how did paul allen die

Paul Allen, the co‑founder of Microsoft, died on October 15, 2018, from septic shock caused by complications of non‑Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 65.

Quick Scoop: How did Paul Allen die?

Paul Allen had been diagnosed with non‑Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, in 2009, and after treatment it later returned in 2018. His company and family stated that he died due to “complications of non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” which more detailed medical reports clarified as septic shock related to his cancer and the immune suppression it caused.

Septic shock is a severe, life‑threatening reaction to infection where the body’s response causes dangerous drops in blood pressure and organ failure. Cancer and its treatments can weaken the immune system, making serious infections and sepsis much more likely, and in Allen’s case this became the final pathway leading to his death.

Key facts

• Date of death: October 15, 2018, in Seattle, Washington.

• Age: 65 years old.

• Underlying disease: Non‑Hodgkin lymphoma (he had previously survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma decades earlier).

• Immediate medical cause: Septic shock related to cancer‑associated immune suppression.

A bit of context

In early October 2018, just days before his death, Allen publicly announced that his non‑Hodgkin lymphoma had returned and that he was beginning treatment again. Less than two weeks later, he died from the resulting complications, which many news outlets and medical discussions highlighted as an example of how serious and unpredictable lymphoma and sepsis can be, even for someone with top‑tier medical access.

“He died from complications of non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” his company Vulcan Inc. said in a statement, a phrase that was later specified in medical documentation as septic shock due to his cancer‑related immune suppression.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.