Austin Russell | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Newport Beach, California
[2] | March 14, 1995
Education | Stanford University (dropped out) |
Austin Russell (born March 14, 1995) is an American entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies. [3] Luminar specializes in lidar and machine perception technologies, mainly used in autonomous cars. Luminar went public in December 2020, making him a billionaire at the age of 25. [4] He is negotiating a contract to become the majority owner of Forbes since May 2023 according to Fortune Magazine.
Russell grew up in Newport Beach, California. [2] At age 15, Russell applied for his first patent for a groundwater recycling system to reuse water from sprinklers. [5] When he was 15, Russell's parents introduced him to laser entrepreneur Jason Eichenholz, who became Russell's mentor and later joined Luminar as co-founder [6] and chief technology officer. [7]
He graduated from St. Margaret's Episcopal School in 2013. [8] He also studied at the Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine [9] while in high school. [9] Russell has said that he often teaches himself new skills from Wikipedia articles and YouTube videos. [10]
Russell founded Luminar in 2012 [11] while he was still in high school, [12] shortly before turning 17. [2] After graduating from high school, he attended Stanford University for three months, [13] taking courses in applied physics. [14] Russell won $100,000 from the Thiel Fellowship in 2013, leading him to drop out [15] [11] and focus on Luminar full-time. [16]
The company spent its first five years in stealth mode. [17] Rather than purchasing components, Russell engineered and manufactured Luminar's lidar components himself. [18] [19]
On December 3, 2020, Luminar went public, [20] trading on the Nasdaq as LAZR. [12] Russell's 104.7 million shares, roughly one-third of Luminar's equity, were worth $2.4 billion at the close of trading on December 3, [21] making Russell the world's youngest billionaire. [22] [23] He also became chairman of the company at this time. [20]
In May 2023, Russell entered into negotiations to acquire an 82 percent stake in Forbes , valuing the company at $800 million. [24] If the transaction proceeds, his majority stake would include the remaining portion of the company owned by the Forbes family, which was not previously sold to Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media. [25] According to The Washington Post, a Kremlin-connected tycoon has claimed to be behind the purchase [26] and has suggested a variety of motives, including the intent to conceal his involvement. [1]
On January 1, 2022, Russell donated $4 million to Team Seas, allowing the fundraiser to reach its goal of $30 million raised. [27] In 2021, he donated $70 million to the Central Florida Foundation, ranking him among the top 50 philanthropists globally, that year. [28]
Austin Russell | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Newport Beach, California
[2] | March 14, 1995
Education | Stanford University (dropped out) |
Austin Russell (born March 14, 1995) is an American entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies. [3] Luminar specializes in lidar and machine perception technologies, mainly used in autonomous cars. Luminar went public in December 2020, making him a billionaire at the age of 25. [4] He is negotiating a contract to become the majority owner of Forbes since May 2023 according to Fortune Magazine.
Russell grew up in Newport Beach, California. [2] At age 15, Russell applied for his first patent for a groundwater recycling system to reuse water from sprinklers. [5] When he was 15, Russell's parents introduced him to laser entrepreneur Jason Eichenholz, who became Russell's mentor and later joined Luminar as co-founder [6] and chief technology officer. [7]
He graduated from St. Margaret's Episcopal School in 2013. [8] He also studied at the Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine [9] while in high school. [9] Russell has said that he often teaches himself new skills from Wikipedia articles and YouTube videos. [10]
Russell founded Luminar in 2012 [11] while he was still in high school, [12] shortly before turning 17. [2] After graduating from high school, he attended Stanford University for three months, [13] taking courses in applied physics. [14] Russell won $100,000 from the Thiel Fellowship in 2013, leading him to drop out [15] [11] and focus on Luminar full-time. [16]
The company spent its first five years in stealth mode. [17] Rather than purchasing components, Russell engineered and manufactured Luminar's lidar components himself. [18] [19]
On December 3, 2020, Luminar went public, [20] trading on the Nasdaq as LAZR. [12] Russell's 104.7 million shares, roughly one-third of Luminar's equity, were worth $2.4 billion at the close of trading on December 3, [21] making Russell the world's youngest billionaire. [22] [23] He also became chairman of the company at this time. [20]
In May 2023, Russell entered into negotiations to acquire an 82 percent stake in Forbes , valuing the company at $800 million. [24] If the transaction proceeds, his majority stake would include the remaining portion of the company owned by the Forbes family, which was not previously sold to Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media. [25] According to The Washington Post, a Kremlin-connected tycoon has claimed to be behind the purchase [26] and has suggested a variety of motives, including the intent to conceal his involvement. [1]
On January 1, 2022, Russell donated $4 million to Team Seas, allowing the fundraiser to reach its goal of $30 million raised. [27] In 2021, he donated $70 million to the Central Florida Foundation, ranking him among the top 50 philanthropists globally, that year. [28]