Next round of: Which Seattle billionaire would you be?

It’s time for an update in my fantasy game: “What Kind of Billionaire Would I Be?”

For the uninitiated, this is a game that I play in my head when I’m reading stories about the many famous billionaires in our region. Specifically, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Paul Allen. It’s kind of like when “Sex In The City” was all the rage people would pick if they were a Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, or Miranda.

Play the game: What kind of Seattle billionaire would you be?

Let’s further define the categories of our three billionaire archetypes:

• Bill Gates: Gives away most of his money through his foundation. Loves to play Contact Bridge with fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, and likes to drive Porches.
• Jeff Bezos: Purchased the Washington Post, you know, just for fun. Built some giant glass balls in downtown Seattle to keep his plant collection, and likes to make cameos in Super Bowl commercials.
• Paul Allen: Owns NBA and NFL teams. Built a museum designed by Frank Gehry to house his Jimi Hendrix collection. And he has his own submarine.

Now all you do when you read a story about one of these three is ask yourself if you’d do that if you were a billionaire?

Which billionaire?

Almost without fail, I would be a Paul Allen.

But maybe things have changed. Let’s check the latest entries in my little game. Our latest update from Mr. Gates? He shared his favorite books from the previous year. Yawn. Mr. Bezos? He’s excited to try and figure out how to make health care better. Interesting and important, but double yawn. And Mr. Allen? He’s about to launch the Stratolauncher.

The what?

In case you missed it, Paul Allen has been building the largest airplane in history. He calls it the Stratolauncher.

From the website:

Stratolaunch is the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan and is the largest all-composite plane ever built. Utilizing six Boeing 747 engines for a payload capacity of over 500,000 lbs. and an operational range of approximately 2,000 nautical miles.

Add to this story the latest interview by music legend Quincy Jones wherein he says:

But you know who sings and plays just like Hendrix?

Who?

Paul Allen.

Stop it. The Microsoft guy?

Yeah, man. I went on a trip on his yacht, and he had David Crosby, Joe Walsh, Sean Lennon — all those crazy mother*****rs. Then on the last two days, Stevie Wonder came on with his band and made Paul come up and play with him — he’s good, man.

So what kind of billionaire would I be?

I’m still a Paul Allen.

You can hear “What are we talking about here?” everyday at 4:45 p.m. on 97.3 FM.

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