'Russian tycoon claims he is behind Forbes purchase, audiotapes show'. 'Automotive Tech Billionaire Austin Russell to Acquire Majority Stake in Forbes'. 'Forbes acquired by Luminar Technologies' Austin Russell'. 'How Austin Russell Became The Youngest Billionaire'. 'The 25-year-old billionaire building the future of self-driving cars'. 'Meet The World's Newest-And Youngest- Billionaire: Luminar's Austin Russell'.

^ Ohnsman, Alan Sternlichtsher, Alexandra (December 3, 2020).

'Luminar Rises in Market Debut, Making 25-Year-Old Founder a Billionaire'.

^ a b Grossman, Matt (December 3, 2020).

'This 22-Year-Old CEO Wants To Help Make Self-Driving Cars Affordable'. '22-Year-Old Lidar Whiz Claims Breakthrough'. Life after Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy.

'This 25-year-old is now a billionaire, after his self-driving car company Luminar went public'. 'Peter Thiel Is Giving These 20 Teenagers $100,000 To Drop Out Of School And Start A Company'. 'Luminar makes lidar sensors to help self-driving cars see farther'. ^ 'Luminar thinks its lidar for driverless cars can leave Waymo's and Uber's in the dust'.'Luminar going public makes 25-year-old Austin Russell one of world's first, and youngest, self-driving billionaires'. ^ a b Rosenbaum, Eric (December 3, 2020).'Orlando's self-driving startup, Luminar Technologies'. 'World's Youngest Billionaire, 26-Year-Old Owes It All To Wikipedia & YouTube'. 'A 22-Year-Old CEO Has A Vision For Making Self-Driving Cars A Reality'. 'Luminar to go public following multibillion-dollar merger'. 'Volvo is the latest automaker to bet on this 23-year-old's startup'. ^ 'World's Youngest Billionaire, 26-Year-Old Owes It All To Wikipedia & YouTube'.^ 'How The World's Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Built His Fortune'.'Where a Young Billionaire Learned Some Old Lessons'. ^ 'This 22-Year-Old CEO Wants To Help Make Self-Driving Cars Affordable'.Motor Trend ranked Russell #41 on its 2022 Power List.Russell appeared on the Fortune magazine 40 Under 40 list in 2021.In 2018, Forbes named Russell to its ' 30 Under 30' list for founding and leading Luminar.In 2017, MIT Technology Review named Russell an 'Innovator Under 35'.In 2021, he donated $70 million to the Central Florida Foundation, ranking him among the top 50 philanthropists globally, that year. On January 1, 2022, Russell donated $4 million to Team Seas, allowing the fundraiser to reach its goal of $30 million raised. A Kremlin-connected tycoon has claimed to be behind the purchase, according to The Washington Post, and has suggested a variety of motives and the intent to conceal his involvement. 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. In May 2023, Russell entered into negotiations to acquire an 82 percent stake in Forbes in a deal valuing the company at $800 million. He also became chairman of the company at this time. 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, making Russell the world's youngest billionaire. On December 3, 2020, Luminar went public, trading on the Nasdaq as LAZR.

Rather than purchasing components, Russell engineered and manufactured Luminar's lidar components himself. The company spent its first five years in stealth mode.

Russell won $100,000 from the Thiel Fellowship in 2013, leading him to drop out and focus on Luminar full-time.

After graduating from high school, he attended Stanford University for three months, taking courses in applied physics. Russell founded Luminar in 2012 while he was still in high school, shortly before turning 17. Russell has said that he often teaches himself new skills from Wikipedia articles and YouTube videos. He also studied at the Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine while in high school. 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 and chief technology officer. Īt age 15, Russell applied for his first patent for a ground water recycling system to reuse water from sprinklers. Russell grew up in Newport Beach, California. He is in negotiating a contract to become the majority owner of Forbes since May 2023 according to Fortune Magazine. Luminar went public in December 2020, making him a billionaire at the age of 25. Luminar specializes in lidar and machine perception technologies, mainly used in autonomous cars. Austin Russell (born March 14, 1995) is an American entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies.

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