Each has cashed in on Microsoft's success on a
 consistent basis throughout the years. Gates has 
sold stock valued at more than $7.6 billion, while 
Allen has sold stock valued at more than $7 billion. 
Gates has made more than 1,475 separate transactions; 
Allen more than 900. 
...
Allen has invested in a number of high-profile 
ventures. He owns two sports teams: the Portland 
Trailblazers in the National Basketball Association 
and the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football 
League. Other investments range from the Experience 
Music Project going up at Seattle Center to a recent 
venture into cable television. 

But he has used most of his money like a private 
venture-capital fund, investing in Internet companies, 
cable television and other sectors. 

There is no way of telling just how well Allen is 
doing in that respect. However, the Washington 
State Investment Board reported that, in the first 
quarter, its "private equity" investments, which 
include such groups as venture-capital funds and 
other nontraditional investments, was up 7.9 percent.
If Allen did nearly as well, he would also be making 
millions from his Microsoft cash.
...

Allen spends much of the money he has made on a vision 
of the wired world to come. He has made 60 separate 
investments in companies from filmmaker Dreamworks to 
Internet-access provider High Speed Access to Web sites 
such as Go2Net. 

He has also had some disappointments such as Asymetrix, 
which went public at $11 a share and now trades at $4. 

Most recently, Allen has spent $25 million to purchase 
a 12 percent stake in Island, the second-largest 
electronic communications network in the United States. 
The network allows investors to trade with one another 
without a middleman.