this is made it’d make those responsible with spending his money hesitate.
Well, if nothing else, it makes it less likely he could afford to move the Blazers to Seattle.
Paul Allen is the classic case of “ It’s not what you know, is whom you know”. He befriended Bill Gate in the 70s and that was like winning the powerball jackpot several times.