A superyacht-obsessed gaming billionaire just bought an entire shipyard responsible for some truly iconic vessels.
Gabe Newell has made billions from video games and also has a love for luxury superyachts. However, he has now decided to take that love to another level.
Instead of just buying another yacht, he has bought the whole Oceanco group, one of the world’s largest superyacht builders, and now owns the company.
The purchase also includes the shipyard where they build them, making this a truly incredible way of getting your hands on more yachts.
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Why has the superyacht-obsessed gaming billionaire bought the shipyard?
Gabe Newell has made his money from Valve, the company that runs the PC gaming store and platform Steam.
Newell loves his games, but also loves his superyachts and has owned some iconic vessels.
He used to own the Dapple yacht, and recently acquired his $400 million, 367-ft Oceanco yacht, Project Y722.
With so much money on hand, it’s no wonder that Newell has a net worth estimated to be $9.5 billion.
Newell bought the company from the previous owner, Dr. Mohammed Al Barwani and his family.
They opened the company back in 2010.
Newell is just as obsessed with superyachts as he is video games, hence his desire to buy the shipyard and company.
With so much money in the bank, the possibilities could be endless with his new company.
The question is, how will he manage Oceanco now that he is the owner of it?
How Oceanco will operate with its new owner
Unlike many bosses, Newell has a different type of management philosophy.
He leaves those running his businesses alone.
Valve operates without formal bosses or titles, yet it seems to do very well out of it.
This means that, in theory, Newell will simply pour the money into Oceanco and let them carry on with the job they are doing.
This isn’t Gabe Newell’s first foray into ocean vessels either.
The billionaire also owns Inkfish Expedition, which is a marine research company that specializes in deep-sea exploration.
Newell is a bit of a maverick, as he has shown in the past.
The future could be wild and exciting for his new business venture.
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