The geniuses at national real estate brokerage Redfin recently conducted an analysis of some of the wealthiest people in the U.S. to see just how many homes they could afford to buy. 

In many cases, these billionaires could buy all of the homes in an entire city. Bill Gates, for example, has a net worth of more than $77.5 billion and could theoretically afford to buy all 114,212 homes in Boston. The city's homes are valued at a total of $76.6 billion. 

Redfin's economists determined the total value by looking at all home sales between April 1, 2013 and April 1, 2014. Those sales were used as a representative sample of all homes in a city. 

Several other tech billionaires could afford to buy entire cities, including Google CEO Larry Page, who could buy all 99,964 homes in Boca Raton, Florida, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who could buy all 139,124 homes in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Redfin created this map of the cities that these billionaires could theoretically buy with their wealth. For super-rich families like the Waltons and the Koch brothers, the study assumed they would pool their wealth together to purchase a city. The values depicted represent the total value of all homes in a particular city. 

The study was conducted on a total of 30 billionaires drawn from Forbes' 400 Wealthiest list.

"In this fictional real estate investment, the 30 billionaires on our list, with a combined fortune of $582 billion, could afford to own a staggering 6 percent of the total U.S. home equity," Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson said in a blog post.

You can see all 30 in the table below, along with the U.S. cities they could afford to buy if they so desired. 

SEE ALSO: The Incredible Real Estate Portfolio Of Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen collects a lot of expensive things: mansions, sports teams, yachts, and priceless works of art.

It's his collection of World War II-era warcraft, however, that's the focus of a lawsuit filed on his behalf this week in San Mateo County Superior Court.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Vulcan Warbirds, one of Allen's companies, is suing the Collings Foundation over a rare Panzer IV, a vintage tank that Allen says he paid $2.5 million for in July. 

The tank was built in 1944 and used by the German army in World War II. One of only 38 complete Panzers in the world, it was bought by Syria in the 1950s, then was captured by Israelis in 1967 before being retired to the Israeli Armor Museum. In 2003, it was purchased by the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation in Portola Valley, California, and it was eventually donated to the Stow, Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation in July 2014.

Collings put the Panzer IV up for auction later that month, along with some other pieces from the collection that were donated to the foundation. 

Allen, who has a passion for vintage military vehicles, jumped at the chance to add the tank to his collection. Allen's Vulcan Warbirds buys planes and other warcraft and leases them to the Flying Heritage Collection, based in Everett, Washington. He already counts a $45,000 M55 Howitzer and a $349,000 Soviet missile among his collection, and the organization recently opened a "tank arena" to put all of his vintage military equipment on display.

"Warbirds has been seeking to find a Panzer IV Tank for over five years," the lawsuit says, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Panzer IV Tanks are extremely rare and rarely are available for sale. Once acquired, the Panzer IV Tank will be on display at the museum."

According to the Vulcan Warbirds suit, Allen paid the Collings Foundation a total of $4.2 million, including $2.5 million for the Panzer IV. The sale price had allegedly been negotiated between Vulcan Warbirds and a representative from Auctions America, which had arranged the auction. 

The lawsuit centers on what happened next. Almost a month after the sale allegedly went down, Rob Collings, executive director of the Collings Foundation, told the Flying Heritage Collection that they never agreed to transfer the tank to Allen's company. Collings said he would honor the sale only if the foundation could find another tank to replace it.

"We do not have an agreement to sell a Panzer IV to Paul Allen or Flying Heritage Collection or Vulcan or any of his companies," Collings told the Los Angeles Times."I heard the comment made from someone at Flying Heritage Collection that this was a case of seller's remorse. No it was not. We didn't ever sell it."

The court issued a temporary restraining order for the Panzer, which is still in Collings' Portola Valley showroom. 

Vulcan Warbirds had this statement regarding the suit: "Auctions America has failed to honor our agreement and yesterday we sued it and the Collings Foundation, the former owner of the tank, to enforce our contract. We look forward to restoring the Panzer IV Tank and having it join our Sherman tank and other historic military aircraft and vehicles at the Flying Heritage Collection."

