Gabe Logan Newell (often nicknamed Gaben) is an American computer programmer, the self-made billionaire co-founder and President of Valve Corporation, the creator of the Steam digital distribution platform. Born in Colorado in 1962, his career is rooted in software engineering.

Newell attended Harvard University in the early 1980s but dropped out after three years to join Microsoft in 1983. He spent 13 years at Microsoft, contributing as a producer for early Windows operating systems (1.01, 1.02, 1.03). Inspired by a former colleague's work on Quake, Newell and his co-worker Mike Harrington left Microsoft in 1996, self-funding their new venture to focus on video games—a move that would transform the industry.

Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington co-founded Valve Corporation in 1996. Their first product was the commercially successful first-person shooter game Half-Life. During the production of Half-Life 2, Newell recognized the structural problem of pushing game updates and developed a digital distribution platform, initially intended as a simple utility, named Steam.

The accidental genius of Steam was that it became the biggest digital software distribution platform on PC, controlling the majority of the market for downloaded PC games by 2011. Under Newell's continued leadership as President, Valve's core philosophy centers on maintaining a highly decentralized, flat organizational structure and focusing relentlessly on product quality and customer experience. His wealth is secured by his massive majority stake (estimated at over 50 percent) in the privately held Valve Corporation, which generates billions in revenue from the Steam platform.

Gabe Newell's social impact is structural, stemming from Valve's role in democratizing game development and distribution through the Steam platform. The platform created a massive global ecosystem for independent developers (indies) to reach consumers (e.g., through Steam Greenlight). He is a major donor to medical research (having funded his own cornea transplants for Fuchs' dystrophy).

His structural contribution is tied to his belief in decentralized management and maximizing developer autonomy, a philosophy that revolutionized the video game industry's business model.

Gabe Newell maintains the simple, highly intellectual style of a technology executive. His attire is consistently pragmatic and casual, favoring simple t-shirts and functional wear. His aesthetic is anti-glamour, focused entirely on product and technology.

Residing in the Seattle area, his luxury is the immense security and autonomy derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is defined by his commitment to game development, digital platform innovation, and his dedication to maintaining the unique, founder-led culture of Valve.