How Michael built the fortune
Michael Sabel became wealthy by doing something many energy executives considered unlikely: launching an independent LNG exporter from scratch and building it into one of the largest suppliers of American gas to world markets within about a decade. Venture Global, which he co-founded with Robert Pender in 2013, now operates terminals that turn shale gas into liquid for shipment overseas.
As chief executive, Sabel has pushed a strategy built on speed. The company relies on mid scale liquefaction units produced in factories and assembled on site, and it begins work on later stages of a project while earlier stages are still being commissioned. Supporters say that approach let Venture Global bring capacity online faster and more cheaply than rivals using traditional designs. It also allowed the company to sell gas from partly finished plants into the very high priced markets that followed the 2022 energy crisis in Europe, earning large profits in its early years.
The initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in January 2025 set a market value on the company and on the founders' stakes. Sabel and Pender keep voting control through high vote shares, so the company's direction remains closely tied to their decisions.
Companies and holdings
Venture Global's operating and development portfolio is concentrated in Louisiana:
- Calcasieu Pass, its first export terminal, which shipped its first cargo in 2022.
- Plaquemines LNG, a larger plant that started producing in late 2024.
- CP2 LNG, an expansion project in Cameron Parish approved in 2025.
- Additional proposed projects, plus its own LNG tankers and connecting pipelines.
Sabel serves as chief executive officer and executive co-chairman. Customers include European and Asian utilities and trading companies that have signed contracts lasting about twenty years.
Early life and career
Michael Sabel was born in 1967. Before Venture Global he worked in investment banking and in developing energy and infrastructure projects, building experience in how large projects are financed and how risks are shared between developers, lenders and customers. He and Pender had worked together on earlier ventures before deciding that the American shale boom created an opening for new LNG exporters.
At the time they founded Venture Global, the American LNG export industry was in its infancy, and most of the planned projects were backed by large energy companies. Sabel spent the company's early years raising development capital, recruiting engineers and lining up potential customers, while navigating federal permits from energy and environmental regulators. Those years without revenue shaped the company's cost focused culture. Venture Global is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, close to the federal agencies whose approvals its projects require.
Philanthropy and public life
Sabel has spoken publicly about energy security and about the role of American gas in helping European countries reduce their reliance on Russian supplies. He has argued that LNG exports can support allies while creating jobs on the Gulf Coast, and he has been an active participant in policy debates in Washington, including discussions about federal approvals for new export capacity.
His personal philanthropy is not widely publicized. Venture Global funds community and education programs in southwestern and southeastern Louisiana, including training programs that prepare local workers for jobs at its plants, and it has supported coastal and wetland projects in the parishes where it operates.
His tenure has also brought conflict. Long term buyers including Shell, BP and several other European companies brought arbitration claims over cargoes sold on the spot market during the extended commissioning of Calcasieu Pass. Venture Global has defended its position that commercial operations had not formally begun, and the outcomes have varied by case. Environmental groups and some residents of coastal Louisiana have also challenged the company's expansion, citing emissions, flood risk and effects on fisheries.
Investors and analysts often credit Sabel with an aggressive, deal driven style that helped a small developer compete with much larger rivals. The same style has made the company a frequent subject of legal disputes and debate within the industry, and how Venture Global balances growth against customer relationships remains a key question for its future.