It’s Official: Gabe Newell’s a Billionaire

Business magazine Forbes has announced that Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell has joined their list of the world's billionaires.

As Valve is a privately held company and notoriously tight lipped about their financials, Forbes' valuation is an estimate based on outside valuations that place the company's worth at around $3 billion. As Newell owns 50% of the company, his net worth is pegged at least $1.5 billion dollars, and that's not even counting his assumedly massive collection of virtual hats.

To put that in perspective, Newell's net worth makes him the 854th wealthiest person in the world. Well, technically it puts him in a 60-way tie for 854th place, but you get the idea. He's also the third wealthiest person in all of video gaming, behind Nexon founder Kim Jung-Ju and Nintendo's largest shareholder and former president, Hiroshi Yamauchi.

So, the next time you think about cracking wise about Half-Life 3's release date, just remember: Gabe's got enough money to build a time machine and travel back to ensure that you were never born. Don't push your luck.