With lifetime giving of more than $1.5 billion, Paul G. Allen has become one of the best-known philanthropists in the country.

Mr. Allen is a technologist who started Microsoft with Bill Gates, a childhood friend, in 1975. He is also founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., the company that oversees his business and philanthropic efforts. His multibillion-dollar investment portfolio includes a major real estate redevelopment in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood, professional sports teams, and holdings in dozens of companies.

Mr. Allen, who has pledged to leave a majority of his estate to philanthropy, gives back to the community through the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation as well as with direct gifts, including $26 million in 2010 to Washington State University for the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. In 2003, he created the Allen Institute for Brain Science to accelerate understanding of the human brain in health and disease. With a commitment of $500 million to date, Mr. Allen supports the Seattle-based nonprofit's large-scale research initiatives that fuel discovery throughout the scientific community.

In 2004, Mr. Allen funded SpaceShipOne, the first privately-backed effort to put a civilian in suborbital space and capture the Ansari X-Prize. In 2011, Mr. Allen founded Stratolaunch Systems, which is developing an innovative airborne launch system.

His independent film company, Vulcan Productions, has won numerous awards for feature films and documentaries. Idea Man, Mr. Allen's 2011 memoir, was a New York Times bestseller.

Mr. Allen is also founder of Seattle's critically acclaimed EMP Museum; the Flying Heritage Collection, an assemblage of World War II aircraft; and the Living Computer Museum, a collection of restored vintage computers.

Learn more at www.paulallen.com.

Jody Allen is president and CEO of Vulcan Inc., the project and investment management firm she co-founded with investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen in 1986. Since then, she has developed and led a wide range of Mr. Allen's business and charitable endeavors around the world.

In addition to her role as co-founder and president of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Ms. Allen also serves as president of Vulcan Productions, which produces compelling films, innovative digital programs, and outreach initiatives. The award-winning film company is a co-producing partner of 10x10, a new global campaign that is centered around the feature film Girl Rising and aims to educate and empower girls.

Ms. Allen is president of the board of Seattle's EMP Museum, the critically-acclaimed museum of music, popular culture and science fiction and vice-chair of First & Goal Inc., which oversees operations of the Seattle Seahawks. She also serves on the boards of the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Seahawks Charitable Foundation.

An active member of the arts and education communities, Ms. Allen has served on the boards of ArtsFund, the Theatre Communications Group, the University of Washington Foundation, the Museum of Glass, the Los Angeles International Film Festival and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Ms. Allen has also supported a number of major research projects, including the study of the long-term effects of nuclear detonation testing on the marine environment, and supporting marine biologist Hans Fricke's work to unravel the mystery of the coelacanth.