Gabe Newell "is the newest video game billionaire"

Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell has been labelled the newest video game billionaire” by Forbes.

The outlet estimates his personal fortune to be around $1.5bn, making him the 854th richest of the globe’s 1,226 billionaires.

The news comes as Newell makes his debut appearance on Forbes Millionaire Rich List.

Newell owns over 50 per cent of Valve, which as a private company is not obliged to detail its finances.

The numbers are estimates, however, and were arrived up after Forbes consulted with video game industry insiders, equity analysts, investment bankers, and technology analysts”.

Between them they peg Valve’s total value well in excess of $3bn, thanks mostly to its 70 per cent share of the PC download market and 40m registered users.