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen announced Thursday that he would be donating at least $100 million to fighting Ebola, The New York Times reported.

"Everybody feels called sometimes to really pursue a certain thing that resonates with them, and this has resonated with me," Allen told the Times. "We’re up against an extremely tough opponent here. The exponential nature of the growth of this disease is really a challenge — we’ve already seen in the U.S. where one case quickly became two."

The gift makes him one of the largest individual donors to contribute to the cause. He had previously pledged $26 million to nonprofits and government agencies fighting the disease, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The $100-million pledge also doubles his Microsoft cofounder's gift — the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced in September that it would donate $50 million toward fighting the Ebola outbreak.

Allen's donation will go to several different organizations, including the World Health Organization, the United States State Department, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which funds lab equipment in Liberia. Allen has also created a website, www.TackleEbola.com, to direct smaller donors towards projects they can help fund. 

"I got a taste when I was in Kenya a while ago of what medical care was in rural Africa,"Allen said. "I was in a town of about 10,000 people, and a shipping container with a rusty microscope was their medical clinic."

Allen confirmed the news of his donation via Twitter.

SEE ALSO: At $50 Million, Bill Gates Just Made His Largest Donation Ever To Fight Ebola

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen has plenty of interesting hobbies, including playing in a rock band and collecting real estate and sports teams.

One of his biggest passions over the years, however, has been aviation. 

When he was young, his father was named the associate director of libraries at the University of Washington.

"I'd spend hours reading about the engines in some of those planes," Allen told Forbes. "I was trying to understand how things worked — how things were put together, everything from airplane engines to rockets and nuclear power plants. I was just intrigued by the complexity and the power and the grace of these things flying."

Allen started collecting planes and other World War II artifacts in the 1990s. In 2004, he opened his 31-piece collection — rumored to be worth many millions of dollars — to the public. It's currently housed in the Flying Heritage Collection, in a hangar in Everett, Washington. 

Allen's collection includes two types of British planes that served in WWII. The Supermarine Spitfire has often been credited with winning the Battle of Britain. This particular plane was heavily damaged during a raid on enemy territory, though it has since been restored.

Source: Flying Heritage Collection

The Hawker Hurricane destroyed more enemy aircraft than any other British plane. This plane never saw combat and was recovered from a farm in Ontario, Canada, not far from where it was manufactured.

Source: Flying Heritage Collection

He also owns a number of German planes, some of which were actually used by pilots during WWII. The Fieseler Storch was named for the German word for "stork" because its wings could be folded down to be transported by train.

Source: Flying Heritage Collection

With an estimated net worth of $17 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford to buy himself some fancy toys. 

But with interests that range from electric guitars to World War II aircraft, Allen takes expensive hobbies to a whole new level. 

We've rounded up some of the billionaire's most ridiculous toys, from submarines to professional sports teams.

Allen loves rock 'n' roll. An expert guitarist, he pays a band to travel with him so he can jam whenever he wants. He owns a number of valuable guitars, including some previously used by Woody Guthrie and Jimi Hendrix.

Source: 60 Minutes

In May, Allen showed off his skills at a celebrity-packed party he threw on his 414-foot yacht, "Octopus."

Source: Business Insider

Octopus is truly one-of-a-kind, decked out with two helicopter landing pads and its own submarine. Allen has sailed to Antarctica, Europe, and other exotic destinations. "During the day we explore, and at night we jam," he told "60 Minutes" in 2011.

Source: 60 Minutes

Paul Allen, the Microsoft cofounder turned billionaire philanthropist, will donate $100 million to create a research center tasked with investigating the inner workings of human cells. The ultimate goal is to deepen our understanding of how diseases emerge and how they can be treated and prevented.

"Cells are the fundamental units of life, with every disease we know of affecting particular types of cells," said Allen, in a press release from the new center. "We conceived of the Allen Institute for Cell Science as a catalyzing force to integrate technologies and approaches at a large scale in order to provide an exceptional resource for the entire scientific community."

The institute will be based in Seattle.

