OC’s Wealthiest 2024: Palmer Luckey

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Palmer Luckey
FOUNDER
ANDURIL INDUSTRIES
FOUNDER
OCULUS VR

GOALS: Revamp the U.S. and allies’ military defense industry, bringing it into the 21st century with high tech tools. Luckey, flush with cash after selling his Oculus VR, founded Anduril Industries in 2017. The military tech company offers an ever-expanding array of weapons, ranging from AI-guided underwater drones to an unmanned fighter drone and reusable drone that can hit a target and return to base. The company has reportedly received more than $1B in contracts from the U.S. and allies for border protection and military defense while last year’s revenue was said to be around $500M. The company’s products have been used in Ukraine.

THE MONEY, PART I: Oculus VR, a maker of virtual reality headsets, hardware and software products Luckey founded at age 19 in 2012, was bought by Facebook in 2014 for $2.3B. It was one of the fastest-ever multibillion-dollar exit transactions on record.

THE MONEY, PART II: Luckey’s second startup, defense-focused Anduril Industries was formed in 2017 and received the backing of investors including Silicon Valley kingpin Peter Thiel. It is the fastest-growing upstart defense firm in the country. The company has its sights on competing against defense giants such as Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp. (Raytheon), but Anduril plans to use fast-moving weapons, not the lumbering giant tools of the past. Anduril’s valuation was reportedly heading toward $12.5B as of last year.

THE MONEY, PART III: Anduril isn’t profitable and may not be so for some time, a fact that doesn’t bother Luckey. The Los Angeles Times in July quoted him as saying Anduril should not be profitable in the near term. “We should be taking all of the money that we’re making and putting it back into growing the company, launching new product lines, trying to become the next major defense prime,” the newspaper quoted him saying.

THE WEALTH: Reported to not have put much of his own money into building up Anduril because of fierce VC interest. “We’ve never needed to dip into the Palmer pot,” Anduril’s Chief Executive Brian Shimpf told Forbes. Believed to still have a significant stake in Anduril; the Business Journal’s $5B estimate of his wealth could prove to be on the low side. Luckey turned 31 last year, sporting a flowing mane, Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts.

THE TECHNOLOGY: Anduril makes a combo of hardware and software, including autonomous drones, sentry towers and other products used to monitor and protect large areas, which are built around its artificial intelligence platform that uses computer vision, machine learning and mesh networking. Moved to huge new campus in Costa Mesa to accommodate its growing ranks of workers and business. Just bought Indiana-based rocket engine manufacturer Adranos, to make missiles for the military. Says defense technology has made a previously shunned industry “cool” to a younger generation of talent in the AI age.

BOND VILLAIN? Owns home on Lido Island. Among reported big splurges after the Oculus sale: a 1969 Mustang, several helicopters, submarine and an island property. “Billionaire defense entrepreneur Palmer Luckey has a collection of items worthy of a Bond villain — including helicopters, a giant fish tank and an underground missile base filled with video games,” Business Insider said in May.

NEXT STEPS: Quiet about presumed aspirations for a public company listing. “I’ve always wanted to be a publicly traded company,” and the Pentagon in general likes to deal with listed companies, but “I don’t think that we’re close to any kind of IPO,” he told CNBC last year.