Ordinary people often shop at the same stores. They buy tennis rackets from Dick's Sporting Goods or new cotton sheets at Costco.
Billionaires do the same, buying yachts through the same builder or Bentleys through the same dealerships. Gaming billionaire Gabe Newell recently bought a support yacht from Damen Yachting, the same builder that supplied Jeff Bezos with Abeona, the biggest support yacht in the world.
For billionaires, a support yacht is another ship that follows the main yacht and carries supplies, jet skis and other things to make their lives easier. Jeff Bezos's support yacht measures 279 feet — bigger than many yachts — and features a helipad, room for 45 people and space for a multitude of toys. It supports the 500-foot sailing yacht Koru, which is one of the largest of its kind.
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Newell's support ship Dapple is a more modest vessel by billionaire standards. It is 199 feet long and carries food, fuel and other supplies. It has room for a crew of 12 and is the support ship for Rocinante, Newell's 262-foot yacht built in 2019 by Dutch shipyard Feadship. Rocinante features seven cabins, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a helipad and a cinema. It also has a crew of 22 people to ensure that guests have everything they need for a perfect vacation.
Newell is a passionate sailor and has owned several yachts over the years. But Rocinante and Dapple are his most prized possessions. He often uses the yachts to entertain his family and friends, and he has hosted several charitable events on board. In 2023, Rocinante and Dapple made a rare appearance together in Falmouth, Cornwall, in England. The yachts attracted considerable attention from tourists and yacht and maritime enthusiasts who like to track the movements of billionaire's ships.
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Newell is co-founder and president of Valve Corp., a video game developer, publisher and digital distribution company behind the Steam platform and several engaging video game franchises, including Half-Life, Counter-Strike and Left 4 Dead. Newell and co-founder Mike Harrington worked at Microsoft Corp. before creating Valve in 1996. Newell's primary yacht also holds a lengthy history, similar to his decades in the tech industry.
The German government intended Rocinante, built in 1931 by legendary shipyard Blohm & Voss, to be a presidential yacht. But the yacht was never completed because World War II started. The yacht's hull launched in 1938 but was left unfinished for many years.
In the early 1990s, a group of investors purchased Rocinante to complete construction. It was then sold to Newell in 2012, and he asked for extensive refitting and modernization.
Valve and Newell are not the only company or entrepreneurs driving gaming industry change. The team behind gaming startup Gameflip built a marketplace where players "flip" their in-game items and achievements. The company's model underscores the player-owned gaming dynamic that allows players to extract value and more engagement from their play.
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