For its first project, the Allen Cell Observatory, more than 70 scientists will collaborate to create a visual database describing in great detail how every kind of cell works, down the molecular level, so that their normal behavior can be predicted and their aberrant behavior demystified. In an interview with Nature News, the center's new executive director, cell biologist Rick Horwitz, compared this unified effort to the Manhattan Project.

The multidisciplinary approach "will bring together biologists, microscopy experts, data scientists and others from a diverse set of fields under one roof," noted The Washington Post, a crucial part of the center's strategy. And the center's "data, models, and tools" will be publicly available online.

"People have studied individual systems but no one has tried to integrate it," Horwitz said. "It's a huge project."

The new donation from Allen, whose Allen Institute for Brain Science has generated important results and innovations for neuroscience, has the potential to be transformative because it will focus a huge amount of research energy on basic science, which can be difficult to fund but has the potential have a broad, if unpredictable, impact.

"These longer-term kinds of investments tend to be neglected because everyone wants short-term outputs," biochemist Bruce Alberts, who met with Allen earlier this year, told The Washington Post. "I am very pleased Paul Allen has a different vision."

Still, one scientist pointed out to Nature News, "it will take time" to see whether the accomplishments of the center live up to its lofty goals. Allen will be paying close attention. After five years, he will decide whether or not to continue funding.

SEE ALSO: We Are Now At A Major Turning Point In Understanding Mental Illness

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen certainly seems to have enjoyed the holidays.

On New Year's Eve, Allen, worth an estimated $17.1 billion, tweeted a photo of himself ringing in 2015 aboard his 414-foot yacht, "Octopus." 

Allen reportedly celebrated the New Year with an over-the-top party on Octopus, which had been anchored in Sydney Harbor. A spectacular fireworks show was among the highlights. 

The yacht, which has 40 guest suites, a glass-bottom pool, two helicopter pads, and its own submarine, was spotted in Sydney several times over the past week.

Allen's extravagant yacht parties are well known in the tech and entertainment worlds. During the Cannes Film Festival, he hosts a party for actors, musicians, and other celebrities, and he often plays guitar during a live set with his band.

He usually docks in St. Barts for New Year's Eve, but he reportedly changed locations because "Russians have taken over" the island, a source told the New York Post.

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SEE ALSO: Google's Larry Page Is Being Sued By A Painter Who Was Injured While Working On His Yacht

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With an estimated net worth of $17 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford to buy himself some fancy toys. 

But with interests that range from electric guitars to World War II aircraft, Allen takes expensive hobbies to a whole new level. 

He also happens to own the Seattle Seahawks, who will be playing for their second consecutive Super Bowl win this weekend. 

We've rounded up some of the billionaire's most ridiculous toys, from professional sports teams to submarines.

Sports are a major passion of Allen's — he's a part owner of the Seattle Sounders, and he bought the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988 and the Seattle Seahawks in 1997.

After the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014, Allen threw a massive party that featured live performances from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, as well as a set by Allen himself. After the party, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told the Washington Post: "Paul was hot last night, he was tearing it up — big licks. He had a lot of notable artists with him, too, playing. He’s got a great roster also. They sounded great ... I think Paul picked up the bill, too."

Source: Business Insider

His Seahawks will get another chance at a championship when they head to the Super Bowl this Sunday. "The first time you go you’re kind of amazed to be there," he told the Seattle Times. "The thing is, once you’re in the Super Bowl, you want to win. As time goes on, you want to win more and more." It seems like he's ready for the post-game celebrations — he reportedly had a custom amplifier made just for the occasion, with knobs that go all the way to 12.

Source: Seattle Times, Puget Sound Business Journal

The Hospital Club, located on Endell Street in London's Covent Garden neighborhood, has quite the interesting history.

Previously a 19th-century women's hospital, the seven-story building now functions as a members-only club, hotel, TV studio, art gallery, and event space. The club also just added 15 bedrooms so visiting members have a place to lay their heads at night.

