• The greatest art auction in history will feature works of art valued at an estimated $1 billion (£847 million) that belonged to the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
• Botticelli, Renoir, David Hockney, and Roy Lichtenstein all have works in the collection.
• He passed away in 2018 at the age of 65.

The greatest art auction in history will feature works of art valued at an estimated $1 billion (£847 million) that belonged to the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The proceeds of the November sale, according to Christie’s auction house, would be donated to charity as requested by Mr. Allen. Botticelli, Renoir, David Hockney, and Roy Lichtenstein all have works in the collection.

With his childhood buddy Bill Gates, Mr. Allen co-founded Microsoft in 1975. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 65. At the auction, 150 pieces of art from 500 years will be sold.

La Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a work by French artist Paul Cezanne, is expected to fetch more than $100 million (£85 million).

The auction, according to Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti, would be unique.

“The inspirational figure of Paul Allen, the extraordinary quality and diversity of works, and the dedication of all proceeds to philanthropy, create a unique combination that will make the sale of the Paul G Allen Collection an event of unprecedented magnitude,” he said.

Jody Allen, Mr. Allen’s sister, and the estate executor stated that the collection “reflects the diversity of his hobbies, with their own mystique and beauty.”

In 1983, Mr. Allen left his position at Microsoft after receiving the rare cancer diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Although it would later in his life, his relationship with co-founder Bill Gates had also soured. He served on the board of the business until 2000.

After receiving successful cancer treatment, Mr. Allen and his sister Jody established a private firm, Vulcan Inc., to handle his business and charities. He still held Microsoft shares as part of his multi-billion dollar investment portfolio.

He promised in 2010 to donate the majority of his assets to charity when he passed away. With an estimated $13.5 billion (then £8.8 billion), he was the 37th richest man in the world at the time, according to Forbes magazine.

After receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2009, the illness came back, and in 2018 it claimed his life due to its consequences.

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