The ultimate in toys for boys: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen buys his own MiG-29 jet fighter!



Champion: Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen holds up an NFC Championship trophy

First he paid out $70million on his local basketball team, then there was the $200million on a luxurious super yacht.

Now Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has outdone even his vast array of toys after spending millions of dollars on his very own MiG-29 jet fighter.

Mr Allen - worth an estimated $13.5billion - bought the Soviet-designed craft after it was restored by aviation enthusiast John Sessions.

It is currently on display at his private museum in Everett, Washington, but once all the paperwork has been finished it will be flown to an undisclosed location for him to enjoy in private.

It is not clear if Mr Allen intends to get in the cockpit, but it is thought to be in working order. The MiG had been part of the Ukrainian air force before being bought by Sessions.

Referring to Mr Allen’s company Vulcan Warbirds which did the deal, Sessions said: ‘I think it's fair to say the purchaser behind all that is Paul Allen.

‘They've been interested in a MiG-29 for a long time.’

Warplane: A MiG-29 fighter plane: The Microsoft co-founder has paid millions to have one of his own which is thought to be in working order

Luxury: The $200 million 414ft yacht The Octopus owned bybillionaire Paul Allen. It has 60 crew and costs $384,000 a week to run

Asked if Allen wanted to fly it, he said: ‘I know there's some interest. He hasn't said he's ready for his flight.’

The price of the MiG has not been disclosed but it will have run into millions of dollars and marks another addition to Allen’s jaw-dropping collection of toys.

In 2009, the 57-year-old bought the opulent 414ft-long Octopus yacht which came complete with a crew of 60, two helicopters, its own submarine, basketball court and music studio and a remote controlled vehicle that can crawl on the ocean floor.

Guests have included a string of brunettes and billionaire financier George Soros.

The yacht, which is the ninth longest in the world, costs $384,000 a week to run, but that is small beer to a man who is ranked 37th richest on the planet.

By then Mr Allen, 57, who is single, had already paid out $70million for his beloved Portland Trail Blazers basketball team which he bought in 1988.

Sports fan: Paul Allen owns both the Portland Blazers and Seattle Sounders



He later snapped up the Seattle Seahawks gridiron team and a stake in the Seattle Sounders soccer team then started collecting his own aircraft, mainly World War II planes.

Giver: Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen have agreed to give away their fortunes before they die

He became interested in MiG-29s when it became possible for private citizens to buy them on the open market.

It was back in 1975 that Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, the company which would go on to become one of the biggest in the world and make them both wealthy beyond their dreams.

Allen swiftly became the ideas man who had a vision of a ‘Wired World’ while Gates started becoming the global business chief he is today.

Allen is credited with securing the contract with IBM for an operating system that would run on the company’s computers.

The deal was seen as a watershed in the company’s history and was the foundation for it becoming a giant of the technology world that employs 93,000 people in 100 countries and last year earned £37billion.

Allen left in 1983 and sold off much of his stake after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, his first bout with cancer.

The episode caused a huge change in his approach to life. He recently joined Gates in signing the ‘Giving Pledge’ to donate most of his fortunate to charity before he dies.

Born and raised in Seattle, Allen has close ties to the region which is why he has invested in sports teams to such a large degree.

Despite his philanthropic streak, he has not been afraid to splash his money around and is renowned for throwing star studded parties on his yacht including one on New Year’s Eve in 2005 when R&B star Usher played Johnny Cash songs with him and his band.

He also funded SpaceShipOne, the first company to launch a private flight into suborbital space.