Microsoft's billionaire cofounder Paul Allen bought the club in 1996, shortly after he and musician Dave Stewart discovered the building while having a drink nearby. They renovated it and opened the Hospital Club in 2004.

An annual membership costs 8oo pounds, or roughly $1,200, though those based outside the U.K. and under 30 years old can take advantage of a slight discount. 

The Hospital Club is located in a seven-story building that was completed in 1849. Its name was inspired by the building's previous roles, first as a women's hospital and later as a secret, government-funded treatment center.

Inside, the decor is funky and eclectic.

Detailed woven rugs and bold walls give off an artistic vibe.

Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen announced Wednesday that he and a crew aboard his "Octopus" yacht had located a WWII-era battleship at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines.

Octopus is a 414-foot yacht equipped with 40 guest suites, a glass-bottom pool, two helicopter pads, and a submarine.

It is one of the largest yachts on the high seas.

Allen has sailed to Antarctica, the Mediterranean, and many other exotic destinations. "During the day we explore, and at night we jam,"he told"60 Minutes" in 2011.

Octopus has been the scene for numerous swanky parties, including the annual soiree Allen hosts during the Cannes International Film Festival. 

At last year's party, he and "Entourage" star Adrian Grenier entertained guests with a live performance.

Allen started 2015 with another big party onboard Octopus, this time in Sydney.

According to his official web site, Allen has spent eight years looking for the Japanese battleship he found this week, which is called "Musashi." Allen has a passion for military technology, and he owns a large collection of war planes from the same period. 

SEE ALSO: The incredible toys of Seattle Seahawks owner and Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen

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Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen announced that he has discovered Musashi, a World War II Japanese battleship that was sunk by US forces over 7o years ago. 

Allen and his research team found the ship in the Sibuyan Sea, more than eight years after their search began.

Produced by Jason Gaines. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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More than 70 years after it sank during World War II, the legendary Japanese battleship Musashi has been discovered off the coast of the Philippines.

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been leading an expedition to find the Musashi — one of the biggest battleships ever built — aboard his high-tech 414-foot-long (125 meters) yacht, the M/Y Octopus. The team announced this week that they finally located the shipwreck in the Sibuyan Sea.

"Mr. Allen has been searching for the Musashi for more than 8 years, and its discovery will not only help fill in the narrative of WWII's Pacific theater, but bring closure to the families of those lost," a statement on Allen's website said. [See photos of the battleship Musashi's sunken remains]

The Musashi and her sister ship, the Yamato, were considered the heaviest and most powerful battleships ever built, though neither survived World War II.

The Yamato sank during a fierce battle for Okinawa on April, 7 1945. In the 1980s, shipwreck hunters found the Yamato 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Kyushu, one of the main islands of Japan. The ship was split in two and was found resting at a depth of 1,120 feet (340 m).

American forces sank the 862-foot-long (263 m), 73,000-ton (66,225 metric tons) Musashi on Oct. 24, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, killing more than 1,000 members of the ship's 2,399-person crew. The final resting place of the ship remained elusive for decades, despite eyewitness accounts of the sinking.

Allen's team hasn't revealed too much information about exactly where and how they found the Musashi, but according to a news release, they drew from historical records from four different countries, topographical data and advanced technology aboard the M/Y Octopus. A tweet from Allen indicated that the wreck was discovered about 3,280 feet (1 km) below the water's surface.

The team released crisp underwater footage taken by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that shows several parts of the ship, including a catapult system that was used to launch float planes, a wheel on a valve from an engineering area that had Japanese script, the turret from an 18-inch (46 centimeters) naval gun, a 15-ton anchor and the battleship's bow.

Allen has a history of bankrolling ambitious tech and exploration projects. He was an early backer of Scale Composites' suborbital spacecraft SpaceShipOne. He later founded his own spaceflight company, Stratolaunch Systems, with Scale Composites founder Burt Rutan. The company is trying to build the world's largest air-launched space rocket. In 2012, Allen lent his yacht to support filmmaker James Cameron's expedition to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the ocean's deepest point.

Allen and his team said they plan to work with the Japanese government to ensure the wreck of the Musashi is treated "respectfully and in accordance with Japanese traditions."

