Gabe Logan Newell is the co-founder and managing director of video game development and online distribution company Valve Corporation. Gabe is married to Lisa Mennet and has two sons. He suffered from Fuchs' dystrophy, a congenital disease which affects the cornea, but was cured by two cornea transplants in 2006 and 2007. He is a financial supporter of the Democratic Party.

His favorite games are Super Mario 64, Doom, and Star Trek played on a Burroughs mainframe computer. Doom convinced him that video games were the future of entertainment, and Super Mario 64 convinced him that video games were art. He is a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Newell has said that he has tried to grow into his public image: "They hug me when they run into me. I'm not a hugging person, but that's what they want. I was with my kids the first time that happened in public, and my kids were pretty cool with it. But I wasn't. 'Dad, roll with it.' Even now, I'm learning from our customers." Within the gaming community, he is nicknamed Gaben, after his work email address.