Bloomberg Billionaires Index

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# 250 Mike Sabel $13.0B

Random fact: Former Vice President at specialty lender First Sierra Financial.

Overview

Sabel is the chief executive of Venture Global, Inc., an Arlington, Virginia-based LNG supplier which began exporting gas in 2022. Sabel, a former banker, founded Venture Global with ex-lawyer Bob Pender in 2013. The company began trading publicly in January 2025 in the largest U.S. energy IPO in four years.

As of :
Last change -$738M ( -5.4%)
YTD change +$6.13B ( +89.6%)
Biggest asset VG US Equity
Country / Region United States
Age 59
Industry Commodities
View net worth over:   Max 1 year 1 quarter 1 month 1 week

Net Worth Summary

Cash
Private asset
Public asset
Misc. liabilities
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Confidence rating:

Sabel's fortune comes from his ownership stake in Venture Global, Inc., the LNG supplier he co-founded with Bob Pender in 2013.

Sabel and Pender together own all of Venture Global's Class B shares through holding company Venture Global Partners II, LLC, according to the 2025 proxy statement. Sabel is credited with half of those shares based on an overview of the company's ownership structure filed as an exhibit in a 2024 lawsuit and a Dec. 18, 2023 Federal Register filing explaining the ownership of the LLC. He also owns about 234,000 Class A shares directly, according to the proxy filing.

Sabel's cash balance comes from his share of dividends, including those paid out to pre-IPO Venture Global shareholders, and his annual compensation as disclosed in the 2025 proxy filing. His cash balance is adjusted for taxes and market performance.

Shaylyn Hynes, a Venture Global spokesperson, did not respond to questions about Sabel's net worth sent in January 2025.

Biography

Sabel spent decades working in finance, holding positions at firms including First Sierra Financial and Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Sabel and Bob Pender, formerly a partner at Washington, DC-based law firm Hogan Lovells, founded Venture Global in 2013, four years after they unsuccessfully attempted to develop a coal plant in Sri Lanka. The company promised to provide cheaper LNG to customers by building modular, mid-scale facilities which could be built quickly and expanded easily. Venture Global received authorization to export LNG from the Energy Department in 2016 and signed long-term deals with major oil companies including Shell, BP, Edison, and Sinopec.

Venture Global began shipping LNG from Louisiana in 2022. In January 2025, it became publicly listed at a valuation of $60.5 billion, the largest US energy-sector IPO in four years, according to a January 2025 Bloomberg News report.

Milestones
  • 2013 Mike Sabel founds Venture Global with Bob Pender.
  • 2016 Receives Energy Department approval to begin exporting LNG.
  • 2022 Venture Global ships its first LNG cargo.
  • 2025 Submits paperwork to raise $2.3 billion in an IPO.

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