The world’s youngest self-made billionaire has said he ‘absolutely’ recommends dropping out of university, arguing that higher education ‘is not for everyone’.
Austin Russell, 28, from California, left Stanford University in 2012 to start his own company, Luminar Technologies, after being awarded a $100,000 grant from a prestigious fellowship.
He became a billionaire virtually overnight in December 2020 when Luminar Technologies, the tech company he founded at just 17, was listed publicly.
Austin who continues to run the company, which develops laser-based radar sensor tech for cars, is now worth an impressive $2.6 billion.
Speaking to CNBC Make It, Austin said: ‘College is not for everyone.It’s just sort of the traditional approach around what you do and what you’re supposed to do.’
The world’s youngest self-made billionaire Austin Russell, 28, from California, ‘absolutely’ recommends dropping out of college as it ‘is not for everyone’
When asked if he would recommend dropping out of college to other students, the entrepreneur said: ‘Absolutely.’
He added: ‘All this information is available at our fingertips now online. This is not something that was true 50 years ago, [but] it totally is true now.’
The businessman even claimed that he would of still dropped out of college if he hadn’t received the grant for her tech start up.
In 2021, Forbes named him the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at just 26 – and he quickly snapped up a palatial property to cement his new status.
One of the incredible homes used as a set for the HBO show Succession is owned by Austin.
Born in California, his father Michael was in commercial real estate while his mother is former model and actress Shannon Cleye, best known for her role on The Young and the Restless.
An optics prodigy, Russell developed the idea for Luminar when he was just 17 and studying physics at Stanford University.
He left Stanford University in 2012 to start his own company, Luminar Technologies, after being awarded a $100,000 grant from the Peter Thiel Fellowship
One of the incredible homes used as a set for HBO’s Succession is owned by a real-life billionaire. The mega mansion is located in the exclusive LA neighborhood of Pacific Palisades
He dropped out of college after just three months in 2012 when he was granted a $100,000 Thiel Fellowship courtesy of a program funded by billionaire Peter Thiel to nurture entrepreneurs.
For five years, he worked behind the scenes creating Luminar’s lidar hardware and software, which he brought out to the public in 2017.
Following Luminar’s listing on Nasdaq, Russell became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at just 25.
In 2021, he sold 10 per cent of his stock holdings in the company, netting $220 million in cash. The very next day, he closed on the $83 million California estate.
The home, which is situated on the Pacific Palisades just outside Los Angeles and has six bedrooms and a staggering 18 bathrooms, makes an appearance in the first episode of the fourth and final series of Succession.
Austin founded Luminar Technologies in 2012 and continues to run the company, which develops laser-based radar sensor tech for cars
It’s grandeur provides the perfect backdrop for the scene, which sees Logan’s competitive and ambitious offspring planning their next moves.
Built over several years by developer Ardie Tavangarian, who is no stranger to wealthy, high-powered clients, the property is fitted with every conceivable amenity.
Tavangarian purchased the one-acre hill-top property in 2013 for about $7.3 million and built the 20,000-square-foot mansion of billionaires’ dreams.
The jaw-dropping home was available to rent for $350,000 a month in 2020, but was quickly snapped up by Russell for a cool $83 million.
The property’s panoramic views allow the owner to see right across the LA skyline and down to the Pacific Ocean, with what realtors describe as one of the top 5 views in the city.
It sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the Palisades’ coveted Riviera neighborhood, and immediately next door is the $26 million main residence of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
The home is fit with a state-of-the-art indoor cinema and a 20-seat outdoor cinema, according to reports.
It has an entire guest wing with five suites, a gym and a home spa which can accommodate 12 guests and has a separate massage room.
Succession transports viewers to a world of wealth beyond most people’s imagination, telling the story of fictional media mogul Roy Logan (pictured, played by Brian Cox) and showcasing his family’s luxurious homes
Russell also paid a whopping $10.6million for a 13,000-square-foot mansion in Winter Park, near his company’s headquarters in Orlando
It has a family kitchen, designed by Nobu, and outside is a stunning infinity pool, out of which rises a 40ft curved wall which cost $2million to construct.
For petrol heads, it has a car gallery and car turntable, so no one has to reverse down the impressive driveway. The garage doubles up as a dancefloor.
The star of the show is the home’s mind-blowing master suite, which is only accessible via retina scanner.
It has a private balcony and incredible retractable glass roof which can be used as a screen for films and pulled back for stargazing.
Speaking shortly after he bought the home, Russell said in 2020 that the feature makes you feel like ‘you are sleeping outside’.
‘It’s like a campfire environment in your own home,’ he told the Wall Street Journal.
His company is based in Orlando, where Russell owns another impressive mega mansion – albeit one that pales in comparison to his LA pad.
Dirt reports that he snapped up the property just two months after buying his west coast home, paying a whopping $10.6million for a 13,000-square-foot mansion in Winter Park.
The home is just 11 miles from Luminar’s Orlando headquarters, and reports at the time said it’s purchase by Russell was the second-biggest residential real estate deal in Central Florida’s history.
His second, slightly smaller home, has 10 bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms.
The period property, first built in 1925, received a full renovation and expansion in 2018, and sits behind grand gates on a narrow spit of land between Florida’s Lake Virginia and Lake Mizell.
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