The fashion makeover not withstanding, it is hard to figure out the secretive Paul Allen and his unraveling empire. His wired world strategy was supposed to be a slam dunk, but it has not turned out that way. Forbes thinks he is worth about $21 billion. The question is how? He has lost money in Charter Communications and several other companies including the official geek channel, Tech TV. Earlier this year, Princeton, N.J.-based RCN Corp., announced its intention to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Allen owns about a quarter of RCN’s stock, and has seen nearly $1.6 billion evaporate even before the bankruptcy. Charter has sucked nearly $7.8 billion of his dollars, and it is an investment which is higher than his stake in Microsoft, said to be worth a mere $5 billion. Charter has $18 billion in debt, more than $700 million of which comes due in 2005 and 2006.