Gabe Newell, according to Forbes magazine, has a fortune of 5.500 billion dollars, ranking among the 100 richest in the United States, thanks to Valve and its Steam store.

Being good at programming, being good at business, having a great idea, and a good dose of luck can lead to millions in the tech industry. An example might be Valve's creator guru, Gabe Newell, who thanks to his Steam platform and his company, is one of the richest people in America. According to Forbes, among the 400 richest Americans is Gabe Newell, with an estimated net worth of $ 5.500 billion.

Currently the minimum to become one of the 400 richest in the United States, requires two factors, being or living in the country in question and having a minimum capital of 2.000 million dollars, more than last year, where the minimum was valued at the 1.800 million dollars. The creator of Valve has a very bulky portfolio, so much so that it has reached position 97 on this list, entering the top 100 of the richest in the country. He shares this position with nine other people, including Ann Walton Kroenke, the heir to the Wal-Mart chain.

Initially Valve made a name for itself in the market with the Half-Life and Portal franchises, then developed the Steam platform, which has become the most used worldwide and has catapulted Newell's wealth. Forbes talks about the digital store as follows: 'Some liken it to the iTunes of video games. Steam sells game licenses to 125 million users, either its own titles or those of other developers and charges a percentage of the sales.

This has a negative part and that is that the company's business is in selling games and they do not seem interested in developing new games anymore, so it is possible that we will never see a third part of Team Fortress, Portal, Left 4 Dead or Half- Life. Right now the two franchises that seem to interest Valve are Dota 2 and Counter Strike. The rest have been in limbo.

Source: TechSpot