Gabe Newell
American computer programmer and businessman
Source: Wikidata — retrieved 7/12/2026 (wikidata)
Profile Summary
Gabe Newell is an American computer programmer and businessman born in 1962 and based in Washington state. He has an estimated net worth of ~$9.5B. His industry is listed as Media. Wikidata
Philanthropy
ProPublica-reported 2023 Form 990 filings show three foundations connected to Newell with combined assets of $42,752,476 and total grants paid of $0 for the year. These include the Cooper Newell Foundation (Seattle, WA) with $24,019,623 in assets and $0 grants paid, the Newell B Sargent Foundation (Worland, WY) with $14,817,031 in assets and $0 grants paid, and the Newell Devalpine Foundation (Pittsburgh, PA) with $3,915,822 in assets and $0 grants paid. IRS Form 990 filings are annual public tax returns that report a nonprofit’s finances, including assets, revenue, expenses, and grants paid. ProPublica 990
Political Activity
Federal Election Commission data shows 16 contributions totaling $40,310 from 2006-08-18 to 2023-04-30. The party breakdown reported is $30,400 to Democratic recipients and $9,910 to PAC/Other, with no other party totals listed. Top recipients by amount include Friends of Maria ($12,000), Washington State Democratic Central Committee ($6,600), Cantwell Victory 2024 ($6,600), Biden for President ($2,800), and FDL Action PAC ($2,400). FEC
U.S. Presence
Philanthropy
Political Contributions
By Party
Top Recipients
Score Breakdown
The PBS is a weighted average of 2 components. The formula is open and versioned — the weight percentages below show how much each component contributes to the final score.
Evidenced charitable giving — built on what they actually give each year, not parked assets. Dominated by generosity (annual giving relative to net worth — the share of your fortune you give), plus the absolute scale of that giving, plus a small nudge for signing the Giving Pledge (a commitment, not a realized action).
Data: ProPublica 990 charitable disbursements, net worth, The Giving Pledge registry
How much sourced, public accountability data exists — net worth, political contributions, SEC filings, foundation 990s, news coverage, and a verified profile. More public disclosure scores higher.
Data: FEC, SEC EDGAR, ProPublica 990s, GDELT / NewsAPI, Wikidata
Formula (v2): PBS = 65% x Philanthropy + 35% x Transparency
Scored on 6/23/2026 on a 0–100 scale. The score uses only the signals we have populated data for. Goal Impact, Controversy, and Community Approval are deferred until that data exists — Phase 1 goal adoption, controversy detection, and community votes respectively.
All data is sourced from public records. Each section links to its original source. View on Wikidata