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter.Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.

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Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft on April 4, 1975 — exactly 40 years ago tomorrow. 

In honor of the milestone, Gates sent a letter to all Microsoft employees, detailing his plans for the company's future. The letter was first tweeted by Amit Choudhary, and the Verge confirmed its authenticity. 

The letter reads:

"Tomorrow is a special day: Microsoft's 40th anniversary.

Early on, Paul Allen and I set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution.

Today though, I am thinking much more about Microsoft's future than its past. I believe computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before. We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive. We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more.

Under Satya's leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry. In my role as technical advisor to Satya, I get to join product reviews and am impressed by the vision and talent I see. The result is evident in products like Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens -- and those are just a few of the many innovations that are on the way.

In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizations around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices.

We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come."

SEE ALSO: Bill Gates recommended these 6 books for TED 2015

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NOW WATCH: Here's what Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen actually found at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines

A little Friday afternoon trivia for you: Which Seattle tech icon helped design the original homepage for ESPN.com?

That would be Paul Allen, who founded a Seattle-based software company called Starwave back in the 90s about a decade after leaving Microsoft.

Starwave helped launch the original ESPN.com in 1995 — back then it was called ESPNet SportsZone — as part of a joint venture with the ESPN and unveiled the site at the Final Four in Seattle.

As ESPN re-launched its homepage this week, Allen shared some of the mock-ups for ESPNet SportsZone on Twitter. I love the fake headline of “Blazers win at the buzzer,” which isn’t surprising given that Allen bought Portland’s NBA team in 1988. There’s also a “Sox trade Jordan to Yanks” headline. Check it out:

On Monday, ESPN.com debuted a brand new homepage design, along with new mobile apps. The clean, more personal design is certainly a far cry from what the site looked like two decades ago, but some of the core aspects still remain relevant. Here are some fun stats from ESPN:

In 1998, ESPN.com saw 1.2 million visits per day, making it the most-visited sports website in the U.S.  In 2014, ESPN.com saw 24.7 million visits in the average day, and more than 9 billion across the entire year. On a recent day this year – March 10, 2015, the first day of NFL free agency – ESPN.com had 2.3 million visits in one hour (4:00 pm and 5:00 pm ET).

In January 2015, ESPN digital properties – which include content across web, apps and video – had 126.5 million monthly unique visitors worldwide, the most ever in the global sports category.

Starwave, meanwhile, helped build sites like ABCNews.com and Outside Online, while also producing CD-ROM titles for people like Clint Eastwood and Sting. The company was acquired by Disney in 1998.

SEE ALSO: One analyst thinks ESPN would cost $36 on its own

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NOW WATCH: Here's what Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen actually found at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines

Paul Allen's annual yacht party continues to be one of the most sought-after invitations of the Cannes International Film Festival.

Monday night, the Microsoft cofounder invited scores of movie stars, musicians, and supermodels aboard his 414-foot yacht, "Octopus," for a Bollywood-themed bash.

Actors John C. Reilly, Jessica Lowndes, and Kelly Rutherford, as well as models Karlie Kloss and Melissa Bolona were all in attendance. 

Here's what you missed if your invitation got lost in the mail.

A massive elephant sculpture signaled the entrance to the party.

As guests arrived to the yacht by tender, purple lighting set the mood.

There were lots of Bollywood decorations set up on the deck.

It made for a dramatic scene.

There was even a performance by Bollywood dancers.

Not to be outdone, Allen himself got up to play some songs on his electric guitar.

Some guests donned henna tattoos.

Others got the full tour of the yacht, including the submarine a crew used to discover a sunken World War II battleship in March. 

Here's what it looks like inside that submersible. 

And here's what one of the helicopter landing pads looks like — the yacht has two.

It seems like a good time was had by all.

SEE ALSO: Tech billionaires are paying hundreds of millions to get their privacy back

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With an estimated net worth of $17.5 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford some expensive toys.

His 414-foot yacht, "Octopus," has to be one of the best billionaire toys around. 

