Video game titan and Valve cofounder Gabe Newell is indulging himself with some light retail therapy — in the form of a $500 million superyacht.
As Boat International reported last week, the billionaire purchased the vessel — dubbed Leviathan, in case you were expecting any subtlety — which is a 364-foot monstrosity built by yacht builder Oceanco back in August. It’s the 50th-largest yacht in the world, and features two gyms, a spa, and 15 gaming PCs which, as Luxury Launches puts it, could make for lavish “mid-sea LAN parties” for the gaming mogul.
The vessel also features a 5.5-megawatt-hour battery system, allowing it to sail through the night without making any noise. And did we mention it features a garage for a “full ocean depth submersible?”
It’s exactly the kind of extravagantly over-the-top asset we’d expect billionaires to buy — and a harsh reality check for those trying to make ends meet in a society that heavily favors those who have accumulated the most wealth.
The news emerged around the time Newell’s Valve showed off an ambitious new gaming console, dubbed the Steam Machine, reviving a product line that’s been around for almost exactly a decade.
Pricing for the Linux-based mini PC has yet to be announced, but early rumors suggest it won’t come cheap. After all, new tariffs and major trade disruptions have driven up prices for hardware significantly since president Donald Trump took office earlier this year. Other mainstream consoles have already seen price increases as a result.
Fortunately, market uncertainty and rising inflation aren’t too much of a concern for Newell himself. He’s clearly dedicated himself to kitting out his superyacht to his own specifications.
“Working with the team at Oceanco is incredibly enjoyable and a lot of fun; everybody is professional, creative and dynamic,” he said in a statement to Boat International. “We knew we were asking for unusual things, and Oceanco embraced it with open arms.”
“Not only have we designed a very unusual yacht that leans into Oceanco’s strengths of innovation and design, but the team has also been willing to collaborate with us on evolving the process,” he added.
Apart from getting massages and PC gaming sessions in the middle of the ocean, Newell also owns a marine research organization, called Inkfish, and cofounded a brain-computer interface and neural chip company, Stafish Neuroscience, both of which will have a presence on board the Leviathan.
“Yachts have great potential to serve as platforms for scientific research,” Newell said in a statement. “It’s about recognizing that you’re part of a broader community and ensuring the yacht’s presence adds value to the communities around it.”
In short, Newell is the prototypical billionaire that the 21st century is minting at a record rate.
But when it comes to the ongoing superyacht-measuring contest among the one percent, Newell isn’t anywhere near the top. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon cofounder Jeff Bezos, and Google cofounder Sergey Brin are among an even rarer breed who all own yachts that are even bigger than Newell’s Leviathan.
More on yachts: Jeff Bezos Demands That Historic Bridge Be Taken Apart So That His Superyacht Can Pass Through
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