“So, you expect high school grads to know what they want to be the day they graduate?”
“Yes,” answered Anduril Industries’ Palmer Luckey to this question on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this year, prompting some interesting thoughts on the value of education, school debt and career choices with another member of this week’s OC’s Wealthiest list.
Replied entrepreneur, Shark Tank star and Dallas Mavericks part-owner Mark Cuban: “Do you seriously? Did you? Took me getting fired and [got through] multiple jobs before I got there. Is this Gen Z specific or historical?”
“Yes,” said Luckey, whose first fortune was made through Oculus VR. “I decided at 15 that I wanted to make virtual reality mainstream. I spent the next decade accomplishing that, got fired and moved on to something else.”
“Not knowing what you want to be as an adult is a serious check engine light that should be fixed before taking on [student] debt,” Luckey posited.
“Agree on taking on debt,” replied Cuban. “That’s a separate issue than going to college.
There are a lot of accomplices on the debt front. From the schools to parents to feds to banks. All could say no.”
“Expecting an 18-year-old to navigate that is the problem,” Cuban said. “Which is why I think there should [be] limits to the amount of loans a student can borrow every year.”
“None of which changes my opinion that college is a huge plus for almost everyone,” Cuban said. “Starting with community college is a viable path for anyone.”
“I enrolled at community college when I was 15 and later transferred to (Cal State Long Beach) before dropping out. Always had goals,” Luckey, now 31, responded.
“Adults should have an idea of what they want to be. I don’t think college is the best place to spend time, money and opportunity fixing a problem so fundamental.”
Cuban, 65, noted some similarities to his upbringing.
“I started night college at 16 and dropped out of high school to go to college full time,” he said.
Later, a pair of MBA classes “had a profound impact on my future.”
Summarized Cuban: “Different backgrounds bring different perspectives, I guess.”
Lido Island resident Luckey ranks No. 13 on this week’s OC’s Wealthiest list, with an estimated fortune of $5B.
Cuban, whose vacation home in Laguna Beach earns him a Weekend Wealthy designation on the list, ranks No. 11, with an estimated wealth of $6.1B.
Irvine security giant Allied Universal this month released a report titled Physical Security During an Election: Expect the Unexpected and Prepare for it All.
The report uses “intelligence and experience to identify potential physical security threats that could impact the safety and operations of businesses and their assets in the U.S. during a presidential election.”
The timing of the report was uncanny, coming July 12, days before the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
“A partisan environment is seething with hostility and division, multiple wars are being waged overseas, and law enforcement is eyeing the risk of violence ahead of what could be an election unlike any other in American history,” said Allied Global Chairman and CEO Steve Jones.
