Tech

Austin Russell becomes youngest self-made billionaire in 2021; now he owns Forbes

Austin Russell is running pretty well.

28-year-old founder and CEO of lightcompany that develops vision-based lidar and machine perception technologies primarily for self-driving cars, told The Wall Street Journal earlier today that he will buy an 82% stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings in a deal that values ​​the company at nearly $800 million.

According to the WSJ, Russell’s stake includes the remainder of the company owned by the eponymous family, which sold 95% of the company’s shares to Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media in 2014. Forbes was essentially sold from this point on it canceled its merger with a special-purpose acquisition company last June, after the market turned sour and investors didn’t interested in SPAC.

Luminar itself has a better time; it was made public through a SPAC merger in 2021 as retail investors are still hunting for shares in mobile technology companies. However, by the time Forbes canceled its own SPAC plans, nearly every mobile SPAC was transaction below its asking price, and Luminar hasn’t been spared a broader downturn. Valued at $3.4 billion when it hit Wall Street, its market capitalization is now around $2 billion. Only three days before the report lightly greater damage than expected.

Some retail investors may not be happy about its performance, even as Russell told the Silicon Valley Business Journal. last year that he has no regrets about SPAC. (In his view, the alternative could be the possibility of running out of money, as private-market investors begin closing their checkbooks.)

Others may see it in relation to Russell – described by Forbes himself in 2021 as The youngest self-made billionaire in the world – will soon direct some of his attention elsewhere.

Shareholders – and employees of Luminar – may also find the acquisition confusing.

Although running multiple companies at the same time (Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey), as well as being a billionaire owning a media company (Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Benioff) has become fashionable (Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Benioff), bought Forbes when too many stores were fighting for survival common wisdom dollars.

Then again, Russell has focused on Luminar since 2012, when he dropped out of Stanford to start the company, backed by a $100,000 grant from celebrity investor Peter Thiel. (The Thiel Fellowship Program, established in 2011, continues to award $100,000 to selected students who are willing to spend two years on their idea instead of “sitting in the classroom.”)

Russell enjoyed the fruits of his work in the years that followed. He bought an $83 million arbitrage in Los Angeles in 2021, which has since been featured on the hit show “Succession.” He is also said to have paid another $10.6 million for a 13,000-square-foot mansion in Winter Park, Florida, near Luminar’s headquarters in Orlando. But after spending his entire career focusing on Luminar, he may be looking to change the way he invests his time.

Like Y Combinator Paul Graham used to say As he expresses his dislike of funding especially young founders, sometimes the worse that can happen to a person is that his or her startup is an instant success.

Graham said: “[I]If you start a successful startup, the free days of your life are over. I’m working for that company.”

In a statement to the WSJ, Russell simply said of his motivation: “Forbes is something I have always admired as a brand and a media empire.” He also told the outlet that he doesn’t plan to participate in Forbes’ day-to-day activities but that he wants to both develop the apparel and emphasize “philanthropy” within the business.

TechCrunch reached out to Russell a little while ago; We hope to have more information on his latest move soon.



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