Paul Allen Buys MiG-29 Russian Fighter Jet

Billionaire Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, has just added a Russian fighter jet to his robust collection of pricy assets, which include the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, a 303-foot long yacht, and several airplanes.

Allen recently purchased a restored Russian MiG-29 fighter jet.

The AP writes of the purchase:

The jet had been restored by another Washington aviation enthusiast and is currently on display at Allen's aviation museum at Paine Field in Everett. The manager of the Flying Heritage Collection says the jet is not expected to stay in Everett.

Allen's Flying Heritage Collection says of the MiG-29, "The two-seat Soviet-designed fighter served with Russia and the Ukrainian Air Force before coming to the U.S. for restoration."

See a picture of the jet here, then check out photos of Allen's mega-yacht, the Tatoosh.

Comments

[Euterpe360]

06:39 PM on 03/23/2011

Didn't his parents ever teach him to buy American?

[gomezrules]

10:56 PM on 03/22/2011

I don't know why the censors here had a problem with this post, but then again, I never do. Even if they do allow one from me, chances are it will be deleted before the day's out! Oh well, I'll try again..

Wow! It is 'interesting' to say the least at how many people can stew over the ability of others to indulge themselves thanks to the success they have earned! Can someone prove that Paul Allen doesn't pay taxes? That should be easy, right? Just prove it. The guy co-founded a company that employs tens of thousands in good paying jobs world-wide, and that company has helped revolutionize how we live and do business (among other things). But the envy, the JEALOUSY, of those who have no talents or the drive or initiative to do anything on their own or for themselves dominates this thread. Paul Allen pays more taxes in a year than the bulk of the participants here will in a year COMBINED. His philanthropy is of legendary proportions!

http://topics.cnn.com/topics/charitable_giving

But don't let any of that undeniable truth keep you from your whining about his success, or that he dare enjoy any of that success! Go on now, keep blaming HIM for your own life's failures!!
Geezz..

[Allan888]

09:52 AM on 03/22/2011

I went into foreclosure.

[lodger16x]

04:12 AM on 03/22/2011

Can someone please get this man some more tax cuts? NOW!

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

03:45 PM on 03/21/2011

I would have bought a diesel submarine.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

04:20 PM on 03/21/2011

Now that I've thought about that some more, I'd also paint it yellow.

[cam1002]

03:39 PM on 03/21/2011

What the wealthy and the conservatives don't understand while they complain about the children, elderly, infirm, unemployed getting government help which they believe is undeserved and unnecessary is that the wealthy are also taking from the government to a much greater extent. They don't see the tax breaks, subsidies, loopholes allowing the wealthy to offshore their income so they don't have to pay US taxes, breaks for offshoring jobs, corporate welfare, subsidies for farm/ranch (like Michele Bachman gets), lower taxes for captial gains and not taxing them as income; is that they too are living off the government and to a greater extent than the rest of the population. Talk about living off the government t3at. The wealthiest and the largest of the people and corporations are the biggest offenders of them all.

[lodger16x]

04:16 AM on 03/22/2011

The wealthy and corporations know exactly what's going on, because they have bought the government and control it.
 Why speak truth to power? Power already knows the truth. These people have no sense of duty to nation or society, only to the accumulation of more capital by any means.

[JacksonAndy78]

05:11 AM on 03/22/2011

And the worthless paper is all the corrupt rich care about.

Money for the sake of worthless money! A numbers game of greed for again WORTHLESS Loot out of thin air.

[Lucy1886]

10:21 AM on 03/22/2011

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.................

Someone might hear you.

Interesting that the "liberals" seldom emphasize this point, and it is EXACTLY the point that would win many of the middle/lower income folks AWAY from the right wing. But too many liberals are more interested in feeling goo about insulting the less educated and don't understand the common interest we have against the ways that the big corporations LOVE big government and get SO MUCH WELFARE (for the rich).

[sjburns]

02:24 PM on 03/21/2011

I assume he will bee using this to enforce the no-fly zone?

[fozzi58]

01:53 PM on 03/21/2011

And we are worried about raising his taxes 3% a year? AYFKM???

[Rich Phitzwell]

02:30 PM on 03/21/2011

I dont know about him but both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet came out saying that tax rates for the top 2% are way too low and they have never had it this good. Both have made it clear that the top 2% effective tax rate is lower than pretty much anybody else. Of course this wasn't exactly mentioned in the media too much prior to the vote to extend the tax cuts but meh, its just money right?

