Yahn Bernier
 | This article contains several duplicated citations. (December 2024) |
Yahn Bernier | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yahn William Bernier February 13, 1968[1] |
| Education | Harvard University (BS) University of Florida (JD) |
| Alma mater | Satellite High School |
| Occupation(s) | Patent lawyer, Programmer |
| Years active | 1994-present |
| Employer | Valve Software |
| Spouse |
Beth McCaw (m. 1998) |
| Children | 1[3] |
Yahn William Bernier (born February 13, 1968) is an American software developer, philanthropist and a former patent lawyer.[4] He is best known for his programming work in Valve Software titles, particularly in Half-Life where he was known for writing the most code in the game there. As of 2024, he currently owns a racing team The Heart of Racing along with British racing driver Ian James and Gabe Newell, and owns the Lunasea superyacht. His net worth is in $550 million.[5]
Life
[edit]Of French-American ancestry, Bernier learned to program at the age of 12 through his high school teacher that let him use punch cards that converted to FORTRAN code, and fixed TRS-80s in RadioShack stores.[6] He later graduated Florida's Satellite High School in 1986[7] and enrolled in Harvard for a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry. He graduated in 1992, and later enrolled in University of Florida to study law and became a patent lawyer in Atlanta. In late-90s, Yahn made a mapping tool called BSP Map Editor which later got him hired by Valve to program for their GoldSrc engine for the upcoming Half-Life game, and continues to work on all major Valve titles to this day.
He appeared in the first Half-Life's making of documentary which was released in November 19, 2023, and Half-Life 2's making of documentary in November 16, 2024.
Ownership of Lunasea
[edit]Since 2020, Bernier has owned the Lunasea superyacht, which was previously owned by Australian entrepreneur John Symond. It is valued at $110 million as of 2020.[8]
At early morning of July 27, 2021, the yacht was attempted to be burglarized by a man while the 20 crew members inside the yacht were sleeping. The captain had heard someone walking in his office. Thinking it was a crew member, he went into the office to find a male inside searching the office. The captain and the crew detained the suspect and did not resist. The suspect later got arrested.[9]
Political views
[edit]Bernier is a registered Democrat. In August 2023, he held a private fundraiser along with Microsoft's vice chairman Brad Smith with Kamala Harris attending the fundraiser at his home in Medina, Washington.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "YAHN BERNIER: Valve Corporation and Philanthropist Yacht Owner • Net Worth". SuperYachtFan.
- ^ "What's next in gaming with Yahn Bernier". YouTube. 26 October 2023.
- ^ "What's next in gaming with Yahn Bernier". YouTube. 26 October 2023.
- ^ "valve". Valve Software. Archived from the original on 2000-05-20.
- ^ Aguillard, Doug (2024-07-28). "Yahn Bernier's Super Yacht Burglarized San Diego - ONSCENE.TV". Onscene.tv.
- ^ "What's next in gaming with Yahn Bernier". YouTube. 26 October 2023.
- ^ "SHS-1986 Graduating Class - Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. June 1986. p. 7.
- ^ Gorgan, Elena (2020-12-11). "Here's How a $112 Million Floating Home Looks Like: On Board Lunasea Superyacht - autoevolution". autoevolution.
- ^ Aguillard, Doug (2024-07-28). "Yahn Bernier's Super Yacht Burglarized San Diego - ONSCENE.TV". Onscene.tv.
- ^ Brunner, Jim; Gutman, David (2023-08-15). "Kamala Harris, in Seattle, says climate crisis impact is 'stark,' 'vivid' - The Seattle Times". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2024-11-04.