Gabe Newell joins Forbes' billionaires list

Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve, has been added to the billionaires' club.

According to a Forbes report, Newell's net worth is around $1.5 billion dollars, and he ranks 854th out of 1,226 global billionaires.

Newell, who owns over 50% of his privately-held firm, doesn't disclose his finances not that of Valve's, so in order to estimate his financial worth Forbes consulted with: "video game industry insiders, equity analysts, investment bankers, and technology analysts" to come up with the figure.

"Even the most conservative estimates put Valve’s enterprise value at more than $3 billion, and since Newell owns more than 50% of the company, that means he’s worth at least $1.5 billion," stated the report.

The 25th annual edition of Forbes list of The World’s Billionaires contains 1,226 billionaires worth a record $4.6 trillion, and 128 of those are new billionaires and hailing from 32 countries.