Austin Russell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Russell in 2018 | |
| Born | March 14, 1995[1] Newport Beach, California[2] |
| 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]