Fully equipped with a pool, two helicopters, a movie theater, basketball court, recording studio, and accommodations for 26 guests in 41 suites, Octopus makes for an extremely luxurious escape. 

We've rounded up some of the yacht's craziest features here.

1. It cost Allen about $200 million to build.

Octopus is said to have cost Allen up to $200 million. Custom-built by German shipbuilders Lurssen over several years, it was officially launched in 2003.

2. It costs an estimated $384,000 a week to operate.

Yacht owners are expected to pay approximately 10% of the original purchase price each year to cover basic maintenance and operations.

By that logic, Allen pays about $384,000 a week to keep Octopus in tiptop shape. That adds up to approximately $20 million a year, according to New York Social Diary.

3. It weighs more than 9,000 tons. 

Measuring a whopping 414 feet, Octopus is one of the biggest private yachts in the world. According to Boat International, it was the largest when it launched in 2003, though yachts belonging to David Geffen and Roman Abramovich have since surpassed it.

4. He employs a permanent staff of 60.

Keeping such a massive operation running requires a lot of helping hands: captains, first mate, engineers, deckhands, in addition to chefs and stewardesses.

The yacht has 28 cabins just for the crew, the Superyacht Times reports. 

5. The tender — a boat used to shuttle guests between the yacht and the shore — is 63 feet long.

In keeping with the sea creature theme, Octopus' tender is called "Man-of-War." At 63 feet long, it's a decently sized boat itself.

6. It has two submarines.

Allen has said that Octopus is "less a Bentley than a Range Rover" because of the state-of-the art exploration equipment onboard.

According to Vulcan, one of the submarines, called Pagoo, can dive for up to eight hours and accommodate 10 people. It's stored in an interior dock on the bottom of the yacht.

A second submarine, called the Octo ROV, can be remotely controlled and dive up to 8,843 feet. The ROV has been loaned out for Google Earth's "Explore the Ocean" project and for a documentary on the Discovery Science Channel. 

7. A crew discovered a Japanese battleship with one of them.

In March, Allen announced that a crew onboard Octopus had located a WWII-era battleship at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines.

It wasn't the first time Octopus has been used for purposes beyond entertainment for Allen and his inner circle. In 2012, Allen loaned the yacht to the Royal Navy in an effort to find a bell from a British WWII-era battleship. The search was eventually called off due to bad weather.

Octopus is also a member of the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue, which means that it can be used to assist other boats in distress. 

8. It also has two helicopter landing pads.

There's one in the front and one in the back.

9. Mick Jagger has used the recording studio onboard.

A longtime fan of rock and roll — he built an entire museum dedicated to Jimi Hendrix memorabilia — Allen reportedly lent Octopus' recording studio to Mick Jagger when he was recording an album with SuperHeavy in 2011. 

Usher, Dave Stewart, U2, and Johnny Cash have all reportedly performed onboard Octopus.

10. It has a glass-bottom pool. 

Other amenities include a basketball court, move theater, and a swimming pool with its own bar area. 

11. Parties Allen has hosted on the boat have drawn loads of A-list guests.

Octopus was built for a good time. 

Each year at the Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France, Allen throws an extravagant party attended by actors, filmmakers, and supermodels.

Actors John C. Reilly, Jessica Lowndes, and Kelly Rutherford, as well as models Karlie Kloss and Melissa Bolona were all in attendance at this year's party.

Sharon Stone, Adrian Grenier, Russian actress Svetlana Metkina, and model Natasha Poly came last year.

Allen usually treats his guests to a live performance.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen threw a Bollywood-themed yacht party attended by celebrities and supermodels

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NOW WATCH: Here's what Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen actually found at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines

As Donald Trump's campaign for the White House kicks into high gear, the bombastic billionaire will be jetting across America on his private Boeing 757-200 airliner. Unlike most presidential candidates, The Donald actually owns his campaign plane. 

"Trump Force One"— as some have dubbed the jet — will be one of the most visible symbols of Trump's run for the Oval Office. 

Trump has owned the Boeing airliner— registration N757FA— since 2011 and has customized the aircraft to his liking. 

