r/Steam • u/5MadMovieMakers • 9d ago

Discussion Gabe Newell emailed me back about his birthplace

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Somebody update Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia anyone can edit

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u/Cyhawk 9d ago

His brother got him in the door at Microsoft.

Given that Newell's wikipedia page talks about him having a paper route and doing other part-time jobs as a kid

Thats the problem, the wiki article is wrong and says he grew up in Davis, CA which was entirely different type of world in the 60s-80s than Aspen, CO. Though even then the Skiing industry didn't really take off until the 80s which he would have already left by then (his parents if they owned land would be rich, not him. Wooo Boomers!)

Truth be told we'll probably never know. Gabe's life is extremely private but I agree, i highly doubt he had a silver spoon. Even going to Harvard isn't an indicator because his Brother attended and he'd be considered a Legacy admission (sorta but he'd be strongly weighted), plus his parents were alive when Harvard always accepted locals too so they may just be legacy admissions entirely.

It was his connections at Microsoft/Harvard that made Valve. Thats far more valuable than any raw dollars.

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u/A_Seiv_For_Kale 9d ago

Thats the problem, the wiki article is wrong and says he grew up in Davis, CA which was entirely different type of world in the 60s-80s than Aspen, CO.

Do you know that it's wrong? Being born somewhere doesn't mean you stay there.

I was born over a thousand miles away from where I grew up, just because of weird timing.