[gomezrules]

07:24 PM on 03/21/2011

And there is nothing in the tax code to prevent either of them from stroking a check to cover what they believe should be 'their share'! They are not obligated to utilize the myriad of deductions, credits, shelters, strategies, etc., that they can too minimize their taxes! As is said, talk is cheap!

[Babzter]

01:47 PM on 03/21/2011

Why didn't he buy a merikun jet? Traitor.

[JanP]

03:08 PM on 03/21/2011

Because civilians can't buy F-18's, F-16's or F-15's which are the equivelant American airplane.

America needs to buy F-22's to coutner the Sukhoi 27 and 30 which are being bought by cuba, Venezuela and Mexico.

[hypnotoad72]

01:18 PM on 03/21/2011

Nice to know Russia isn't an enemy anymore.  Which countries should we not be buying from, in case we end up accidentally "trading with the enemy", which was once deemed an act of treason or whatever?

[Ex Marine]

12:36 PM on 03/21/2011

The pilot in me overrides any other comment I could make. If I could afford one, my "Lotto" plane would be a P51 Mustang.

[atexasdem]

12:47 PM on 03/21/2011

I try to be more "practical". An L-33 would have to do me.

[ricardotoronto]

12:15 PM on 03/21/2011

Please HuffPo, why is this news?
Why does this rate a guesing game headline coupled with a nice stock photo?
What is Mr. Allen's former death machine going to do for us, your readers?
Will it brighten our day? Make us laugh? Enlighten our mind? Expand our horizons?
For the near zero percentile of readers who are hoping any day now that they too will be multi-billionaires, perhaps.
For the rest of us....meh.....not so much.

[atexasdem]

12:31 PM on 03/21/2011

But that's the "conservative" dream. They're all convinced that they need to eliminate the "death tax" because they will inherit millions from an unknown uncle, that they need tax breaks for billionaires because someday they'll be one. HuffPost is just allowing them their dream.

[fozzi58]

01:50 PM on 03/21/2011

DING! DING! DING!

[JanP]

03:09 PM on 03/21/2011

Why have any museumes? What do they do that putting the money into welfare and the homeless won't do.

Dojn;t you just love the esthetics of Communist era apartment blocks?

[DougBlessYou]

12:15 PM on 03/21/2011

To everyone talking about job creation, you all have some big sets:

Microsoft has 89,000 employees, approximately. He co-founded the company. Therefore, he created jobs and continues to.

[Steven Travis]

12:49 PM on 03/21/2011

How many of those employees are located in the US, how many of those are actually US citizens (not L1 or H1 Visa holders) and how many people are employed in India proper?

[DougBlessYou]

01:07 PM on 03/21/2011

That is what I'm talking about Steven Travis! A comment that actually makes me look deeper at a statement I made.
You make an interesting point, one that I would need to research a bit more. But between the amount of people that service the microsoft platform at home (meaning the US) via internal IT departments and external groups like geek squad, for example, I am confident that the number of jobs in America is pretty substantial either way.

[hypnotoad72]

01:19 PM on 03/21/2011

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/07/23/100134488/

Apart from putting their feet into their mouth by hyping up how Vista was made, they also break their own laws about piracy.  Yet we are supposed to still take them as a serious force behind eliminating the tyranny of piracy.  And if we were a global market, any one of us could have purchased Windows + Office for $3, instead of the $300 here.

[darquelourd]

12:09 PM on 03/21/2011

I bought one of these at IKEA, but I still can't get it assembled :)

[Dakotadude]

11:48 AM on 03/21/2011

Well he did create one job. (jerks hand rapidly near crotch area)

[Samcat604]

11:55 AM on 03/21/2011

So a magic fairy just waved her wand and a MIG appeared?

People were paid to make it.

[darquelourd]

12:06 PM on 03/21/2011

I like the handjob imagery. Once you have that much money everything is kind of like masturbation.

[ricardotoronto]

12:20 PM on 03/21/2011

Your absolutley correct Samcat604, people were paid to make it.
That they lived under a Communist dictatorial regime at the time it was made and thus were probably paid next to nothing is beside the point.

[DougBlessYou]

12:12 PM on 03/21/2011

Microsoft, the company he co-founded, has approximately 89,000 employees.

Get off your high horse.

[Steven Travis]

12:52 PM on 03/21/2011

In 2008, Microsoft employed more than 78,000 individuals. According to Fortune, Microsoft employs 47,645 in the United States and 30,920 in other countries. Microsoft has said publicly that less than 15 percent of its U.S. work force are H1-B visa holders--which would put the total number of visa holders in the 6,000 to 7,000 range.