Have a closer look at Donald Trump's personal Boeing 757-200 jet.

SEE ALSO: Check out the factory where Boeing is building the last of its legendary 747s

Although The Donald may be the jet's current owner, he wasn't its first.

Trump's Boeing 757-2J4ER first flew in May 1991. The brand-new airliner was delivered to Sterling Airlines, a now defunct Danish low-cost carrier. A couple years later, it found its way into the fleet of Mexico's TAESA, also a now defunct airline.

FAA, Airfleets.net

In 1995, the jet was purchased by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. For the next 15 years, the Boeing served as a corporate runabout for the billionaire's various interests.

Airfleets.net, Flightaware

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With pieces by artists as legendary as Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Auguste Renoir, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is consistently ranked among the top art collectors in the US.

He recently shared with Bloomberg that he's a regular attendee of the Venice Biennale, a massive art festival held in Italy every two years. 

Now Allen, whose net worth is estimated to be around $17.5 billion, wants to bring that same arts enthusiasm to his hometown of Seattle.

His investment company, Vulcan, is co-sponsoring the Seattle Art Fair, whch begins Thursday at CenturyLink Field. The stadium is home to the Seattle Seahawks, which Allen also owns. 

"To live with these pieces of art is truly amazing," Allen said to Bloomberg."I feel that you should share some of the works to give the public a chance to see them."

Nearly 60 galleries both local and international haven planned exhibitions the fair. According to Bloomberg, many of the major galleries — like New York's Gagosian Gallery and Pace Gallery — are looking to bring on Seattle-based tech billionaires as clients. 

Microsoft and Amazon have made their home in Seattle for decades, and more and more tech companies continue to open offices there. 

A similar phenomenon has happened in San Francisco, with local galleries recruiting tech leaders to join the board for events like the FOG Design + Art Fair. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Zynga founder Mark Pincus, One Kings Lane CEO Ali Pincus, Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman, and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman are among those who have served on FOG's committee.

Allen, for one, has said that art collecting has been "a very, very good investment for me." In 2014, he sold a Mark Rothko painting for $56.2 million at auction. He had reportedly purchased it for $34.2 million in 2007. 

In October, 40 of Allen's landscapes will travel to the Portland Art Museum and then on to the Seattle Art Museum. 

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Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is no stranger to the Mercer Island, Washington, real estate market. 

Allen, whose net worth is estimated at $18 billion, is believed to own as many as 11 homes in this ritzy enclave just east of Seattle.

And according to Realtor.com, he just added yet another Mercer Island property to his extensive collection.

Allen reportedly purchased a roughly 3,320-square-foot home for $5.4 million in December. The property is a bungalow that dates back to 1948 and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. 

Allen's primary residence is a 10,000-square-foot waterfront home that has its own helipad and concert hall. The rest of his Mercer Island homes are used to house guests.

Allen also owns property in Beverly Hills, Hawaii, New York City, and the French Riviera, in addition to two superyachts.

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen lives a pretty fabulous life. With an estimated net worth of $18 billion, he's the 26th wealthiest man in the world, and he has the fancy yachts, planes, and lifestyle to prove it.

Allen also collects a ridiculous amount of properties across the globe. 

From a hilltop mansion on the French Riviera to an entire island off the coast of Washington, Allen has made his fair share of blockbuster purchases over the years.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen reportedly just bought another home for $5.4 million

Allen's primary residence is a 10,000-square-foot waterfront home on Mercer Island, a ritzy enclave of Seattle. He owns a total of 11 mansions on the island, including one that houses a full-size basketball court, swimming pool, and fitness center.

Source: Curbed Seattle, Variety

Allen's most recent purchase on Mercer Island was a 3,000-square-foot bungalow that he reportedly paid $5.4 million for.

Source: Realtor.com

He bought Allan Island, off the coast of Washington, in 1992. Though he initially had plans to build a dream home on the island, its secluded nature and lack of electricity made construction difficult. He sold the island in 2013 for a discounted $8 million.

Source: Curbed Seattle